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pr. 4.3.2020 rThe Norwegian-American Historical Association, Norway(NAHA-Norge)DET NORSK-AMERIKANSKE HISTORIELAGET I NORGE(NAHA-Norge)Seminar XIV: Nordic Identity Formation in a Transnational ContextNorsk Utvandrermuseum, Stange ved Hamar18.-21. juni 2020KEY NOTE SPEAKERS: Peterson, Anna C, associate professor, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa: (Re)Defining Norwegian Values in the Upper Midwest, 1913-1938In this talk, I will detail how Norwegian Americans, as well as other groups in the United States, helped establish and deploy a transnational Norwegian identity that stood for progress and humanitarianism. I will examine two cases where marginalized groups drew upon these rhetorical and ideological frameworks in order to further their own goals: in the American suffrage movement in the Upper Midwest and in a boarding school for American Indians in Wisconsin. American suffragists promoted Scandinavian nations and peoples as progressive supporters of women’s rights. When women won the right to vote in Norway in 1913, this provided evidence for their claims that Norwegians possessed an innate commitment to equality and progress. Suffragists pressured Norwegian Americans to prove their “Norwegianness” by supporting women’s right to vote in the United States just as their countrymen had back in the Old Country.When Norwegian Americans opened a mission and residential boarding school for American Indians in central Wisconsin in 1883, they did so with a sense of religious duty and secular guilt. Christianizing the Indians would not only save their souls, but also offer a kind of retribution for Norwegian American settlers’ active participation in the dispossession of Native Americans. At the Bethany Indian Mission, the Norwegian Americans who ran and staffed the mission continued to cultivate the understanding that their work was grounded in humanitarianism until the Mission closed in 1955. One of the tribes they missioned to – the Ho-Chunk or Winnebago – used this established identity to call for the removal of the last superintendent of the mission because he was not of Norwegian descent. The Ho-Chunk tied their complaints about the superintendent’s cruel treatment of them to the fact that he was not Norwegian and thus could not live up to the humanitarian values his predecessors had established. In both of these cases, we will see how people in the United States participated in defining and shaping understandings of Norwegian and Norwegian-American cultural values. When “Norwegian” and “Norwegian-American” came to stand for progress, equality, humanitarianism in the early-twentieth century, marginalized groups, including but not limited to Norwegian Americans, seized the opportunity to use these associations to further their own goals. Br?ndal, J?rn , Professor and Chair, Center for American Studies, University of Southern DenmarkBetween the Melting Pot and Pluralism: Identity Formation among Danish Immigrants in the United States in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth CenturiesMany Danish migrants travelling to the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with dreams of maintaining their Old World traditions and religious habits in the New World soon confronted an ethnic patchwork quilt of ethnic diversity in the Midwest that put their fantasies to a test. Navigating a landscape of Norwegians, Irishmen, Poles, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Yankees, and occasionally Native Americans and African Americans, the Danish migrants attempted to define their own place within emerging nativist hierarchies of race and religion, at the same time that some of them began speculating about the meaning of being American. At a remarkably early date one Lutheran pastor even started toying with notions of pluralism and an ethnic melting pot in the United States. Salmons, Joe, professor, University of Wisconsin-MadisonThe historical sociolinguistics of Scandinavian-American bilingualismThe still emerging field of historical sociolinguistics draws data from social history in particular to better understand past linguistic situations. We know that Norwegian and other languages from the Nordic countries have been spoken in the American Upper Midwest since immigrants began to arrive in the early to mid 19th century, while important fieldwork is going on today with heritage bilingual speakers. Beyond a few important studies (Hjelde 2001, Natvig forthcoming), we know relatively little about when and how these communities became bilingual and how they negotiated bilingual-bicultural life in the region, with its social and linguistic implications. Drawing on methods and data types developed for German-speaking immigrant communities (Wilkerson & Salmons 2008, 2012), I reconstruct some patterns of bilingualism in the past, beginning with data from the 1910 US Census. That survey asked whether people were able to speak English and indicated other mother tongues where the answer was ‘no’. I use that data to establish household patterns of language knowledge and use. Early sound recordings provide direct evidence of sociolinguistic patterns, including multilingualism and use of dialectal features. From there, comparison to patterns of institutional use (churches, newspapers, later radio) allows us insight into broader community patterns during the time of shift to English (Moquin 2019, Johnson forthcoming, others). Early analysis suggests that Norwegians tended to report speaking English considerably earlier than German-speaking immigrants, but they have remained bilingual just as long. ReferencesHjelde, Arnstein. 2001. A bilingual community and research problems: The Coon Prairie settlement and problems of distinguishing language contact phenomena in the speech of Norwegian-Americans. Global Eurolinguistics – European Languages in North America – Migration, Maintenance and Death, ed. P. Sture Ureland, 209–229. Tu?bingen: Niemeyer.Johnson, Mirva. Forthcoming. Politics and Cooperatives: Verticalization in rural Finnish American communities of the Upper Midwest. Verticalization: A model for language shift, ed. Joshua Brown. Oxford: OUP.Moquin, Laura. 2019. Language and morality in Norwegian-American newspapers: Reform in Eau Claire, WI.?9th Workshop on Immigrant Languages in the Americas, ed. Kelly Biers & Joshua R. Brown. Cascadilla Proceedings Project, , David. Forthcoming. ‘The Great Change’ and the shift from Norwegian to English in Ulen, MN. Verticalization: A model for language shift, ed. Joshua Brown. Oxford: OUP.Wilkerson, Miranda & Joseph Salmons. 2008. ‘Good old immigrants of yesteryear’ who didn’t learn English: Germans in Wisconsin. American Speech 83. 259-283.Wilkerson, Miranda & Joseph Salmons. 2012. Linguistic marginalities: Becoming American without learning English. Journal of Transnational American Studies 4.2. . PAPERS1.Apelseth-Aanensen, Cathrine, konsulent, R?de kommune Hvordan s?ke etter emigranter i FamilySearchHow to search for emigrants in FamilySearchFamilySearch, som driftes av Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige, er verdens st?rste database for genealogiske og historiske kilder fra hele verden, med bla. 63 milliarder s?kbare registreringer.FamilySearch, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the worlds largest database for worldwide genealogical and historic sources, with 6,3 billion searchable entries.2.Bjoland, Trond Espen Teigen, phd-student, Universitetet i BergenNorskamerikansk etnisk identitet i Stoughton, Wisconsin / Norwegian-American ethnic identity in Stoughton, WisconsinMigrasjonsstr?mmene fra Norge til Amerika p? 1800- og begynnelsen av 1900-tallet bidro til fremveksten av ulike former for lokalsamfunn. I denne presentasjonen ?nsker jeg ? omtale sm?byen Stoughton i Wisconsin, som opplevde sterk immigrasjon fra Norge fra andre halvdel av 1800-tallet.1 Ved studier av elementer som spr?klig utvikling og etnisk feiring i lokal-samfunnet, kan man identifisere en endring i den etniske identiteten blant innbyggerne i sm?-byen. Dette er blant annet synlig ved lokale markeringer av den norske grunnlovsdagen. P? andre halvdel av 1800-tallet ble anledningen i hovedsak markert ved sm? og private sammenkomster, mens det ble arrangert store feiringer med parader og taler p? begynnelsen av 1900-tallet. Disse feiringene inkluderte alle byens innbyggere, og var ikke avgrenset til den norsk-amerikanske etniske gruppen. I min masteroppgave argumenteres det for at denne utviklingen tyder p? en overgang fra en norsk identitet til en mer symbolsk norskamerikansk identitet.2 Denne formen for utvikling innen norskamerikansk etnisk identitet, med s?rlig blikk p? Stoughton, vil v?re utgangspunktet i presentasjonen. Samtidig vil dette sees i sammenheng med tilsvarende utvikling innen svenskamerikansk identitet, for ? se funn fra Stoughton i et st?rre perspektiv. 