Ethnic Geography - Part I Canada Us

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Ethnic Geography

The Human Mosaic

Chapter 9


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Examples of ethnic enclaves in the

United States

North Boston

Mounted statue of American hero Paul Revereis in an Italian neighborhood

Most businesses have Italian names

Women lean out of upper-story windowsconversing Naples-style to neighborsacross the street

Italian-dominated outdoor vegetable market

Pilgrimage to the site where the AmericanRevolution began has become a trip to LittleItaly


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United States

Wilber, Nebraska, bills itself TheCzech Capital ofNebraska Holds an annual National Czech

Festival

Authentic food, and locally madehandicraft are offered for sale

Many shops are decorated in Czech

motif and ethnic music is played on thestreets

The festival draws thousands of visitorseach year


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United States

An ethnic crazy-quilt pattern existsin both urban and rural areas of the

United States Same kind of pattern exists in

Canada, Russia, China, and manyother countries


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Problems encountered when

defining ethnic group

Controversy has surround attempts toformulate an accepted definition

Word ethnicderived from Greek word

ethnos meaning people or nation For this text defined as people of common

ancestry and cultural tradition, living as aminority in a larger society, or hostculture

Strong feeling of group identity, ofbelonging characterizes ethnicity


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Membership in an ethnic group isinvoluntary

He or she must be born into the group Often individuals choose to discard

their ethnicity


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Main problem is different groups basetheir identities on different traits

The Jewsprimarily means religion

The Amishboth folk culture and religion

African-Americansskin color

Swiss-Americansnational origin

German-Americansancestral language

Cuban-Americansmainly anti-Castro, andanti-Marxist sentiment


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Politics can also help provide thebasis for the we/they dichotomy

that underlies ethnicity


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Role of ethnic groups

Keepers of distinctive cultural traditions

Focal point of various kinds of socialinteraction

Provide group identity, friendships, andmarriage partners

Also provides a recreational outlet,business success, and a political powerbase

Can give rise to suspicion, friction,distrust, clannishness, and even violence


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How ethnic minorities can be

changed by their host culture

Acculturation an ethnic group adoptsenough of the host societys ways to beable to function economically and socially

Assimilation a complete blending withthe host culture Involves loss of all distinctive ethnic traits

American host culture now includes manydescendants of Germans, Scots, Irish,

French, Swedes, and Welsh Intermarriage is perhaps the most effective

assimilatory device


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How ethnic minorities can be

changed by their host culture

In reality few ethnic groups havebeen assimilated in the so-calledmelting-pot

It was assumed all ethnic groups wouldeventually be assimilated

The last 25 years has witnessed aresurgence of ethnic identity in the UnitedStates, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere

Ethnicity easily made the transition fromfolk to popular culture

Popular culture reveals a vivid ethniccomponent


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Ethnic geography

The study ofethnic geographyisthe study of spatial and ecological

aspects of ethnicity Ethnic groups often practice unique

adaptive strategies

Normally occupy clearly defined areas

urban and rural


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Culture regions

Ethnic regions

Cultural diffusion and ethnicity

Ethnic ecology Ethnic cultural integration

Ethnic landscapes


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Culture groups typically occupy

compact territories

Ethnic formal culture regions can bemapped

Geographers rely on diverse data Surnames in telephone directories

Census totals for mother tongue

Each method will produce a slightly

different map Such regions exist in most countries


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Ethnic formal culture regions


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compact territories

Two distinct geographical types of ethnicregions exist

Ethnic minorities who reside in ancient home

territories Lands where their ancestors lived back into

prehistoric times

Became ethnic when their territory wasannexed into a larger independent state

Examples Basques of Spain, Navajo Indiansof American Southwest

Place and region provide a basic element intheir ethnic identity


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compact territories

Two distinct geographical types ofethnic regions exist

Results from migration when peoplemove great distances

Emotional attachment tends to be weakertoward new homeland

Only after many generations pass do

descendants of immigrants developstrong bonds to region and place


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North America

Ethnic homelands

Cover large areas, often over-lapping state andprovincial borders

Have sizable populations

Residents seek or enjoy some measure ofpolitical autonomy or self-rule

Populations usually exhibit a strong sense ofattachment to the region

Most homelands belong to indigenous ethnicgroups


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North America

Ethnic homelands Possess special, venerated places that serve to

symbolize and celebrate the region shrines tothe special identity of the group

Combines the attributes of both formal andfunctional culture regions

Regarded by some as incompletely developednation-states

Because of sex, age, and geographical segregationtend to strengthen ethnicity

Long occupation helps people develop modes oflife, behavior, tastes, and relationships regardedas the correctones


