Culture regions Ethnic regions Cultural diffusion and ethnicity

Culture regions Ethnic regions ¡ Cultural diffusion and ethnicity ¡ Ethnic ecology ¡ Ethnic cultural integration ¡ Ethnic landscapes ¡

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Chain migration is usually involved l l An individual or small group decides to migrate to a foreign country These “innovators” are natural leaders who influence others, especially family and friends to migrate with them Word spreads to nearby communities starting a sizable migration from a small district All gather in a comparably small area or neighborhood in the destination country

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Chain migration is usually involved l l l The first to opt for emigration often rank high in the social order as hierarchical diffusion comes into play The decision to migrate spreads by both hierarchical and contagious diffusion Actual migration represents relocation diffusion

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Chain migration is usually involved l l Chain migration continues as migrants write letters back home extolling the virtues of their new life and imploring others to join them Letters written from the United States became known as America letters

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Chain migration caused movement of people to become channelized l l l Linked a specific source region to a particular destination Neighbors in the old country became neighbors in the new country It started three centuries ago and still operates today Example of the recent mass migration of Latin Americans to Anglo-America Different parts of the Southwest draw upon different source regions in Mexico

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Involuntary migration contributes to ethnic diffusion and formation of ethnic culture regions in the United States l l Refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam immigrated Guatemalans and Salvadorans fled political repression in Central America Forced migrations often result from policies of “ethnic cleansing” — countries expel minorities to produce cultural homogeneity in their populations Newly independent country of Croatia has systematically expelled its Serb minority — ethnic cleansing

Migration and ethnicity l ¡ Following forced migration, relocated groups often engage in voluntary migration to concentrate in some new locality ¡ Cuban political refugees, scattered widely in the 1960 s then reassembled in South Florida ¡ Vietnamese continue to gather in southern California and Texas Return migration — involves the voluntary move of a group back to their ancestral native country or homeland

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Large-scale channelized return migration of African-Americans to their Black Belt ethnic homeland in the South has occurred since 1975 l l Over two-thirds of the migrants “follow wellworn paths back to homeplaces or other locations where relatives have settled” Seven percent of blacks in Los Angeles County, California, moved away between 1985 and 1990 Many went to the American South By the year 2000, the dominantly-black-South. Central district of Los Angeles became largely Hispanic

Migration and ethnicity ¡ Many of the about 200, 000 expatriate Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians left Russia and former Soviet republics to return to newly independent Baltic home countries in the 1990 s, losing their ethnic status in the process

Simplification and isolation ¡ ¡ In theory, migrant groups that become ethnic in a new land could introduce, by relocation diffusion, the totality of their culture Instead of introducing their total culture overseas a cultural simplification occurs l l l Happens in part because of chain migration Only areal fragments of a culture diffuse overseas Some simplification occurs at the point of departure

Simplification and isolation ¡ Instead of introducing their total culture overseas a cultural simplification occurs l l Only selected traits are successfully introduced Other traits undergo modification before becoming established in the new homeland Absorbing barriers prevent the diffusion of many traits Permeable barriers cause changes in many other traits simplifying the migrant culture

Simplification and isolation ¡ Instead of introducing their total culture overseas a cultural simplification occurs l l Choices that did not exist in the old home become available They can borrow alien ways or modify them from groups they encounter. They can invent new techniques better suited to the adopted place Most ethnic groups resort to all these devices, in varying degrees

Simplification and isolation ¡ If remote, how an ethnic group’s new home affects their culture l l l Diffusion of traits from the Old World is more likely Rare contact with alien groups allow for little borrowing of traits Allows preservation in archaic form of cultural elements that disappear from their ancestral country

Simplification and isolation ¡ If remote, how an ethnic group’s new home affects their culture l Language and dialects offer examples of preservation of the archaic ¡ Germans living in ethnic islands in the Balkan region preserve archaic South German dialects better than in Germany ¡ Some medieval elements of Spanish are still spoken in the Hispano homeland of New Mexico ¡ Irish Catholic settlers in Newfoundland retain far more of their traditional Celtic culture than did fellow Irish who colonized Ontario

Culture regions Ethnic regions ¡ Cultural diffusion and ethnicity ¡ Ethnic ecology ¡ Ethnic cultural integration ¡ Ethnic landscapes ¡