1 Trond Espen Teigen Bjoland, "Norskamerikanske Bosetningsm?nstre I Stoughton, Wisconsin," Heimen 56, no. 4 (2019). 2 "Norskamerikansk Identitet I Stoughton, Wisconsin: 1880-1920," (Masteroppgave i historie, Universitetet i Bergen, 2018), 85-95. Litteratur Bjoland, Trond Espen Teigen. "Norskamerikansk Identitet I Stoughton, Wisconsin: 1880-1920." Masteroppgave i historie, Universitetet i Bergen, 2018. ———. "Norskamerikanske Bosetningsm?nstre I Stoughton, Wisconsin." Heimen 56, no. 4 (2019): 264-78. Migration flows from Norway to America in the 1800s and early 1900s contributed to the emergence of a variety of local communities. In this presentation, I would like to talk about the small town of Stoughton in Wisconsin, which experienced a high degree of immigration from Norway in the last part of the 1800s.1 By studying cultural elements such as language and ethnic celebration, one can identify a development in the ethnic identity amongst the inhabitants of the small town. Celebration of the Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17th is an example of these ethnic celebrations. In the last part of the 1800s, the day was normally celebrated in small private gatherings, while greater citywide celebrations were organized from the early 1900s. These celebrations included all inhabitants and were not limited to the Norwegian-American ethnic group. In my master’s thesis, it is argued that this development indicates a transition from a Norwegian identity to a more symbolic Norwegian-American one.2 This form of development in Norwegian-American ethnic identity will be the main focus of the presentation. These findings will also be seen in a larger perspective, in the context of development in Swedish-American identity.Bj?rke, Camilla dosent H?gskolen i ?stfold, se paper nr. 7 (Hjelde) 3.Chossek, Aleta, USA. “The Role of Creating a Norwegian Home in pursuing Entrepreneurial Immigrant Success, ?A Case Study”A dialogue between second cousins, tremining, will examine the transnational impact of emigration to the United States of two brothers, one who stayed in America and one who returned to Norway. How their experiences in the United States impacted their professional and entrepreneurial development, will be explored using two volumes of translated letters as well as a creative non-fiction book Kristine, Finding Home, Norway to America.Drawing on decades of letters from America to Norway, written first person accounts taken from a college essay, photographs and oral history, Kristine, Finding Home uses the techniques of creative non-fiction to highlight how a later migrant from F?rde, Norway to Waukegan, Illinois, 1925, is influenced by the culture she knew in Western Norway and the rapidly evolving culture of post-World War I in non-rural United States. In detailing a woman’s perspective, it highlights the importance of the home to continuing tradition even in a community that does not have a significant Scandinavian-American population. Themes such as holiday traditions, urbanization, impact on the church, community organizations and support of other immigrants will be explored in addition to the context of changing technology, communication and transportation.While research of the rural, educational and theological impact of Norwegian Americans in the Upper Midwest is relatively well documented, entrepreneurial success of tradesmen in non-rural settings has received less attention. This presentation will highlight the success of one Norwegian immigrant family during the period between World War I and II supported by close ties with extended family in Norway. An added dimension will be the first-person accounts of how that influence continues to manifest itself today among yet another generation of Norwegians and their Norwegian American counterparts. 4.Dahl?, Ronny, cand.scient., tidl. l?rerDen religi?se emigrasjonens push- og pullfaktorer sett fra Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Helliges st?stedThe Push and the Pull in Religious Emigration as seen from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsDet ansl?s at 3400 voksne?norske medlemmer av Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige emigrerte til USA i ?rene mellom 1850 og 1920. Det utgjorde nesten halvparten av konvertittene. Lover som nektet dem fri religionsut?velse, forf?lgelse og det at kirken insisterte p? at de skulle komme til Utah for ? "bygge opp Sion" var noen av hovedgrunnene som l? bak denne massive utvandringen.It is estimated that 3400 adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emigrated to the US.between 1850 and 1920.?That would constitute?almost?half of the converts.?Laws prohibiting?them from exercising their religion, persecution and the insistence from the Church that they?should go to America to "build Zion" were key factors that contributed to?this emigration5.Djupedal, Knut, former director, Norwegian Emigration MuseumThe Identity of Gilman BjorgoGilman Bjorgo (1911-1981) was born in Highland township, Winneshiek county, Iowa. At the time of his birth, Highland called itself: “The most Norwegian township in America,” because 100% of the land in the township was owned by first- or second-generation Norwegian immigrants.Like many of his contemporaries at that time and place, Gilman grew up speaking Norwegian at home. Furthermore, in addition to six years at his local community school, he was sent to a parochial school to learn to read and write Norwegian.Gilman began attending the local public school in 1917-18. This coincided with the rise of American xenophobia between 1917 and 1924, and which resulted in – among other things – the “Great Red Scare” of 1917-1920, a public discourse on the concept of “hyphenated Americans,” and federal laws restricting immigration in 1917 and 1924.One particular result of this xenophobia in Iowa was Governor William Harding’s "Babel Proclamation," of December 4, 1918, which made English the only legal language at all public venues in the state.Gilman completed his school years in 1924. Thereafter, he worked as a farm hand. First and foremost for his father, but he also worked on other farms in and around Highland township. At the time, this area – which included Winneshiek and Alamakee counties in Iowa, and Houston and Fillmore counties in Minnesota – was one of the most heavily Norwegian areas in the US.By 1941, Gilman was thirty years old. He was still a bachelor without children. He had never been out of the landscape of his youth for any length of time, nor had he ever had other work than as a farm hand and laborer.Then the United States entered the Second World War, and in July 1942, Gilman was drafted. He spent the next 31/2 years in the Army, including 36 months with a construction battalion in the South Pacific. He was in the Fiji Islands, he participated in the American landings on the Philippine Islands in 1944, and he ended his service in the city of Manila in the fall of 1945.This paper will first discuss the influences bearing on the development of a Norwegian American identity during the inter-war years, influences which were a part of Gilman’s youth. Furthermore, based on a mimeographed unit history found in the Bjorgo Archives at the Norwegian Emigrant Museum, it will discuss the possible consequences of Gilman’s years as an American soldier in a war zone, on his identity as a Norwegian American.6. Emilsen, Christin lektor, Elverum videreg?ende skole Publicly assisted emigrationIn the 1800s, we see a severe population growth in Norway. Due to the increase in the population and the more effective agriculture, there was a substantial pressure on the people living in both rural and urban districts. The lack of land, work and harsh social conditions led many Norwegians to live on the verge of poverty. Many saw the need for economic support in shorter or longer periods. This could be either clothes, food, medicines, or other necessities. Taking care of the poor was each county?s responsibility. This was a severe challenge in a time where the number of people dependent on public support was rising and hence the expenses too. Finding effective, humane and cost efficient solutions for this support became a necessity. At the same time, we see the mass emigration from Norway to America. Many people in Norway had a desire to emigrate to America in search of a better life – a desire that was expressed by some of the poorest people too. A question that some districts discussed was: could economically assisted emigration be a solution to reduce some of the expenses of the county? In 1869, the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, wrote that several counties in the Eastern part of Norway had granted money to poor emigrant families to travel to America. The same year, we also see strong reactions against incidents like the previously mentioned expressed in Norwegian papers in America.In this presentation, I will explore a few cases where Norwegian counties granted money to poor emigrants. Mainly, I will focus on the extent of these cases and who received the grants. What motivated these resolutions, and was it possible to use emigration as a way of reducing the counties? expenses? Finally, I will discuss what these cases and the reactions expressed in the newspapers say about the image that the Norwegians in America wanted to portray. Why do we see such strong reactions against publicly assisted emigration among Norwegians in America? 