Sallie Anna Pisera (UW-Madison Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures)
The reconstructed or re-enacted dwelling has been a popular medium for the presentation of ethnic heritage. Restored dwellings are a common tool for engagement with Scandinavian immigrant heritage in the Upper Midwest. Somali people settling in the same region today are also finding reconstructed traditional homes to be an effective medium for teaching about and preserving cultural heritage and memory. This paper presents multicultural work with Scandinavian and Somali diaspora communities in the Upper Midwest and discusses a new outreach initiative to present a nomadic Somali aqal alongside historical Scandinavian settler homes at regional museums.
Part of 04-06 Representations in Immigrant Settlement and Interethnic Engagement in the Upper Midwest, Friday, November 03, 8:30 am–10:00 am