Cultural preadaptation ¡ ¡ ¡ Defined — involves a complex of adaptive traits possessed by a group in advance of migration that gives them the ability to survive, and a competitive advantage in colonizing a new environment Most often results from groups migrating to a place environmentally similar to the one they left Results in what Zelinsky called the first effective settlement allowing them to perpetuate much of their culture

Cultural preadaptation ¡ ¡ In most cases the immigrants chose a colonization area physically resembling their former home Examples in the state of Wisconsin l l Finns — from a cold, thin-soiled glaciated, lake -studded, coniferous forest zone, settled the North Woods Icelanders — from a bleak, remote island in the North Atlantic, located their only Wisconsin colony on Washington Island, an isolated outpost surrounded by Lake Michigan

Cultural preadaptation ¡ Examples in the state of Wisconsin l l The English — used to good farmland, generally founded ethnic islands in the better agricultural districts of southern and southwestern Wisconsin Cornish miner — from the Celtic highland of western Great Britain sought out lead-mining communities in the southwestern part of the state

Cultural preadaptation ¡ Wheat growing Russian-Germans from open steppe grasslands of south Russia l l l ¡ Settled the prairies of the Great Plains Established wheat farms like those of their east European source area Used varieties of grain brought from their semiarid homeland Ukrainians in Canada chose the aspen belt l l Mixture of prairie, marsh, and scrub forest Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta because it resembled their former European home

Cultural preadaptation ¡ Ethnic niche-filling has continued to present day l l Cuban in southernmost Florida because it has a tropical savanna climate identical climate to that in Cuba Vietnamese settled as fishers on the Gulf of Mexico, especially in Texas

Ethnic environmental perception ¡ ¡ Some immigrant groups had an accurate environmental perception of the new land Generally immigrants perceived the new ecosystem to be more like their old home than it actually was l l l Perhaps the search for similarity resulted from homesickness May have resulted from an unwillingness to admit migration brought them to an alien land Maybe growing to adulthood in a particular kind of physical environment retards one’s ability to accurately perceive a different ecosystem

Ethnic environmental perception ¡ Distorted perception occasionally caused problems for ethnic farming groups l l Trial and error was often necessary to come to terms with New World environment If economic disaster resulted, and the ethnic island had to be abandoned, maladaptation is said to have occurred

Ethnic environmental perception ¡ Examples of groups who picked rural settlement sites different from the homeland l l Germans and Czechs consistently chose the best farmland Findings of geographer Russel Gerlach who researched German communities in the Ozarks ¡ Appalachian southern settlers chose easy-towork sandy and bottom- land soil

Ethnic environmental perception l Findings of geographer Russell Gerlach who researched German communities in the Ozarks Germans often chose superior soils that were harder to work ¡ In Lawrence County, Missouri, Germans were latecomers, but still obtained the best land by picking dark-soiled prairie land avoided by earlier Anglo-American settlers ¡ “A map showing the distribution of Germans can also be a map of the better soils in the region” ¡

Ethnic environmental perception l Ability to select choice soils can be detected among Czechs in Texas has the largest rural population of Czechs in the United States ¡ Czech farming communities are concentrated in tall-grass prairie regions underlain by dark, fertile soils ¡ Anglo-Texans tended to avoid open prairies as farming sites ¡

Ecology of ethnic survival ¡ Many groups become ethnic only when their ancestral home districts are conquered and surrounded by invading people l l Examples — American Indians, Australian Aborigines, and Scandinavian Sami Owe their survival to an adaptive strategy that allows occupancy of a difficult physical environment where invaders proved maladapted

Ecology of ethnic survival ¡ Distribution of Indian groups in Latin America l l ¡ ¡ Indian population clustered in mountainous areas, many above 10, 000 foot elevation European invaders never adjusted well to high altitudes Many other factors are involved in the differential survival of American Indians Terrain, climate, and indigenous adaptive strategy play a role in survival

Culture regions Ethnic regions ¡ Cultural diffusion and ethnicity ¡ Ethnic ecology ¡ Ethnic cultural integration ¡ Ethnic landscapes ¡

Introduction Ethnicity is firmly integrated into the fabric of culture ¡ One aspect of culture acts on and is acted on by all other aspects ¡ Integration never happens exactly the same way in any two groups that results in an unique ethnic distinctiveness ¡