7. Garvik, Terje, Kopervik, pensjonert lektorKarm?y Club of Washington 1991-2020I 2010 hadde eg eit foredrag p? NAHA- seminaret p? Utvandrer-museet om Karm?y Club.I Norwegian-American Esays 2011 er det ein artikkel: Karm?y Club of Washington, som er basert p? hovedfagsoppgava og foredraget p? seminaret.Karm?y Club blei stifta i 1991. Hovedoppgava tek for seg perioden fram til 2005. Det skjedde mange endringar i Karm?y Club fr? starten i 1991 og fram til 2005. Eg vil pr?ve ? finne ut korleis utviklinga p? nokre sentrale omr?der har vore fram til idag.Eg har allereie starta med nokre unders?kingar. Eg deltok p? Amerikafesten under Fiskeridagene i ?krehamn i august 2019. Her var Karm?y Club representert, og ei viktig brikke i arrangementet. Eg har ogs? hatt intervju med nokre karm?ybuar som var p? vitjing p? Karm?y , og som er medlemmer i Karm?y Club.For ? kunne svare p? dei sp?rsm?l eg ynskjer treng eg tilgang til mange kjelder. Eg har ingen planer om ? reise til Seattle for ? samle materiale. Eg blir derfor avhengig av ? f? kjelde-materiale fr? personer eg kan n? via e-post, eller som er p? bes?k p? Karm?y. Her er det eindel usikkerhet og ein del begrensningar.Ein viktig del ,som eg vil unders?kje, er korleis samarbeidet mellom Karm?y Club og Karm?y har utvikla seg fram til 2020. Fra starten i 1991 blei det oppretta kontakt mellom Karm?y kommune og Karm?y Club. Eg vil unders?kje korleis denne kontakten har utvikla seg etter 2005. Medlemmer i Karm?y Club var sterkt involverte i fleire prosjekt p? Karm?y. Eitt av dei var minnesmerket: Fishermans Memoriel. Det er eit minnesmerke over karm?ybuar som er omkomne p? havet i USA. Kva betydning har dette minnesmerke hatt for kontakten mellom karm?ybuar p? Karm?y og karm?ybuer i USA og Seattle?Det er fleire karm?ybuar som bur p? Karm?y, som i lang tid har hatt god kontakt med Karm?y Club og karm?ybuer i Seattle. Desse vil det vera relativt enkelt ? kunne intervjue. Det er ogs? nokre nye kontaktar som er oppretta etter 2005, ein av dei er Vest Karm?y Rotary Club. Det er den klubben som har ansvar for den ?rlig Amerikafesten som blir arrangert under Fiskeridagane i ?krehamn i begynnelsen av august. Det har heile tida vore stor oppslutning om denne festen. 8.Hempel, Kari G., associate professor, University of StavangerMigration and Integration – the Importance of Religion in the Processes; Norwegians in the United States, Pakistanis in Norway, two cases ??The theme is about studying two different migrations in context. "In context" here means that there will be no strict form of comparison, only certain central and comparable features will be described. In both migrations, transnational ties are an important prerequisite for adaptation, and religious involvement is a key element in contact with the home country as well as in the adaptation processes in the new home country. The lecture should thus correspond to part of what is formulated in the theme of the seminar: Nordic Identity Formation in a Transnational Context.9.Hjelde, Arnstein dosent, Camilla Bj?rke,h?gskolelektor, Barbro Bredesen Opset f.aman., alle H?gskolen i ?stfold?Nordahl Rolfsen og leseboka ?Norge i Amerika?: nasjonsbygging p? pr?rien???I norsk samanheng kjenner vi Nordahl Rolfsen som leseverkforfattar, og leseb?kene hans dominerte norsk skole fr? slutten av 1800-talet og dei f?rste ti?ra p? 1900-talet. Mindre kjent er det at Rolfsen i perioden 1913-1915 laga eit eige leseverk for Det norske Amerika: 5-bindsverket Boken om Norge. S? langt vi veit, er dette det f?rste norskspr?klege leseverket retta mot ei fleirspr?kleg lesegruppe. Fire av desse fem banda bygde p? stoff fr? leseverket for den norske folkeskolen, medan det siste bandet, Norge i Amerika (1915) var heilt nyskrive og spesielt tilpassa norskamerikanarane. Og det er s?rleg dette siste bandet som vi kjem til ? fokusere p?.??Gjennom leseverket for den norske folkeskolen sikra Rolfsen seg ein sterk posisjon som nasjonsbyggar, b?de gjennom at han var p?drivar for ? fornorske det danske skriftspr?ket, og ogs? gjennom arbeidet med ? skape ein felles norsk identitet, det siste var s?rleg viktig i ?ra rundt 1905.???I forordet til bandet Norge i Amerika skriv han at “(d)et femte bind er ikke mindre norsk end det f?rste. Og skulde verket bidrage til at det farende Norr?nafolk, som digteren skildrer, det som altid har faret, og altid vil fare, mindes havnen det drog ut fra og bevarer enhetsmerket det b?rer i sit sind — som skuten b?rer sit norske flag — saa er Boken om Norge ikke utsendt forgj?ves”. Dette sitatet viser tydeleg at Rolfsen hadde eit st?rre m?l enn berre ? produsere lesestoff, men faktisk bygge opp ein norsk, eventuelt norskamerikansk identitet. Og det er s?rleg to aspekt ved dette arbeidet vi vil pr?ve ? ha fokus p?:?For det f?rste vil vi gjerne sj? p? kva spr?klege val Rolfsen gjorde. Dette verket kom jo ut midt i ein periode med mange rettskrivingsreformer i Noreg, der m?let var ? gjere skriftspr?ket meir norsk. Og denne ambisjonen kan ein sj? som ein kontrast til skriftspr?kleg konservative i det norskamerikanske samfunnet. Vidare vil vi sj? p? tekstutval og framstilling for ? f? eit kl?rare bilete av korleis dette ogs? er med p? ? forme ein felles norsk, eventuelt norskamerikansk identitet.??Litteratur?Hjelde, Arnstein & Jansson, Benthe Kolberg (2016). Language reforms in Norway and their acceptance and use in the Norwegian-American community, I Kvam m.fl.?Hvenekilde, Anne (1992). '"Hvad gjor vi saa med arven?' En studie av abc-er og leseboker utgitt til norsk morsmalsundervisning i Amerika". Universitetet i Oslo.??Kvam, Barstad, Hjelde, Todd og Parianou (red.) (2016). Language and Nation. Crossroads and Connections. Waxmann Verlag.?Rolfsen, Nordahl (1913-15). Boken om Norge I-V. J. Dybwad. Kristiania?10 Haakenstad, Liv Marit……Den norske kolonien i Brooklyn/ The Norwegian Colony in BrooklynP? slutten av 1800-tallet flytter nordmenn fra Manhattan og inn til Brooklyn-omr?det – gradvis n?rmer de seg Bay Ridge. Nordmenn i Brooklyn samlet seg – Mysostkolonien og Lapskaus Boulevard er fortsatt navn som gir gjenklang. Tidligere kunne du finne alt fra norsktalende leger, til norskspr?klig aviser her. Nordisk Tidende startet i 1891, og er fortsatt i drift under navnet Norwegian American. Nordisk Tidende ble under Carl S?ylands redaksjonstid (1940-1962) en avis som ble lest av norsk-amerikanere over hele USA, og stod i sentrum for viktige bidrag til nordmenn under andre verdenskrig.Du kan fortsatt finne nordmenn i Brooklyn. Sj?mannskirken har flyttet til Manhattan, men fortsatt er det norskamerikanere som samles her – The Norwegian Immigration Association, Inc. (NIA), Sons of Norway og 17. maiparaden for ? nevne noe.Hvor l? den norske kolonien i Brooklyn i de ulike periodene? Hvorfor flyttet s? mange dit, og hvor kom mange av dem fra i Norge? Den norske kolonien i Brooklyn – glimt inn i de ulike epokene.In the late 1800’s, Norwegian immigrants moved from Manhattan to severalcommunities in Brooklyn. These areas became known by names such as the“Mysostkolonien” and “Lapskaus Boulevard” which are still recognized today.Gradually, these immigrants moved closer and concentrated in Bay Ridge. As thishappened, the Norwegians had doctors, shopkeepers, salesmen speaking theirnative language. Even the local newspaper, Nordisk Tidende, was in Norwegianlanguage, started in Brooklyn in 1891, and is still operating today under thename Norwegian American. During the time when Carl S?yland was editor of thispaper (1940-1962), the Nordisk Tidende became a newspaper read byNorwegian-Americans across the United States. It was especially central tocommunicating information to and about the efforts of Norwegians andNorwegian Americans during World War II. Today, there are still many residents in Brooklyn who claim Norwegian heritage. The Norwegian