'Talking About Im/migration' - Swedish Dialogue

This Saturday the Swedish American Museum hosted the second dialogue in the ‘Talking About Im/migration’ series. The session was held in the Museum’s first floor gallery, against the colorful backdrop of Swedish-American artist Peter Åström’s ‘Roundtrip: New York – Gotland’ exhibition, where coffee and Swedish cake were served before an interesting and engaging discussion. The participants included both Swedish citizens living in Chicago and Americans whose families migrated from Sweden many generations ago, who shared fascinating stories and discussed what Swedish culture and identity mean to them.

Meet Daniel

Hi, my name is Daniel Clarke, and I have just arrived from England to begin a five-week internship with the Alliance working on the ‘Talking about Im/migration’ project.

This is only the second time I have visited Chicago, or indeed the United States – having passed through back in July 2005 on a Greyhound bus trip across the country – so I am thrilled to finally have the chance to come back and get to know the city properly. I have certainly already found it a fantastically exciting place to be these first few days and it seems that, with Taste of Chicago, July 4^th celebrations and a host of other events, there will definitely be plenty for me to do!

I am originally from Manchester but have been studying at King’s College, Cambridge for the past four years, first for BA in Archaeology and currently for an MPhil in Social Anthropology. My research has focused primarily on civic identity in the aftermath of conflict, looking at the rebuilding of Manchester city centre after an IRA bomb in 1996 for my undergraduate thesis, and currently working on a project investigating public responses to the Madrid train bombing of March 2004. Therefore, not only am I interested to experience a new and exciting city, with its own distinct identity and history, but my current work on Madrid focuses on the different groups which comprise the identity of the city as a whole, particularly in relation to immigration. In addition, having spent time in Mexico through my archaeological fieldwork (excavating at the site of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City), I am particularly looking forward to experiencing the culture of the city's Mexican population.

A Chat with Cyndee Fox-Starr from the American Indian Center

On Thursday, June 18, 2009 I met with Cyndee from the American Indian Center (AIC) to discuss the relationship between the Chicago Cultural Alliance and the AIC.

We started by getting an overview of what the AIC does and who they serve. It's mission is to keep the Center going for the Native Community, as an area to practice culture away from reservations. With a silent divide between urban natives and those living on reservations, the Center is also there to educate non-native community. The AIC provides social services not only to the native community within Chicago, but also provides education through teachings the basics of many of the different tribes represented through the AIC. With well over 500 different tribes in the native community, the AIC has a wealth of experiences to instruct to both children and young adults. Cyndee, who has been involved in the AIC her entire life, knows that teens and young adults are less likely to become involved in gangs when they have this cultural connection to their ancestry that the AIC provides. The AIC teaches children to respect the earth, through conserving water and understanding the different trees and plants. They currently have a native medicine garden surrounding the building, where children are taught the traditional medicinal purpose of the plants native to this area.

Cyndee's parents were both involved in the American Indian Center and she has always been a part of the AIC. She finds seeing children having respect for both their elders and the planet the most rewarding part of her work and her children are involved in the AIC. While everyone is not a part of the same tribe, the AIC acts as an extended family for the natives living in Chicago and the suburbs.

The Chicago Cultural Alliance has been an asset to Cyndee and the American Indian Center because of the workshops that are held, and the relationship-building that it has fostered. She is participating in the Talking Im/migration workshops as a facilitator, and the AIC had been involved in the Cultural Connections programs. The Alliance has meant that the different ethnicities are able to share their different cultures, and through that they see more similarities than differences. The Alliance helps the AIC become more visible and has helped people form new contacts all over the city of Chicago.

Angeli's bio

Having grown up as the child of immigrant parents, I was always interested in global affairs and traveling. It helped that my parents took us all over the world to visit different cultures. I decided to expand upon this idea and spend my entire university career abroad in Scotland at the University of St Andrews. I enjoyed myself studying in another country so much that I will be starting a double masters at Peking University in Beijing and the London School of Economics in International Affairs.

I have enjoyed working at the Chicago Cultural Alliance immensely because I am able to learn about the numerous ethnic communities in Chicago and how they have joined to form museums and the Alliance. It has been especially interesting to see how the economic downturn is affecting the communities in Chicago, when the larger media mainly ignores this subject.

While I did not know that much about social networking when I started this internship, I feel confident enough now to hold a workshop to instruct people on how use these sites more effectively. We continually hear about a generational difference in these communities, and social networking is just one way to try to reach out to the younger generations.

My work on the Talking Im/migration includes attending a very interesting workshop on telling immigrant stories, and a lot of work with Rebeccah and Mario and Rosa at The Field Museum.

I have learned a lot about working in a non-profit, and working with the many different ethnic communities in Chicago. I will be sad to go!