Introduction ¡ Ethnicity plays a role in determining role in many facets of cultural integration l l l What the people eat, religious faith practiced, how they vote Also influenced is whom they marry, how they earn a living, and ways they spend leisure time Ethnoburbs influence spatial distribution of diverse cultural phenomena

Introduction ¡ Geographer Hansgeorg Schlichtmann’s views l l Speaks of economic performance, meaning level of success “in making a living and accumulating wealth” Ethnic groups exhibit contrasts in economic orientation

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ ¡ ¡ Differential ethnic preferences give rise to distinct patterns of purchasing goods and services These differences are reflected in the business types and services offered in different ethnic neighborhoods of a city Keith Harries made a detailed study of businesses in the Los Angeles urban area comparing three different ethnic neighborhoods

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ East Los Angeles Chicano neighborhoods l l l Reflects dominance of small corner grocery stores and fragmentation of food sales among several kinds of stores Large number of eating and drinking places is related to Mexican custom of gathering in cantinas, where much social life is centered Abundant small barbershops provide one reason why personal service establishments rank so high

Ethnic Business: East Los Angeles ¡ ¡ This Latino/Chicano neighborhood has a prevalence of restaurants, food stores, auto repair shops, immigration and other services. This restaurant specializes in carnitas – pork.

Ethnic Business: East Los Angeles ¡ ¡ Pictured on one door is the Virgen de Guadalupe, paramount saint in Mexico. Los Angeles is the capital of Joel Garreau’s “Mex. America” and East LA is home to more than one million Mexican Americans.

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ Black south Los Angeles l l Secondhand shops are very common No antique or jewelry stores Only one book-stationery shop The distinctive African-American shoeshine parlor is found only in south Los Angeles

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ Anglo neighborhoods l l Rank high in professional and financial service establishments, such as doctors, lawyers, and banks Professional and financial establishments are much less common in non- Anglo neighborhoods Furniture, jewelry, antique, and apparel stores are also more numerous Full-scale restaurants are also more common

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ ¡ Contrasts can also be found in rural and small-town areas Example of an ethnic island in southwestern Michigan l l Settled by Dutch Calvinists in the midnineteenth century Their descendants adhered to a strict moral code Tended to regard non-Dutch Calvinists world as sinful and inferior Adherence to precepts of their church was main manifestation of their ethnicity

Ethnicity and business activity ¡ Example of an ethnic island in southwestern Michigan l l Dutch language had died out in the area Impact of Calvinist code of behavior on business activity ¡ As recently as 1960, no taverns, dance halls, or movie theaters existed ¡ No business activity was permitted on Sunday ¡ Because they believe leisure and idleness are evil, most present- day farmers work at second jobs during slack farming seasons

Ethnicity and type of employment In many urban ethnic neighborhoods, some groups gravitated early to particular kinds of jobs ¡ Because of advancing acculturation job identification lessened as time passed ¡

Ethnicity and type of employment ¡ Ethnic group and job type is sufficiently strong to produce stereotyped images in the American popular mind l l l Irish police Chinese launderers Korean grocers Italian restaurant owners Jewish retailers

Ethnicity and type of employment ¡ Certain groups proved highly successful in marketing versions of their traditional cuisines to the population at large l l Chinese, Mexican, and Italian Each dominates a restaurant region far larger than their ethnic homelands, islands, or neighborhoods

Ethnicity and type of employment ¡ ¡ ¡ Italians in northeastern United States still control the terrazzo and ceramic tile unions Czechs dominate the pearl button industry In many cases, job identities were related to occupational skills developed in the European homeland More recently Basques from Spain serve as professional jai alai players in southern Florida Earlier Basques concentrated in sheep ranching areas of the American West where they were herders

Ethnicity and farming practices ¡ Study of Alabama’s German farmers in the 1930 s done by Professor Walter Kollmorgen l l l German-Americans practiced a more diversified agriculture Had a higher income More often owned land than Anglos

Ethnicity and farming practices ¡ One example of a recently arrived Asian immigrant group, the Hmong — and the introduction of intensive gardening to America l l From Laos, 50, 000 of whom now live in California Cultivate their distinctive gardens in and around cities such as Chico and Redding Utilize interstate highway easements and other odd parcels of land Americans would never think of using Typical Hmong gardens includes mustard greens, bitter melon, chili peppers, and other crops needed for their traditional cuisine