Immigration Association, Inc. (NIA), the Sons of Norway and the 17th Mai parade are just a few of the still very active organizations and events in the community.This program will review what made Brooklyn a popular settlement area; wherein Norway these immigrants came from; the relocation patterns from Manhattanto Brooklyn; and many other interesting facts about the Norwegian colony inBrooklyn.11 Haakenstad, Liv Marit…… Carl S?yland (1894-1978)Carl S?yland hadde sin barndom og oppvekst i Flekkefjord, f?r han forlot s?rlandsbyen til fordel for Kristiania. Da han ankom Brooklyn i 1919, var han sj?mann ett par ?rs tid, f?r han la ut p? sin vandring som vagabond i fem ?r. I 1926 reiste han tilbake til Brooklyn, og bosatte seg der, og jobbet som journalist, redaksjonssekret?r og redakt?r (1926-1962). I tillegg var han forfatter, foredragsholder og musiker. S?yland var sentral i flere aktiviteter – s?rlig under andre verdenskrig. Hvem var Carl S?yland? Hva slags bakgrunn hadde han, og hvilken betydning fikk denne for hans liv og virke? Hvorfor fikk han en s? viktig rolle for nordmenn under andre verdenskrig?Carl S?yland was born and spent his childhood in Flekkefjord, Norway beforemoving to Kristiania. He emigrated to Brooklyn in 1919 where he worked as asailor for some years. In 1926, after living the life of a vagabond for five years, hereturned to Brooklyn and settled there, working as a journalist, editorialsecretary and finally as the editor-in-chef of the Nordisk Tidende (1926-1962)newspaper. He has also been described as an author, lecturer, community leaderand musician. S?yland was a central figure in the Brooklyn area, especiallyduring World War II. This program will share biographical as well as anecdotal information about Carl S?yland. You will find out how his childhood impacted the rest of his life and his work, and learn about his important role in WWII with Norwegians andNorwegian Americans.12. Jensen, Ellen Marie Associate Professor/ f. aman, Centre for Women?s and Gender Research (Senter for kvinne-og kj?nnsforskning), University of Troms?Gendered and Racialized Processes in Early Twentieth Century Sámi Migration to the USAEllen Marie Jensen has deliberated on the obscured history of Sámi American migration to the United States through a gendered lens and an analysis of racialized constructions of the Sámi as “Other.” In her PhD project titled Diasporic Indigeneity and Storytelling Across Media: A Case Study of Narratives of Early Twentieth Century Sámi Immigrant Women and upcoming publications, Jensen theorizes Sámi migration and contemporary Sámi American identity through the emerging concept of diasporic indigeneity and reflects on the trans-Atlantic flow of racialized visual and textual discourses of the Sámi. In her panel presentation, Jensen will illustrate the racialized and gendered character of migration processes for the Sámi from Norwegian Sápmi, both before and after migration through census records, ship manifests, immigration records, historical accounts, and oral histories. Further, Jensen will reflect on the complexities, dynamics, and shifting affinities in local relationships between Indigenous peoples of North America and Nordic migrants vis-à-vis Sámi migrants as a Nordic Indigenous people living in diaspora as settlers on Indigenous lands. For fuller presentation, see number 15 : Joranger, Terje 13.Johnsen, Lars forskningsbibliotekar/ research librarian, NB/ The National Library of NorwayTematisk analyse av amerikabrev / Thematic analysis of emigrant lettersLars Johnsen will make a thematic analysis of words in emigrant letters pertaining to 1) Native Americans for problematizing the racial views among Norwegian Americans, and 2) how immigrants talk about their own situation with respect to prosperity and poverty. Both of these analyses are done using the digitized material, letters and books, from the National Library of Norway. For fuller presentation, see number 15, Joranger, Terje 14. Johnson, Mirva, University of Wisconsin–MadisonIdentity Formation and Postvernacular Language in Oulu, WIThis paper discusses the role that Finnish language and culture have played in identity formation in one Finnish American community in northern Wisconsin. As shown by census data and fieldwork in the community, residents of Oulu, WI shifted from using Finnish in the home to mostly English over the 1910s–1980s. Cederstr?m (2012) outlines criteria for folkloristic koineization, whereby the traditions that immigrants bring with them to the new country are largely derived from traditions in the old country, but change and develop into something unique and new. In Shandler’s (2006) study on the use of Yiddish since World War II, he outlines postvernacular language– a concept related to immigrant identity formation. He defines the theory as the privileging of the secondary, meta-associations and significance of a language over its primary communicative usage (2006:4). The postvernacular period is that when a language is no longer the primary means of communication in a community, however the language often continues to be used in cultural practices. In these situations, the fact that the language is being used for a particular activity or ritual can be of greater importance than the words themselves (2006: 22). Many researchers have used the concept of postvernacular language in their discussion of heritage language communities including for Dutch in Wisconsin (Brown and Hietpas), for Danish in Utah (Kühl & Peterson 2018), and for German in Wisconsin (Salmons & Wilkerson forthcoming).I suggest that there is a step after Cederstr?m’s folkloristic koineization process during which the heritage language becomes postvernacular and identity formation is derived more from the traditions of the new locale itself rather than from the language and traditions of the country of origin. This is exemplified in Oulu, WI through the history of language usage in the community and the present-day work being done by dedicated volunteers at the Oulu Cultural and Heritage Center. The Center is working to preserve Oulu history while also creating a gathering place for the community through programming such as a weekly coffee and conversation hour and summer school day camps for area youth to learn about local history and culture. While Finnish flags and phrases can still be found throughout the Center and Finnish songs are sung at annual celebrations, the motivations that volunteers describe for creating the Center is a pride in the community and locale of Oulu itself. I use the theoretical framework from Shandler and Cederstr?m to underscore the changing roles heritage language and ethnicity have played in identity formation for this Finnish immigrant community.LitteraturBrown, Joshua R., and Rachyl Hietpas. 2019. “Postvernacular Dutch in Wisconsin.” Selected, Proceedings of the 9th Workshop on Immigrant Languages in the Americas (WILA 9), edited by Kelly Biers and Joshua R. Brown, Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 72–82.Cederstr?m, Bror Marcus. 2012. “Folkloristic Koinés and the Emergence of Swedish- American Ethnicity.” ARV Nordic Yearbook of Folklore (68). 121–50.Kühl, Karoline & Elizabeth Peterson. 2018. The remains of the Danes: The final stages of language shift in Sanpete County, Utah. Journal of Language Contact 11(2). 208-232.Shandler, Jeffrey. 2006. Adventures in Yiddishland: Postvernacular Language & Culture.University of California Press.Wilkerson, Miranda E. & Joseph Salmons. English in German-speaking Wisconsin and the aftermath. Forthcoming.15 (4 papers!, tittel og ogs? separat sammendrag for hvert enkelt ?) Joranger, Terje Mikael Hasle. Dr. art., Universitetet i Oslo – saman med Ellen Marie Jensen, Lars Johnsen og Jana Sverdljuk: Terje Mikael H. Joranger: Building Norwegian-American Identity and Culture: An American StoryJana Sverdljuk, research librarian, The National Library of Norway Multicultural encounters: between “good” and “bad” nationalismLars Johnsen: research librarian, The National Library of NorwayTematisk analyse av amerikabrev / Thematic analysis of emigrant lettersEllen Marie Jensen: Associate Professor/ f. aman, Centre for Women?s and Gender Research (Senter for kvinne-og kj?nnsforskning), University of Troms?Gendered and Racialized Processes in Early Twentieth Century Sámi Migration to the USAScholarship suggests that ethnicity, race, and local identities are constructed entities.These entities form a useful understanding of Norwegian identity formation in the United States, and they also form the basis of three presentations represented in this abstract. We suggest that the thematic ties between the three presentations can result in a separate