Arms of the Société nationale de l'Acadie

Blazon

Azure a schooner Argent sails set Or on two bars wavy Or flying from the central mast to the sinister a banner Argent inscribed ACADIE in letters Sable all ensigned by the Star of Acadia radiant Or;

Symbolism

At the 2nd national convention of Acadians held at Miscouche, P.E.I. in 1884, the delegates adopted a series of symbols that they displayed on a lapel badge. These symbols are revived in a heraldic composition as the armorial bearings of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie. The schooner had been proposed in 1882 as the main emblem of the Acadian people by Father Marcel-François Richard, who was instrumental in the adoption of Assumption Day as the distinctive national Acadian day, as well as the tricolour flag and other Acadian symbols. He judged the crossing of the ocean to be at the centre of Acadian history. The wavy stripes are a heraldic representation of water, referring to the original migration from France to Acadia, as well as the Deportation carried out in 1755 and the subsequent return to the Atlantic region after 1763. The shining star, or Stella Maris, is a Marian emblem, star of the Virgin Mary, and symbol of hope for sailors since the 7th century. It has been recognized as an Acadian symbol since c.1870, and it represents Acadian hope and renewal. The yellow or gold colour, borrowed from the white and yellow Papal flag, symbolizes the traditional attachment of Acadia to the Roman Catholic Church. The hymn Ave maris stella was adopted as the national anthem of Acadia.