Culture regions Ethnic regions ¡ Cultural diffusion and ethnicity ¡ Ethnic ecology ¡ Ethnic cultural integration ¡ Ethnic landscapes ¡

Introduction Many rural areas bear an ethnic imprint on the cultural landscape ¡ Often the imprint is subtle, discernible only to those who pause and look closely ¡ Sometimes the imprint is quite striking, flaunted as an “ethnic flag” ¡

Finnish landscapes in America ¡ The Sauna from Finland l l l Small steam bathhouses used by the Finns in cold weather After a steam bath they would often take a naked romp in the snow An important element in the cultural landscape of Finland

Finnish landscapes in America ¡ Matti Kaups and Cotton Mather made a study of this Finnish landscape feature in Minnesota and Michigan l l Excellent visual indicator of Finnish-American ethnic islands In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 88 percent of all Finnish-American residences had a sauna behind the house In northern Minnesota, 77 percent of Finnish houses had saunas adjacent Only 6 percent of non-Finnish residences in the same district had saunas

Finnish landscapes in America ¡ Cultural landscapes can lie or at least distort reality l l Professor Kaups discovered a sizable element, the so-called “Red fins” ¡ Those with leftist political affiliations ¡ Essentially invisible ¡ Very numerous in mining and logging towns of Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota ¡ Left almost no landscape trace ¡ Kaups found the Communist hammer-andsickle carved on gravestones One must always look for the subtle as well as overt in cultural landscapes

Ethnic settlement patterns ¡ The imposed government survey system did not deter ethnic groups from having their own distinctive cultural settlement pattern l l l Example of Germans and non-Germans in the Missouri Ozarks German-American farmsteads much less frequently lie on public roads then non-German farms In many cases their farmhouses are a half-mile from the nearest public road

Ethnic settlement patterns ¡ The imposed government survey system did not deter ethnic groups from having their own distinctive cultural settlement pattern l Example of Russian-German Mennonites in the prairie provinces of Canada ¡ Created clustered street villages in a rectangular survey area ¡ Duplicated their villages in Russia ¡ Wanted to be close to others like themselves ¡ Other farmers in the area lived on dispersed farmsteads

Ethnic settlement patterns ¡ Example of the Mescalero Apache Indians of New Mexico l l l Federal government tried to make them live in dispersed settlements After 100 years they still cluster into villages matrilocally “Continue to display vestiges of the precontact heritage”

Ethnic Landscape: Rotorua, New Zealand ¡ ¡ ¡ This dwelling symbolizes both Maoritanga, the Maori way of life, and cultural integration. It is a non-Maori house type with Maori décor and it is this décor that is an ethnic flag. Maoris comprise eight percent of the New Zealand population and are two-thirds urban.

Ethnic Landscape: Rotorua, New Zealand ¡ ¡ Like this house, most are of mixed origins. Carving is the supreme indigenous art. Carvings record history, mysteries, legends, and ancestral achievements. The degree of adornment on a house reflects the status of the occupants. The tekoteto at the front is a symbol of defiance traditionally employed around village palisades.

Urban ethnic landscapes ¡ ¡ Ethnic cultural landscapes appear in both neighborhoods and ghettos Example of wall murals found in Mexican. American neighborhoods in the southwestern United States l l l Began to appear in Los Angeles in the 1960 s Exhibit influences rooted in both Spain and the Indian cultures of Mexico Found on a variety of wall surfaces from apartment houses and store exteriors to bridge abutments

Urban ethnic landscapes l l l Subjects range from religious motifs to political ideology, and from statements of historic wrongs to urban zoning disputes Many are specific to the site heightening sense of place and ethnic “turf” Many contain no written message, relying on sharpness of image and vividness of color to make a statement

Urban ethnic landscapes ¡ Some ethnic groups have color preferences that can be revealed in their landscape l l l Red is a venerated and auspicious color to the Chinese Light blue is a Greek ethnic color, derived from their flag Greeks avoid red, perceived as the color of their ancient enemy, the Turks Green, an Irish Catholic color, also finds favor in Muslim neighborhoods