session at the NAHA-Norway conference.Historically, scholars have largely focused on Norwegian Americans as a cultural group and not on inter-ethnic encounters. In other words, they have portrayed the community building and development of Norwegian Americans without taking into account their interaction with other ethnic groups during this process. Norwegian immigrants based their identity in Norway on a local or regional area, and they brought their local identity to the United States. This often resulted in the creation of settlement areas with strong local flavors based on the immigrants’ home district in Norway. Literature on Norwegian American group membership in its various forms are also tied to the existence of a homemaking mythology in stories of how the immigrant group justified their claim of America as their rightful home through past heroic deeds. There is a general acceptance that Norwegian immigrants have gone through an ethnicization process, a development over time to become American of one kind or another. According to Alan M. Kraut assimilation in a post-migration context is constructed through an ongoing negotiation between natives and newly arrived regarding “the price of opportunity in the United States”. We may add that this negotiation forms a continuous fluid process which changes from one generation to the next. In addition, the presentations also take into account the concept of “race”, a key concept in ethnicity and migration studies in the United States since the arrival of the colonists in the seventeenth century. It reflects the existence of US society as a socioracial society where more powerful groups tend to use the concept as a criterion to justify a dominant and privileged position for itself. Norwegian immigrants in general have been regarded as ‘invisible’ immigrants in terms of physical characteristics and thus have not had the distinctive and subordinate statuses of other ethnic groups including blacks, Indians, Hispanics, and Asians, but also Germans and Irish. The presenters of this abstract assert that the construction of a Norwegian American ethnicity, race, and local identity are formed through an ongoing negotiation between the immigrants and US society at various levels. The four scholars who present this abstract offer new perspectives on the construction of ethnicity, race, and local identities among Norwegian Americans in various locales in the United States. First of all, this presentation is interdisciplinary. Second, the presentation will portray the construction of a Norwegian American identity by using digital methodology in combination with textual references to the Ethnic Other in America letters and qualitative data from various Norwegian American settlement areas between 1850 and 1910. Lars Johnsen will make a thematic analysis of words in emigrant letters pertaining to 1) Native Americans for problematizing the racial views among Norwegian Americans, and 2) how immigrants talk about their own situation with respect to prosperity and poverty. Both of these analyses are done using the digitized material, letters and books, from the National Library of Norway.?Jana Sverdljuk, cultural studies scholar, will summarize the ongoing theoretical debates concerning the relations between the concepts of ethnicity and “race” in the construction of immigrant identities, by using the example of Norwegians and other Nordic immigrants in the USA. The key question is: what is the border between “good” nationalism and cultivating of own cultural heritage brought from the home country and the beliefs about own exceptionalism and even racism, of “white” ethnics? How can the theoretical and case-related knowledge gained through the studies of Norwegian and Nordic immigration to the USA help us putting right questions with regards to contemporary multiculturalism and ethnic diversity in Europe? In the presentation, I will summarize the latest research on Nordic immigration presented in the forthcoming anthology: “The Construction of Nordic Whiteness in the USA: Model Immigrants”. I will also relate to a digital visualization of the places of regional origin of Norwegian immigrants in the USA in order to further reflect about the importance of culture and ethnicity in the construction of immigrant identities. Terje M. Hasle Joranger, historian, will present cultural encounters between natives and other ethnic groups and Norwegian immigrants and their offspring in various historical contexts. These contexts vary both in terms of temporal and spatial locales. To what extent did these encounters and negotiations between the groups mentioned result in the construction of immigrant identities in the United States? And how did they affect the position of Norwegian Americans in the socioracial hierarchy in their adopted homeland? The presenter will employ both primary and secondary source material in this respect by taking into account knowledge regarding culture and traditions in Norway and the nomenclature of laws and cultural traits in the United States.Ellen Marie Jensen, Gender and Indigenous Studies scholar, has deliberated on the obscured history of Sámi American migration to the United States through a gendered lens and an analysis of racialized constructions of the Sámi as “Other.” In her PhD project titled Diasporic Indigeneity and Storytelling Across Media: A Case Study of Narratives of Early Twentieth Century Sámi Immigrant Women and upcoming publications, Jensen theorizes Sámi migration and contemporary Sámi American identity through the emerging concept of diasporic indigeneity and reflects on the trans-Atlantic flow of racialized visual and textual discourses of the Sámi. In her panel presentation, Jensen will illustrate the racialized and gendered character of migration processes for the Sámi from Norwegian Sápmi, both before and after migration through census records, ship manifests, immigration records, historical accounts, and oral histories. Further, Jensen will reflect on the complexities, dynamics, and shifting affinities in local relationships between Indigenous peoples of North America and Nordic migrants vis-à-vis Sámi migrants as a Nordic Indigenous people living in diaspora as settlers on Indigenous lands.16. Legreid, Ann Marie, Professor of Geography, Shepherd University, West Virginia“It’s hard to stop a Trane”: A Case Study of Norwegian-American Ingenuity and IdentityEthnic groups have undergone adaptation to American society at varying rates and intensities through the decades, constantly revising their ethnic identities in response to internal and external forces. Similarly, individual immigrants have responded to these forces in myriad ways, in some cases reinventing their ethnicity via new ethnic expressions. Ethnicity is revised or constructed within a historical process; this process includes the mingling of historical memories with the shared cultural heritages of people from the home country, other immigrant groups, and the host society. This study traces the process of ethnicization of a Norwegian entrepreneurial family in the American Midwest from immigrant status to ethnic American. James Axel Trane emigrated with his parents from M?lselven, Troms, to rural Wisconsin in 1864. Not content to turn the soil, James left the family farm and moved to the nearest sizable city, La Crosse, where he gained employment with the W.A. Roosevelt Company, learned plumbing engineering and subsequently founded his own plumbing firm. He sent his son, Reuben, to the University of Wisconsin where Reuben earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Father and son together founded the Trane Company in 1913, hired expert engineers, received almost 30 patents between the two of them, and established dozens of branch offices within and outside of the U.S. The Trane Company blossomed as the result of a brilliant combination of perseverance, entrepreneurial spirit, business finesse, and engineering know-how and innovation. Still rooted in La Crosse, Trane stands tall as a global giant in heating and cooling technologies to the present day. The Trane family’s ethnic identity represents a hybrid that evolved from ongoing negotiation with a multi-cultural America. Though ethnic roots were not overtly expressed in their industry, ethnic roots most certainly affected their attitudes and actions, particularly in a region permeated by Norwegian views and values. The Trane family reached far beyond normal ethnic boundaries; they thrived in a multi-cultural world and adapted quickly and aggressively to the American business environment. The Trane story is rich with material to inform our analyses of the Norwegian-American experience while also deserving of