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North America

Examples of ethnic homelands in NorthAmerica Acadiana Louisiana French increasingly

identified with the Cajun people and recognized as

a perceptual region Spanish-American highland New Mexico,

Colorado, and South Texas

Navajo Reservation New Mexico and Arizona

French-Canadian centered on valley of lower St.Lawrence River in Quebec

Some include Deseret Mormon homeland in theGreat Basin of the Intermontane West


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North America

Some ethnic homelands have experienceddecline and decay Pennsylvania Dutch weakened to almost

extinction by assimilation

Southern Black Belt diminished by collapse ofplantation-sharecrop system resulting in out-migration to urban areas

Mormon absorption into the American culturalmainstream

Non-ethnic immigration has damaged theSpanish-American homeland


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North America

Most vigorous homelands are theFrench-Canadians and South TexasMexican-Americans

Ethnic substrate Occurs when a people in a homeland are

assimilated into the host culture and ageographical residue remains

The resultant culture region retains somedistinctiveness


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North America

Ethnic substrate

Geographers often find traces of anancient, vanished ethnicity in a region

Italian province of Tuscany owes both itsname and some uniqueness to the Etruscanpeople who ceased as an ethnic group 2,000years ago

Massive German presence in American

Heartland helped shape cultural character ofthe Midwest, which can be said to have aGerman ethnic substrate


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Ethnic Island: Westby, Wisconsin


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This small town isin Americasethnically diverse

rural heartland.

Westby was aNorwegian pioneerand the towns

population isprimarilyNorwegian.


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Although traditionalevents such as the falllutefisk dinner and theMay 17th Norwegian

Independence Daycelebration arecelebrated, thisethnic group hasessentiallyassimilated with thehost culture.

Note the variouspopular culturalorganizations andactivities in thiscommunity.


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North America

Ethnic islands in North America Small dots in the countryside

Usually occupy less area than a county

Much smaller than a homeland-serve ashome to only several hundred or severalthousand people

More numerous than homelands orsubstrates

Many found in large areas of rural NorthAmerica


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North America

Ethnic islands in North America Crazy-quilt pattern found in some areas of

Midwest

Germans form the largest group found in ethnic

islandssoutheastern Pennsylvania and inWisconsin

Scandinavians primarily Swedes andNorwegians came mainly to Minnesota, theeastern Dakotas, and western Wisconsin

Ukrainians settled mainly in the Canadian Prairie

Provinces Slavic groups mainly Poles and Czechs

established scattered colonies in the Midwest andTexas


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North America

Ethnic islands develop because a minoritygroup will tend to utilize space in such a wayas to minimize the interaction distancebetween group members

The desire is to facilitate contacts within thecommunity and minimize exposure to theoutside world

The ideal shape of an ethnic island is circularor hexagonal

People are drawn to rural places whereothers of the same ethnic background arefound


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North America

Survive from one generation to thenext because most land is inherited

Sale of land is typically confined within

the ethnic group, helping to preserveits identity

Social stigma is often attached to saleof land to outsiders

Small size makes populations moresusceptible to acculturation andassimilation


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Urban ethnic neighborhoods and

ghettos

Formal ethnic culture regions occurin cities throughout the world

Minority people tend to createethnic residential quarters

Ethnic neighborhood a voluntarycommunity where people of likeorigin reside by choice showing adesire to maintain groupcohesiveness


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ghettos

Benefits of the ethnic neighborhood Common use of language

Nearby kin

Stores and services specially tailored toa certain groups tastes

Presence of factories relying onethnically based division of labor

Institutions important to the group churches and lodges


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ghettos

The ghetto traditionally been used todescribe an area within the city where acertain ethnic group is forcedto live

An involuntary community and as much afunctional culture region as a formal one

Discrimination decides whether a ethnic grouplives in a ghetto or voluntarily forms its ownneighborhood

American society discriminates more againstblacks and Asians


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Jewish Ghetto: Salzburg, Austria

The name of thisstreet isJudengasse Jew

Street. Here, as in many

European cities,Jews were forced

to live in a specificwalled and gatedarea.


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Jewish Ghetto: Salzburg, Austria

Judengasse had 3000residents by 1610.

Virtually all of

Salzburgs Jewishpopulation succumbed

to the Nazi Holocaust.

The term ghettoderives from the

Jewish quarter by theGhetto Novo or NewFoundry in Venice.


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ghettos

Study of Cleveland, Ohio, by John Kain

Blacks are confined to a ghetto bydiscriminatory housing practices

Blacks more highly segregatedresidentially than white ethnic groups

Italians, Poles, Jews, Appalachian folk,and other white ethnic groups occupyneighborhoods rather than ghettos

These other white ethnic groups disperseto suburbs more readily than African-Americans


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ghettos

Ethnic clustering survives relocation fromneighborhoods to suburbs Example of the Chinese in the San Gabriel

Valley near Los Angeles In ancient times, conquerors often forced

vanquished native people to live inghettos Religious minorities usually received similar

treatment Sometimes walls were built around ghettos

Islamic cities had Christian districts

Medieval European cities had Jewish ghettos


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ghettos

North American cities are more ethnicallydiverse than any other urban centers inthe world

