Choir and orchestra performing in Scandinavian folk dress during the 1980 Festival of Christmas. Conductor in foreground and horse drawn sleigh landscape mural in the background.
Contributing Institution:
The History Center, Archives of Bethel University and Converge Worldwide - BGC
Six female students in white robes and silver tinsel belts around female student in white robe, red belt and wreath with lighted candles around her head. This dress is for the traditional celebration of Saint Lucia, which is a Scandinavian celebration of Christmas.
Contributing Institution:
The History Center, Archives of Bethel University and Converge Worldwide - BGC
Four female student musicians in Scandinavian folk dress playing from book of ""Christmas Strings"". Full-length bulletin board about Bethel in background.
Contributing Institution:
The History Center, Archives of Bethel University and Converge Worldwide - BGC
Alim Kassim was born in Minnesota. His parents are of Indian descent but born in Kenya. At the time of the interview, Kassim was attending college. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, schooling, Connections with relatives in Africa. Friendships at school. African, Indian and American culture at home-art, music, food. Religious instruction. Parents' friends. High school activities. Music interests. Future plans. Travels to India.
Naithani was born in Minnesota of parents who emigrated from India. She attended high school and college in Minnesota and Vermont. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, childhood memories, familiarity with parents' language, maintaining ties to India through letters and visits. Family's values, religion, socializing within Indian community, traveling to India. College experiences in Minnesota and Vermont. Advantages and disadvantages of being the child of immigrant parents. Mitigating cultural differences. Indian food, movies and languages.
Aparna Ganguli was born and grew up in India. She attended school and college in India and received a graduate degree. She immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. More recently, she received a doctorate in Minnesota and currently teaches at a university. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Background, experiences in India, childhood, college experiences, marriage, arriving and adjusting to the U.S.-cultural differences. Visits to India. Educational experiences in the U.S., work history. Experiences in the Indian community, School of India for Language and Culture (SILC), Bengali Association. Retaining and passing on cultural values, maintaining family ties.
Aparna Ramaswamy was born in India. She moved with her parents to Minnesota where she was raised and attended college. She studied classical dance in India, and has performed with the Ragamala Music and Dance Theater founded by her mother. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family life - interest in both Indian and American culture - studying dance in India - college life - Bharata Natyam dance - development and growth of the Ragamala dance company - participating in the School of India for Languages and Culture (SILC) in Minnesota - views on Hindu religious practice - Indian movies - melding professional plans with interest in Indian dance - importance of maintaining a sense of Indian culture.
Bao Vang is a half sister of Kim Yang. She was born in Long Cheng, Laos in 1973. She is a White Hmong. Her family immigrated to the U.S. twenty-one years ago. She graduated from high school, married at seventeen and has two children. Her husband belongs to the Moua clan. Currently, she works for American Express as a Distribution Coordinator. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The interview was conducted predominantly in Hmong. The Hmong transcript and an English translation are bound together for this interview.
Bash Singh was born in a city formerly in India and now in Pakistan. She attended school and college in India. She came to the U.S. and lived first in Tennessee and then moved to Minnesota in the early 1970s. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Experiences living in Saudi Arabia - discrimination in Tennessee - the move to Minnesota and adjusting to cold weather - operating her candy store - marriage - instilling Indian values - religion, Sikh Association of Minnesota - other family members' experiences in Minnesota - membership in the Indo-American Club and the Association of American Physicians from India (AAPI) - volunteer work - connections to family in India - retirement plans - the importance of family values, personal values - the American Dream.
Chamreun Tan primarily grew up in Battambang City in Cambodia. He was working as a police officer in Phnom Penh City on April 17, 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power. He became separated from his parents and siblings and was sent to the village Phum Chhouk to work for the Khmer Rouge until 1979. He married in 1981. Tan attempted to leave Cambodia more than once and was sent back, eventually living in Thai refugee camps until coming to the United States in 1984. He has held a variety of jobs here and is currently a financial worker for Ramsey County.
Channy Som lived in Battambang with her family when the Khmer Rouge came to power. They were made to leave their home and live in the forest before they were separated and put into work camps. She now lives in St. Paul with two siblings and works in catering. One sister is in a refugee camp in Thailand and two others are still in Cambodia with their father.
Cher Vang immigrated to the United States from Laos in April, 1976. Currently, Cher Vang is the St. Paul Children's Hospital Hmong parent representative/interpreter. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Cher Vang talks about the immigration of his family to the United States. He describes what he thought life would be like in the U.S. before he arrived. Cher Vang also discusses the importance of his job at St. Paul Children's Hospital and what duties his job entails.
Choup Lat was a farmer in Battambang Province when the Khmer Rouge came to power on April 17, 1975. Along with his wife and children, he was sent to a different village, and forced to work long days with very little food. They arrived at Khao I Dang refugee camp in Thailand in 1979 and came to America shortly thereafter.
Born in 1924 in Athens, Greece, Chris Effrem came to the United States in the early 1950s. He was a millwork designer and wood carver in Minneapolis, completing over 100,000 carvings for churches. He worked at the University of Minnesota, Aaron Carlson Company, and several furniture and millwork companies before opening his own shop and school, teaching over 5000 students.
Deepak Nath was born in the U.S. His parents emigrated from India in the 1960s. He attended school in Minnesota and college in Massachusetts. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, childhood memories, socializing with other Indians, maintaining ties to India - family values - discrimination, high school memories, religion, future plans, travels to India, Indian films - Babson Dance Ensemble (Massachusetts) - college life and experiences - balancing Western and Indian cultures, advantages and disadvantages of being a child of immigrant parents.
Abul Hasan Siddiqui was born in India. After graduating from medical school in India, he traveled to England and Scotland for research and graduate work. He has worked in several countries, and in the mid-1970s, he accepted employment in the United States. He has retired, but maintains licensure and contact with the medical community. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: His medical education and research - decision to come to the United States - adjustment to life in Minnesota - marriage and family - the Muslim community in the Twin Cities - comparisons between practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia, India and the United States - personal values - multi-generational cohabitation.
Fred Anderson was born in 1907 in Sweden. He came to the United States in 1926. He initially worked as a painter of homes and churches, specializing in stencil work and marbling technique. In 1948 he opened his own wallpaper and paint store in St. Louis Park.
Geeta Saxena McGibbon was born in India. She and her parents moved to Massachusetts and then to Minnesota. She attended college in Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, values, religion, schooling, discrimination, socializing as a family, activities in high school. Contrasting Indian values of parents and relatives in India, travels to India, work experiences, volunteering experiences. Advantages and disadvantages of being part of an immigrant family. Experiences as a mother.