a place in the larger literatures on ethnicity and transnationalism.17. L?vlie, Birger. Professor emeritus, H?gskulen i Volda xMitt bidrag har som utgangspunkt den amerikanske vekkelsespredikanten Dwight L. Moodys virksomhet i Europa i siste halvdel av 1800-tallet. Hensikten er ? vise hvilken utbredelse virksomheten hadde, ikke minst i Norden. De fleste av dem som gjorde Moodys forkynnelse kjent i Danmark, Norge, Sverige og Finland hadde hatt n?r kontakt med Moody i USA eller Skottland og hadde et transnasjonalt element i sin identitet. De virket i samsvar med Moodys slagord, ?evangelization of the world in this generation?, og konsentrerte seg om byene. For dette form?let ville de oppheve konfesjonelle skillelinjer, og de hegemoniske nasjonale kirkene ble betraktet som menneskeskapte og lite egnet til ? fremme Guds rike, i motsetning til kraften i den verdensvide kirke av gjenf?dte troende. Arbeidet med ? oversette sangene som ble til i det amerikanske vekkelsesmilj?et, ble en varig del av deres innflytelse. Fanny Crosby, Peter Paul Bliss og Ira Sankey er de mest kjente.The American revivalist preacher Dwight L. Moody and his disciples made a great impact on European church life during the last part of the 19th century. Most of those who made Moody's preaching known in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland had met with Moody in the United States or Scotland and had a transnational element in their identity. They acted in accordance with Moody's slogan "Evangelization of the world in this generation," and concentrated on the cities. For their evangelistic purpose, they minimized confessional differences. The national churches were considered man-made and little suited to promoting the kingdom of God, in contrast to the power of the worldwide church of reborn believers. The work of translating the songs created in the American revivalist circles became an enduring part of their influence. Fanny Crosby, Philip Paul Bliss and Ira Sankey are the best known hymn writers. Scandinavian poets like Lina Sandell (Sweden) and Eveline Heede (Norway) translated most of these songs.18. Miller, Deborah L. St. Paul, Minnesota.21st-century Norwegian America: the Case of Thief River Falls, MinnesotaThief River Falls was identified after the 2000 U.S. Census as the most Norwegian town over 5,000 population in the entire United States.? 50% of the residents claimed Norwegian ancestry. (Many other U.S. towns have a higher percentage of residents with Norwegian ancestry, but they have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.) I am using Odd Lovoll's book, Norwegians on the Prairie: Ethnicity and the Development of the Country Town, as a guide to investigate Thief River Falls in the 21st-century.? Professor Lovoll is also helping me with my research. I propose to include brief comparisons with the "most Swedish" town of Cambridge, Minnesota, and the "most German" town of New Ulm, Minnesota.19. Nerheim, Gunnar, professor emeritus, University of Stavanger, NorwayA piece of Hedmark transplanted to the heart of Texas, 1845-1920According to many social scientists, transnationalism refers to the movement of ideas, people, and capital back and forth across national borders in the modern global era. Historically, migrant groups moving from one nation to another were expected to prove their belonging and loyalty by adopting the prescribed?moral?and political values of their nation of immigration, a unilateral shift which required time – even decades – and effort. After a generation, many members of ethnic groups were fully?assimilated?into the dominant culture in their new nation. During the last decades, the argument goes, increased immigration to developed countries in response to global economic development has resulted in multicultural societies where immigrants are more likely to maintain contact with their culture?of origin and less likely to assimilate. Seen from a transnational perspective, migrants are not uprooted and transplanted like seedlings in a garden, but are, rather, active participants in both homeland and host societies. This paper will explore identity formation among Norwegian immigrants and their children in central Texas between 1845 and 1930. In which way can the transnational perspective shed light on the social, cultural and economic changes taking place? How were ties retained between the regions they left in Norway and their new homes in Texas, and how did the ties weaken over time? What did it mean to be a Texas-Norwegian in Texas in the early 20th century? Theodore C. Blegen, drawing on insights from the novelist O. E. R?lvaag, argued that the immigrant faced an insoluble dilemma. Should he or she give up the mother language and acquire the language of the new country? This required a strong spiritual adjustment and also the will to remake his or her soul. A vast number of Norwegian immigrants in the Midwest lived with a split identity. One identity contained memories from the time before emigration – traditions, language, and cultural traditions which characterized the community the immigrant had left. The other identity was formed by the adaptation and integration of the English language, and the institutions and customs dominant where the immigrant now lived in America. Unexpected that Norwegians in Texas were able to uphold their language and cultureIn his book on the Mind of the West, Jon Gjerde observed that migrants from the eastern United States and Europe were able to maintain their patterns of language and custom. In clustered settlements, insulated and isolated from the hostility of others, migrants preserved linguistic traditions and reestablished former cultural and religious conventions. Without a doubt, the church was the main instrument to uphold ethnic patterns. In a study of family and community in rural Wisconsin, Jane Marie Pederson argued that “nothing better illustrates the commitment to traditional cultural values than the degree to which language was retained in families and communities.” Immigrants in rural communities clung to their language more successfully than immigrants who located in urban areas. In my study of Norwegians in Texas from 1845 and into the 20th century I found it remarkable how long American neighbors and the state of Texas allowed the Norwegian immigrants to remain transplanted. The pressure to assimilate and become Texans and Americans did not increase to a significant degree until World War I. It was the continuous stream of indentured servants who emigrated from Hedmark county in Eastern Norway from the 1870s and into the 20th century which made it possible to uphold the Norwegian language so long. New waves of immigrants were of primary importance for keeping up the Norwegian-Texans’ economic viability in the farming community, supplying cheap labor in a stressed labor market after the end of slavery. They were important not only for the survival of the language but also for the growth of the orthodox Norwegian Lutheran Church. The church on the other hand became the main institution for conserving and upholding the Norwegian language among the immigrants. In 1895 the Norwegian Lutheran church decided to establish their own junior college. The community needed its own Lutheran college so that the children of Norwegian immigrants would be able to uphold their Lutheran faith, and the Norwegian language. The dedication of the building for the College in October 1896 it was self-evident for all speakers to speak Norwegian. The singing was also in Norwegian “as most of these present appreciated the Norwegian more than they did the English language.” The opening of “The Lutheran College of Clifton, Texas” in 1897 can be looked upon as a watershed in the history of Norwegians in Bosque County. In one sense it marked the peak of Norwegianness in the county. In another sense it marked the transition to a new level of assimilation. Was it a special concession to the Norwegians that they were allowed to maintain their language and Norwegianess for so long or were all foreign ethnic groups in Texas allowed to do the same? A comparison will be made with respect to language and culture for the Polish-Texans, the Wendish-Texans, the Hungarian-Texans, the Danish-Texans, and the largest group of all – the German-Texans. The anti-German hysteria during World War I contributed strongly to the disappearance of German America.20. Olson, Daron W. . associate professor, Indiana University East“Two Very Different Sides of the Same Coin. Nordmanns-Forbundet and World War II”My paper will analyze and compare the two versions of Nordmanns-Forbundet that existed during World War II. Nordmanns-Forbundet was a publication based in Norway that aimed