The Nova Scotia community of Chéticamp erupted in controversy in 1982 when the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms granted minorities the right to public school instruction in their own language. The mostly French-Canadian school board proposed an increase in French-language instruction. Most Acadian French in Chéticamp welcomed the plan as a tool in their struggle against cultural assimilation by the surrounding anglophone cultures. However, some Acadians and most anglophone members of the community opposed decreased English services. Describes the controversy and the compromise arrangement for student choice between French and English instruction. [K. Budge]