Week 1: Assignment - Reflections on Cultural Background

    I most identify with my Norwegian ancestors who immigrated to North Dakota in the mid 1800's.  My family, along with the others, primarily came to the United States to pursue the greater opportunities that were afforded in this country.  To pursue this dream the settled in North Dakota to take part in the United States Home Stead Act of 1862 and farm their 160 acres.
    The group did not face traditional racism, in the sense of coming from native Americans.  They were discriminated against, and felt the same way, about the Swedish settlers in the area.  This mostly served as the continuation of the tensions between Norway and Sweden.  In my particular family this was exacerbated when my great grandfather married a Swedish lady.  This caused significant tensions with his Swedish in-laws and some tension within his own family.  Ultimately, very little time was spent with the Swedish side of the family.  On the other hand my great grandmother's father-in-law refused to speak anything but Norwegian around her, which she did not understand.
    The gender roles with the Norwegians were what was somewhat normal for America in general at that time.  The father was the head of the house, and primarily responsible for all major decisions.  He was also the primary provider for the family, and in this area meant tending to the farm and livestock.  The female was primarily responsible for the house, the children, and food preparation.  For the children, when they were older, would also help with the farming and the livestock as part of their chores.
    Religion played a very strong role in their community.  They brought to the United States their very strong Lutheran heritage, and continued that here.  The church served as the central place for social events and for community gatherings.  One of these big events was the Lutefisk festival; especially notorious for the powerful odor that would encompass the nearby areas.  This also served to emphasize the importance of family for them, and is something that has played down through the generations.  While almost all split out across the nation in the last three generations, there was always a strong familial tie that always kept them in contact with each other either by visiting, writing, or calling.
    The Norwegian culture was not that radically different then the current American culture; which made it fairly easy for them to transition to the United States.  Furthermore, they did not extremely segregate themselves off to outsiders; and for the most part integrated well within existing society.  Furthermore, their very strong work ethic, "normal values", and typical appearance kept them from standing out.
    There were a couple characteristics that were detrimental to the groups success.  The most predominant being that the settled a very sparse area in the United States at that time.  This served to segregate them, while probably not intentional, from the mainstream of the United States.  In a way North Dakota turned into their new Norway.  On the other hand this climate was probably the closest to what they would have experienced in Norway, and thus the most familiar.
    Physically, I significantly identify with my Norwegian ancestry.  While I am far from still being a full blooded Norwegian, those traits are very dominant in my appearance.  Culturally I tend to mix and match on whether I identify with my Norwegian ancestors or present day American culture.  As an example, while I otherwise had a normal American protestant marriage I choose to take a more Norwegian tradition and escort my bride down the aisle.  I was also raised to be very proud of my Norwegian ancestry, and our family history.  While I am certainly not as adamant about maintaining the legacy as my grandmother was, I do plan on raising our children with an understanding of where they came from in regards to my lineage.  Especially as my son takes after my in physically looking Norwegian.  Another trait I possess with my ancestors is I have been fiercely independent, to fault, and would not accept help from anyone.  This has been changing for a while as I am transitioning to be more of a "normal" American and work well as a team both with my family and at work. For all other items I tend to fit more of the normal American culture in this day.  I am pursuing career advancement, and security, through the pursuit of my degree.  I participate in normal American social activities, and affiliate with others regardless of their heritage.

© Erik Smith 2005
Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License