Flag of Acadiana

The flag of Acadiana, representing the ethnic Acadiana (Cajun) region of the United States state of Louisiana, was designed in 1965 by Thomas J. Arceneaux. Arceneaux was a professor at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and had derived the flag from the University seal. In 1974, the Louisiana legislature officially adopted Arceneaux's design as the official Acadiana flag. The three silver fleurs-de-lis on the blue field represent the French heritage of Acadiana, the gold star on the white field symbolizes Our Lady of the Assumption, patron saint of Acadiana (the star also symbolizes the active participation of the Cajuns in the American Revolution, as soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish governor of Louisiana). The gold tower on the red field represents Spain, which governed Louisiana at the time the Acadians arrived.