to forge greater ties between homeland Norwegians and Norwegians living abroad. This strategy was part of the conception referred to as “The Greater Norway.” Owing to the German occupation of Norway in 1940 and subsequent Nasjonal Samling takeover of the publication in 1941, the leaders of the journal decided in December 1941, to launch a journal by the same name that would be published in the United States. As might be expected, the two versions had radically different goals and were competitors on different sides during the war. The American version aimed to support the Allied war cause and tended to focus its coverage on the war and war symbols, including Norway’s various military contributions, which was part of the exiled Norwegian government strategy to depict Norway as “a fighting ally.” Meanwhile, the Nazi-controlled version sought to portray occupied Norway as a component of a crusade fighting against Bolshevism as well as portraying Norway as part of “a Greater Germania.” The result of this ideological battle is that it highlighted how Norway’s national identity changed as a result of the war: in effect, Norway abandoned Nordic neutrality and became an advocate for an Atlantic-based strategy that promoted collective security. In addition, the American version emphasized that Norway’s national symbols would deemphasize Vikings or peasant imagery (which the Nazi version stressed) and instead asserted Norway’s modern symbols of freedom such as its constitution, the Storting, and King Haakon VII.(Opset, Barbro Bredesen, H?gskolen i ?stfold : se nr. 7, Hjelde)21. Ringdal, Siv xWholesome, Blonde and Beautiful. Norwegian American Identity Seen through the Viking Queen Pageant in Post WWII New YorkAfter the end of Second World War, two beauty pageants were established in the Norwegian American community in Brooklyn, New York. One of them was named Viking Queen. The contestants had to be young, Norwegian American girls, who either lived in the Norwegian American community in New York or elsewhere on the US. The Brooklyn based Norwegian American Newspaper followed the contest closely, and both described the contestants, portrayed the winner, and followed Viking Queen on her representation tours, both in America and in Norway. In this talk I will cast light on how Norwegian American identity was negotiated and performed through this beauty pageant. Viking Queen represented the Norwegian American community in New York, and by analyzing the articles in Nordisk Tidende, it is possible to illuminate which qualities and characteristics who were considered positive, desirable and typical Norwegian-American. In the talk I will also present a broader understanding of the Viking Queen contest. I will argue that it was an attempt to give the Norwegian American community in Brooklyn a positive symbol to gather around in the years following Second World War, years where suburbanization and new ethnic and national groups gradually changed the old, Norwegian neighborhood. 22. Rubin, Cynthia Elyce USAThe Leet-Christopher Schoolhouse: A Concrete Example of Norwegian Identity FormationThis paper examines the process by which a one-room country schoolhouse, built in 1883, came to arrive at the Norsk Utvandrermuseum, an unbroken link with Norwegian-American pioneers.This is a personal story. Around the year 2000, Harry Richard Christopher of Letcher, South Dakota, read my published query seeking information about an obscure Norwegian-American photographer, Ole S. Leeland. The following correspondence between Christopher and me, at the time a New York City curator, ended with a meeting at Christopher's farm where I first visited the Leet schoolhouse.Once the backbone of the American educational system, the one-room school provided education to rural children. Such schools were the heart of the community, providing outside social contacts and becoming an extended family itself.In the 1880s, Norwegian immigrants who homesteaded land claims in Letcher valued education. Hardanger native Jens Christopher, Richard Christopher's great-grandfather, wanted a centralized school for the neighborhood children. Jens joined with early postmaster Lorenzo W. "John" Leet and neighbors to build a school, naming it for John Leet because it was located close to the Leet farm. Leet School was used for early Trinity Lutheran Church services and as a polling place and community center. Former teacher Mrs. Florence Uhre wrote,"This was our church for the pioneers. When they had a funeral, teacher would wash the blackboard and send the children out to play. They would put the casket across two of the double desks. When the service was over, the children would enter and proceed with classes."However, change came in 1968 in the form of school consolidation. So rang the closing bell for the Leet School. Sold at auction for $115 along with some contents for $64.50, Christopher who loved the school he attended through the eighth grade, purchased it and shipped it to his family farm.After more than 100 years on the South Dakota prairie, this schoolhouse began a new life after my chance encounter with Christopher ultimately led to its final journey. Now renamed in Norway, It no longer teaches "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic" on this side of the Atlantic but continues to teach lessons of self-reliance, stewardship of the land and love of the Norwegian homeland.23. Sackrison, Caitlin, PhD candidate, Brandeis UniversitySpaces of Belonging: The Significance of Land for Norwegian-American Women?For the NAHA-Norway seminar, I would like to present a working chapter of my history dissertation. The dissertation examines the role of land in regard to Norwegian immigrant women’s identity, citizenship, culture, and kinship, and the chapter I wish to present focuses on Norwegian women’s land claims in both Norway and America. The passing of the Homestead Act in the US in 1862 allowed for women to purchase land if they were widowed or single. For many Norwegian immigrant women, ideas regarding landownership was tied to communal practices and cultural traditions in Norway. Often immigrating from agricultural societies, these women found ways to retain their culture while also adjusting to American policies and attitudes regarding land.This research primarily focuses on immigrants from the Valdres bygdelag who immigrated to Minnesota and Wisconsin in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Among this group of immigrants included women who were from Valdres, as well as women who married into the community after immigrating to America. These women’s experiences shed light on the cultural significance of land in Norway and America, as well as federal land rights for women in both nations. In brief, this presentation will examine, both politically and economically, the centrality of land to Norwegian women’s sense of belonging, community, and citizenship upon immigrating to America.My research is based on federal documents, letters, and other primary source materials from multiple archives, including some of those from the Valdres community that are preserved at Norsk Utvandrermuseum. The work will also recognize the valuable contributions of Jon Gjerde, among many other scholars, while paying particular attention to the often unheard voices of Norwegian women and their experiences in migration. I look forward to the chance to educate others, as well as learn from the NAHA community.24.Seldal, Gunleif, local historian, Klepp ?Dead man walking? - om Knut Olson Eides liv etter p?st?tt d?d i New York ca. X 25 .Stenseth, Bodil, historian and author, Oslo?Norwegian Lutheran? – the American Experience The establishment of a congregation played a pivotal role in the building of a community of Norwegian immigrants in the rural North West. In 1853, a group of settlers, assisted by a pastor from the Norwegian immigrant church, established the Holden congregation in Goodhue County, Minnesota. The American Free Church was their model. The lay people acquired democratic rights within the congregation and two new institutions – the church meeting and church counsel. All the same, the congregation’s constitution affirmed the authority of the pastor over the lay people, in accord with the old order of the Norwegian State Church,Religion and ethnicity were intimately linked in the process of identity formation among Norwegian immigrants. However, ?Norwegian Lutheran? was not an unambiguous term in the last half of the 1800s. There was a wide spectrum of Lutheran Norwegianness. This came the fore in the transatlantic strife that took place in 1880, caused by the scandalous conflict between Mrs. Muus and her husband, who was the Holden congregation’s