The Hoosier state does not stand out in most people’s minds as an ethnically rich or diverse state. Yet, the reality is, depending on how far back you go, every state is a cultural melting pot with a rich history of ethnic diversity. Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic Experience is an exploration into the historic cultural diversity that helped establish the character as well as the social and political nature of the state today.
Peopling Indiana is the result of a multi-year ethnic history projects, created and presented by the Indiana Historical Society. The book is a collection of 30 essays created as part of the project. These essays examine the races and nationalities of various immigrant groups to Indiana. Over 50 groups are represented; including, immigrants from China, Great Britain, Greece, Palestine, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, India, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the former Yugoslavia.
Essays in the book delve into family relations, social norms, occupations, education, recreation, and other aspects of life which are often unique to different cultures. Each essay covers a specific ethnic group. Throughout this examination thought is given to ethnic identity vs. assimilation, as each group integrates to different levels, as are different custom adopted by society as a whole.
At 703 pages, the book is big. Originally produced in 1996, the book was reprinted in 2009. The index includes hundreds of names for individuals and locations. Each essay is well documented and professional. Pictures, tables, and maps add additional relevance and interest.
Ultimately, the book presents an historical review on how different cultures have influences religion, construction, holidays, work, and so many other factors and areas that contribute to “normal” life in Indiana today. Through this book you can learn much about the influence of different cultures on the overall history and make up of the entire United Stated. While focused on Indiana, the information and examinations are relevant no matter where in the country one can trace their ethnic background.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors
Introduction: Ethnic History in America and Indiana
John Bodnar
African Americans
Emma Lou Thornbrough
Asian Indians
H. S. Bhola
Baltic Peoples: Lithuanians, Latvians, & Estonians
Inta Gale Carpenter
Canadians
Helen Jean M. Nugent
Chinese
R. Keith Schoppa
English & Welsh
William Van Vugt
French
Aurele J. Violette
Germans
Giles R. Hoyt
Greeks
Carl Cafouros
Hispanics
Samuel Shapiro
Hungarians
Linda Degh
Irish
William W. Giffin
Italians
James J. Divita
Japanese
Justine H Libby
Jews
Carolyn S. Blackwell
Koreans
Elisabeth E. Orr
The Low Countries
Robert P. Swierenga
Middle Easterners
Frank W. Blanning
Native Americas
Elizabeth Glenn and Stewart Rafert
Peoples of the Pacific: Australians and New Zealanders, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos
James A. Baldwin
Poles
Paulette Pogorzelski Bannec
Romanians
Mary Leuca
Scandinavians
Alan H. Winquist
Scots
Gordon R. Mork
Slavaks
Joseph Sermancik
South Slavs
Bulgarians/Macedonians
Ophelia Georgiev Roop and Lilia Georgiev Judson
Serbs
Natalie Vujovich
Slovenes
James J. Divitia
Southeast Asians
Cyriac K. Pullapilly
Swiss
Leo Schelbert
Appendix 1 Indiana’s Ethnicity in the Context of Ethnicity in the Old Northwest in 1850
Gregory S. Rose
Appendix 2
Index
Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic Experience is available from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: IHS016, Price: $48.95.