Community Conversations

Immigration

A Paper based on the Community Conversation of 18 May 2007 prepared by Dr. Deland S. Anderson for the Pratt Museum

Fifteen or so people gathered at the Pratt Museum to discuss the impact of immigration on the community. The topic had been developed as part of a community-wide promotion for literacy, which took as its focus Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club. Tan is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and has written extensively about the experience of being of two cultures. One doesn't have to be Asian to appreciate how she navigates the narrows dividing her mother culture, complete with ancestral ties, and her adopted father culture with its paternalistic laws and practices. All of us encounter cultural diversity, whether through travel or visitors. Even those who live in ethnically distinct enclaves feel the presence of a different world that surrounds them and sometimes encroaches. Everyone at the conversation had moved to Homer as an adult, so the talk involved, in part, accounts of arrival stories and comparisons and contrasts between here and "there", wherever that might have been.

Moving to a new community can be a thoroughly pedestrian affair—one town in America is often just like another. Acquiring a new zip code does not frequently involve acculturation. But crossing cultural divides such as East and West, North and South, urban and bush Alaska does. Some divides are of course wider than others.

Participants at the conversation discussed various cultural gaps. The population of Homer is predominantly White of European descent, relocated from the Lower 48, specifically small towns in the northern states. So, if one comes from that region, it's not a big deal to fit in. But, if one comes from the ultra-urban, Latin American community of Bogota, Columbia, for example, it is difficult indeed to fit in to the fold of this town. One such émigré spoke of being scolded in a grocery check out line for speaking her native Spanish to a friend—We don't speak like that around here, she was informed. Of course we do, but the point remains that such differences create tension in the community. And some interpret that tension as a positive good that holds the warp and woof of the town together. Others see it as erosive of the core values that underpin the community.

Consequently immigrants to the community negotiate constantly—consciously or not—whether to conform or to differ. At the same time, established residents of the community often actively recruit visitors and new residents who differ strikingly from the mainstream culture of the town. This often takes the form of adopting a child from another land or marrying someone from abroad. The reverse is, of course, also true. That is, some people move up here from the Lower 48 with the mainstream culture in tow, and immediately set out to bolster the community of like-minded persons by persuading family members, friends, and neighbors to join them here.

But there are perhaps hidden hazards to watch for in the latter case. Cultural divides can lie just below the surface, invisible to the visitor or the habituated immigrant, but almost immediately apparent to the wide-eyed. Some towns, though they might look like any other place—Arby's, Napa, Subway, McDonald's and the like—are distinct. Homer is such a town. It is relatively small, tightly knit, and uniquely defined. Fitting in to this community often involves actively differing from the mainstream Outside. This process of fitting in is most obvious in such things as tempo, personal appearance, ownership, and personal space. In short, fitting in often involves slowing down and doing things at odd hours (like going fishing or foraging at midnight,) dressing down (for the weather), lending gear, tools, and materials away, and keeping your distance physically. Fitting in could perhaps be the principal occupation of everyone in this town, no matter what he or she does for a living.

The first point established in the conversation was that Homer is a town of immigrants. True, there are now homesteader families living in the area that are in their fourth generation. But in the big scheme of things, even those original settlers are newcomers. In the days preceding settlement, the site of Homer was perhaps a meeting place for Dena'ina and Alutiiq peoples, but there is no evidence that there were ever any permanent settlements in the locale. So even the Alaskan Natives who live here are from somewhere else, whether from across Kachemak Bay or the Bering Sea.

The second point established was that almost everyone now living here has an arrival story. One person shared hers, as she reminisced about the old days on the Homer Spit. Twenty years ago, the Salty Dawg Saloon was the designated meeting place for new people. Lasting friendships were formed quickly, employment secured, and living arrangements were squared away. Another drew comparisons between Homer and her native Switzerland. Cultural diversity, it seems, adds a great deal in both instances.

Someone spoke of the experience of immigrating to the area as an Old Believer.
Seeking religious freedom, Russian people have settled in villages on the Kenai Peninsula after having come from such far-flung places as China, Australia, Bolivia, and the Lower 48. The challenge seems to be to live here, yet to remain apart.

Alaska Natives also emigrate to Homer from more remote locations throughout Alaska. Homer represents the easy life for many from the bush. It has all the amenities (particularly a road and ferry system), the climate is mild, and the cost of living is relatively low. One person spoke to another side of this issue. She pointed out the sadly ironic fact that these original inhabitants of Alaska face many of the same problems as immigrants from a foreign culture. The pressures to relocate and assimilate into the dominant culture are extreme and sometimes hostile.

Foreign exchange programs at the high school level bring many young people to the community. In a small town, their presence is known and they add considerably to the diversity of peoples and cultures in the area. Additionally the Rotary Club and other organizations host numerous exchange programs for adults from sister cities in Japan, Russia, and New Zealand. These short-term residents take their arrival stories home with them when they return.

One person spoke of her experiences of being an immigrant in various mega-cities such as New York City and Mexico City. Assimilation was not a high priority, as a person could settle into their respective ethnic enclave. But in a place like Homer it would take a considerable effort to stay apart.

A third and final point was that what is true in Homer with regard to immigration is true of many villages, towns, and cities in Alaska. Indeed Alaska as a whole is a land with a majority population from somewhere else. Coastal native settlements sometimes provide cases in the extreme. Barrow, for example, has many immigrants from throughout the South Pacific and Hawaii who readily assimilate into the existing Inupiat culture. One of our greatest strengths lies in our cultural diversity and our openness to difference.