pastor and one of the leaders of the largest Norwegian immigrant churches.26. Stulen, Ronny, l?rer, ArendalSvend Larsens dagbok/ The Svend Larsen diarySom f?rste medlem av Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige i Norge opplever Svend Larsen mye motstand og forf?lgelse. Derfor lokker beskrivelsen av ?Sion? s? mye at familien forlater moderlandet og begir seg mot det ukjente. Men reisen blir mer dramatisk enn forventet, og deres tro blir satt p? pr?ve. Er bel?nningen de h?per ? oppn? verd prisen de m? betale?Svend Larsen, being the first member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints i Norway, experiences a lot of resistance and persecution. The description of the promised ?Zion? is so alluring that the family decides to leave their motherland and head for the unknown. But the journey becomes much more dramatic than expected, and their faith is severely tested. Is the reward they are hoping for worth the price they have to pay?27 Sverdljuk, Jana, research librarian, The National Library of Norway Multicultural encounters: between “good” and “bad” nationalismJana Sverdljuk will summarize the ongoing theoretical debates concerning the relations between the concepts of ethnicity and “race” in the construction of immigrant identities, by using the example of Norwegians and other Nordic immigrants in the USA. The key question is: what is the border between “good” nationalism and cultivating of own cultural heritage brought from the home country and the beliefs about own exceptionalism and even racism, of “white” ethnics? How can the theoretical and case-related knowledge gained through the studies of Norwegian and Nordic immigration to the USA help us putting right questions with regards to contemporary multiculturalism and ethnic diversity in Europe? In the presentation, I will summarize the latest research on Nordic immigration presented in the forthcoming anthology: “The Construction of Nordic Whiteness in the USA: Model Immigrants”. I will also relate to a digital visualization of the places of regional origin of Norwegian immigrants in the USA in order to further reflect about the importance of culture and ethnicity in the construction of immigrant identities. For fuller presentation, see number 15 Joranger28. Torjesen, Rolf Emigranter fra Norge til Amerika – hvordan skilte medlemmer fra Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige seg ut fra andre norske emigranter til Amerika?/ Emigrants from Norway to America – How did members from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from other Norwegian emigrants to America?Norske siste-dagers-hellige f?lte seg verken velkomne i Norge eller Amerika. De s? p? begge steder som ?Babylon?. De kom til Amerika for ? bygge Sion. De ble innbyggere i Sion.Norwegian Latter-Day Saints felt welcome in neither Norway nor America. They viewed both places as ?Babylon?. They came to America to build Zion. They became citizens of Zion.29. Wright, Gro Svendsen, Oslo, HIFO-medlem og cand.philol i historieNorwegian-American Identity from World War I and up to date. Uncle Nels and the Emigration from NorwayAs we know there was an enourmes Emigration from Norway to America during the end of the ninetheenth century and up to the 1920s.“Uncle Nels”, the Brother of my Grandmother, or more correct, her Half Brother, emigrated with the American Line from Bergen in 1916.All of Grandmas brothers and sisters were born in Hallingdal, in which today is part of the Viken County. But unfortunately, Grandmas mother, Birgit was left alone in Hallingdal in 1916, as both her husband and her son emigrated to the US during the first World War. According to one of Uncle Nils’ daughters, he arrived in New York with M/S Bergen the 9th of September 1916.Conditions in Hallingdal during the war was terrible. Her son, our “Uncle Nels”, had hard days on their small farm in Norway, chopping timber with minor budgets and no food.The Mormon Archives also confirms that our “Uncle Nels” arrived New York in sept 1916 and got work on a farm there.Later he moved to North Dakota where he worked on another farm before he went to the West Coast as a carpenter, and helped building buildings around Everett, Seattle, in the state of Washington. His children and grandchildren are still settled and lives in Everett, although one of his grandchildren, and my schoolfriend from the autumn of 1980, have married and moved to Chicago.Uncle Nels’ skills from Norway in building with timber was obviously very good. He was considered a great builder of the Control Tower at the Airport in Everett. And not to mention, one of his Grandsons became an Airplane Mechanic. A handsome man, just two years older than me.As we understand, “Uncle Nels! got a great family, two girls and two sons whom I was lucky to get to know. My Grandmother, a friend of her from work and I, went to the US to visit “Uncle Nels” in the autumn of 1980. I was a 14 years old teenager and Grandma found it suitable to take me out travelling. We got a permission from my school and as a result of that, she contributed with great relatives and friends who offered their friendship for life. (I also went to an American High School that autumn. A classical American high school with a lot of searching teenagers.)Uncle Nels’ two daughters have raised seven children through their adult life, but his two sons passed away with no children and without getting married. They were real longsome cowboys.But more than that, in 1969 “Uncle Nels” made a visit to Norway. I was just three years old but remember it very well. He stayed in our house, were both grandparents and parents lived.We celebrated “Uncle Nels’ arrival and everyone wanted to take part. All of us, including Grandmas’ Sister and Brothers with families arranged a big Celebration Party. The arrival of our “Uncle” was arranged by the organization “Sons of Norway”. Without them Grandma would never ever had met her oldest Brother. He emigrated before Grandma was born. Their mother, Birgit, established a new family after her first husband and son left for the US. As we know, “Uncle Nels” left in 1916 and grandma was not born until 1919. She was born in another farm in Hallingdal than Uncle Nels, therefore they got different surenames. According to the Norwegian-American Identity we are living examples of how rewarding it is to keep relations to relatives as one emigrate somewhere. “Uncle Nels” offered us big lot of American Friends. Today it is seven grandchildren, who again have children.And my friends in Norway also wants to take part in the medias with my American friends. You can just imagine how busy I am on Facebook these days.Sometimes I wonder whether it is the Americans or us and me who has got the Norwegian American Identity.30. Aarek, Hans Erik , assistant professor emeritus, University of StavangerNorwegian identity as seen by an English Quaker and botanistObservations and insights in James Backhouse’s Norwegian Journals from 1853 and 1860.James Backhouse (1794–1869), nursery owner, botanist and recorded Quaker minister was an experienced traveller and missionary. He had spent nine years of his life on mission journeys in Australia, Mauritius and South Africa and also been an observant traveller on the British Iles. Backhouse’s last major mission journeys were to Norway in 1853 and 1860. He travelled from the south to the far North holding more than 300 meetings observing nature and daily life and writing Journals of nearly 900 pages. Backhouse described the spiritual and material conditions of Norway. That included accounts for commerce and trade, topography, plants and animal life, and he met new people and new landscapes with great openness.Backhouse took also an interest in societal and political affairs in Norway including the religious situation with a dominating State Church, and he was highly sceptic towards the Danish rule in Norway prior to 1814, which he described as “semibarbarous & selfish”, keeping the Norwegian people down. He had also an opinion of emigration to America and noted the general progress between his visits of 1853 and 1860. A distinctive feature of Backhouse’s take on life was his experience that everything is linked together: religion and nature; expression of feelings and accurate observations of nature, a joy for the beauty of nature and a rational description and use of it. He had a deep love for the Norwegian people and admired the simplicity, hospitality, honesty and their industrious attitude.In my paper I will give some examples of his observations and evaluations, and give an account of his experience of Norwegian identity and its special features. ................
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