Ethnic neighborhoods became typical afterabout 1840

Immigrant groups clustered together insteadof dispersing

Ethnic groups generally came from differentparts of Europe than those who moved to ruralareas


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ghettos

North American cities are more ethnicallydiverse than any other urban centers inthe world

Catholic Irish, Italians, Poles, and EastEuropean Jews became the main urban ethnicgroups

Other non-European groups later came tourban areas French-Canadians, southern

blacks, Puerto Ricans, Appalachian whites,Amerindians


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Other ethnic migrants

As immigration laws changed, the ethnicvariety in North American cities greweven greater

Asia, rather than Europe, is now theprincipal source continent for immigrantsin the United States and Canada Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese comprise

the most numerous immigrant groups

Asia supplied 37 percent of all legal immigrantto United states in mid-1990s

Japanese ancestry forms the largest national-origin group in Hawaii


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Chinatown: Victoria,

British Columbia, Canada

A key link in a patternofchain migration,Victorias Chinatown isCanadas oldest, the

earliest gold-seekerscoming by boat viaSan Francisco in1858.

Between 1861 and1884, nearly 16000

Chinese railroadworkers funneledthrough Victoria to themainland.


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Discrimationconcentrated thecommunity and by1910, Chinatown was

the nations largest,comprising six cityblocks and 3000Chinese.

Second to Vancouveruntil 1950, it now

ranks eighth. Decline followed the

1923-47 prohibition ofChinese immigration.


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However, in the1980s, it became thefirst to undergo acomprehensive

rehabilitation programand to have a Chinesearch. The Tong Ji Men Gate of HarmoniousInterest, replete withAnimist, Buddhist and

Taoist motifs,symbolizes Canadianmulticulturalism.


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Many West Coast cities haveacquired sizable Asiatic populations

Vancouver Eleven percent Asian in 1981

Has absorbed more immigrants,particularly from Hong Kong


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Latin America, including Caribbeancountries, has surpassed Europe as asource of

immigrants to North America East Coast cities have large numbers from the

West Indies

Miami has become a West Indies/Caribbeancity As early as the 1970s, New York City wasreceiving large numbers of immigrants fromthe Dominican Republic and Jamaica

Image of Canada and the United Statesas predominantly European may change


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We need to be reminded not allemigrant ethnic groups live in NorthAmerica

About 28 million ethnic Chinese resideoutside China and Taiwan

Most live in Southeast Asian countries

Indonesia has over 7 million

Thailand has nearly 6 million

Malaysia has more than 5 million


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We need to be reminded not allemigrant ethnic groups live in NorthAmerica

Auckland, New Zealand, has the largestPolynesian population of any city in theworld

Germany, The United Kingdom, Italy,and Spain are home to millions ofAfricans, Turks, and Asians


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Ethnic Neighborhood:

Sao Paulo, Brazil

This torii marksentry to Liberdade,a Japanese

community. Japanese were

initially recruitedto work on coffeefazendas and by

1924, 34,000 hadbeen subsidized bythe Sao Paulostate government.


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Ethnic Neighborhood:

Sao Paulo, Brazil

After 1920, emigrationwas subsidized byJapan and arrivalspeaked in 1933 with

25,000.

Highly successfulfarmers, especially inmarket gardening,many eventually

moved into cities toform distinctlyJapanesecommunities.


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Urban ethnic neighborhoods tend to betransitory

Ethnic groups remain while undergoing

acculturation Central-city ethnic neighborhoods experience a

life cycle

Often one group is replace by a later-arrivingone

Example of Bostons West End

Mainly an Irish area in the nineteenth century

At the beginning of the twentieth century Jewsreplaced the Irish

Poles and Italians replaced Jews in the late1930s


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Urban ethnic neighborhoods tend to betransitory In Miamis Little Havana neighborhood Central

Americans replaced Cubans

Chicagos Adams area provides an almostcomplete history of American migratorypattern

First came the Germans and Irish

Next Greeks, Poles, French Canadians,

Czechs, and Russian Jews Soon the Italians pressed those listed above

The Italians were challenged by Chicanos anda small group of Puerto Ricans


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Urban ethnic neighborhoods tend tobe transitory

Older groups often established newethnic neighborhoods in suburbanareas


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Ethnic mix and national character

Any country is the sum of itscultural parts

Each country has its own uniquemixes of national origin and ethnicgroups that help shape nationalcharacter

Russia has less diversity and alargely different array of minoritiesthan the United States


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Canada is also strikingly differentfrom the United States

Far higher proportions of English, French,

Scots, and Ukrainians

Far fewer Germans, Africans, andHispanics


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Most persons in the United Statesclaiming German origin have in factbeen acculturated and assimilated

They have become part of the hostculture

Massive absorption into themainstream culture

Major factor in shaping a nationalcharacter distinct from that of Canada

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