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This
unit examines an interesting and little studied wave of immigration to
the US state of Oregon: Basques from northern Spain came to the western
US in the late ninteenth and early twentieth centuries and established
stable communites that are still in existence today. The examination of
this group serves as a “case study,“ introducing students to the
general phenomena that characterize human migration. Students learn
about the basic “push” and “pull” factors that motivate migration and
study details of the consequences of displacement on peoples and their
communities. Changes in demographics have an impact on every aspect of
human activity, language, and culture.
The unit is designed to lead students to explore the following questions:
- Who are the Basques and why are they unique? How do they differ from toher Spaniards and Spanish-speakers from other regions?
- Why and how did did they come to settle in the western US?
- Where in Oregon have the Basques settled, and what factors influenced their final destination?
- What cultural footprints have Basque immigrants left (or are now leaving) on the state?
The
history, and the very existence, of the Basques in the US west is known
to very few, even to residents of the states of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada,
and California, where most of the century-old Basque communities
continue to thrive. Basques are typically bilingual in Basque (a
non-Romance language) and Spanish, and their culture is an interesting
combination of indigenous and Catholic peninsular traditions and
customs. By studying this group, students will gain a unique historical
perspective on the persistent presence of Spanish speakers in the
Northwestern US. In subsequent units, comparison of Basque immigration
with later waves of other Spanish-speaking groups (predominantly
Mexicans) should serve to illuminate changing attitudes towards
immigration in different periods.
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The
culminating activity in this unit asks students to integrate all of
their new information about Basque immigration into the personalized
format of a letter from a recent immigrant to a friend back in the
Basque country. Guiding questions cover all aspects of the Basque
experience: push and pull factors, the logisitics of travel to Oregon,
descriptions of the physical geography of the new home and comparison
to what the immigrant left behind, economic opportunities, and future
plans.
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