An Enduring Legacy : The Story of Basques in Idaho - Hardcover

Bieter, Mark; Bieter, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874173337 ISBN 13: 9780874173338

Publisher: University of Nevada Press, 2000

Synopsis

In An Enduring Legacy, brothers John and Mark Bieter chronicle three generations of Basque presence in that state from 1890 to the present, an engaging story that begins with a few solitary sheepherders and follows their evolution into the prominent ethnic community of today.

The first Basques to arrive in Idaho were largely young, single, poor, and illiterate, and most were closely identified with sheepherding. Their cultural, religious, and linguistic differences isolated them from their non-Basque neighbors, and they tended to form connections almost exclusively with other Basques. By the second generation, Idaho's Basques had assimilated in their public lives while preserving their Basque traditions through dances, picnic festivals, and sporting events. Third-generation Basques, mostly fully assimilated, have paralleled the national trend of cultivating the ethnicity of their grandparents, finding in it both a sense of community and a unique personal identity.

As this well-documented history demonstrates, Idaho's Basques have become one of the West's most successful ethnic minorities. But they are also among the most active groups in preserving and cultivating the traditions and culture of their immigrant grandparents by which Idaho's Basques are maintaining their ties with both the traditions of the past and the modern European Basque homeland. They have created a subculture that is neither purely Basque nor purely American. Their experience offers rich insight into the complex process by which immigrants become American while retaining their distinctive cultural identity and roots.

About this title

About the Author

Brothers John and Mark Bieter were born and raised in Boise, Idaho. John is a contributor to Portraits of Basques in the New World published by the University of Nevada Press and a doctoral student at Boston College. Mark is currently attending Duke Law School.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874173337
• ISBN 13: 9780874173338
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224