ABSTRACT
The purposes of the statewide commissions are to develop cultural ties between Franco-Americans and French-Canadians and to foster interest in the historical backgrounds of both groups. The Louis Riel controversy proved to be another occasion for renewed linkages between Franco-Americans and the homeland. The Association Canado-Americaine, with some 20,000 members, 7,000 of whom are Quebeckers, constitutes a fully functional network of linkages through its system of local lodges scattered throughout both New England and Quebec. Linkages across the forty-fifth parallel also found expression in various forms of support and encouragement by prominent Quebec leaders to Franco-American cultural preservation efforts. As diverse Quebec media become increasingly available in the north-east, the potential as educational tools for use by secondary schools and colleges throughout the region should be emphasized to social science and French departments.
