Cultural Highlight: Somali-American Culture

“I didn’t know I was Black until I moved to America…”– Nadia Mohamed.

Welcome to the Third Unit of the course, where we address the third question: “What are we doing here together?” In Unit One, we asked, “Who am I?” The Second Unit follows the first with the question, “Who are you?” In this Third Unit, we aim to explore contemporary case studies emphasizing how intercultural communication is necessary to our everyday lives.

Our students identify which cultures  & co-cultures they would like to learn more about in the initial syllabus quiz and course discussions. One culture that consistently is named is the Somali-American culture. This chapter introduces Somali-American culture. The chapter was reviewed by a Mankato Somali-American educational advisor who used the materials to help train the college staff he works with in Mankato. We were honored to hear that he had done so and asked for additional feedback. We are grateful for his input. We welcome further feedback, interview leads, and information you might want to share.

As we begin publishing this unit, it is time for Mid-term Elections in the United States. There are but eight days until our November 8, 2022, elections. Before writing this unit and integrating materials from other creative commons publications, we knew that many scholars had called the Minnesota Somali-American community one of the most successful co-cultures to integrate into American culture, stressing their use of entrepreneurship, the support given to one another through a Somali lending system and creative mentorhsips,  presence in many networks, and their growing political presence. We encourage you to review how other cultures have participated in Minnesota’s and other states’, voting and business sections. This week, we focus on Somali-Americans.

This chapter begins as we introduce two RCTC students who share their stories of coming to America and their experience with Dental Care. This video is not embedded here; it exists on MediaSpace, which does not embed in this ebook). The video was created with Katie in RCTC’s Dental Hygiene Program. This chapter treats five areas:  first, a comprehensive introduction to Somali-American Culture; second, we highlight videos and news reports about the integration of Somali-Americans in Minnesota communities (we have included a variety of news and PBS videos that share the stories of individuals in specific Minnesota communities); third, we will explore the notion of culture shock and how culture shock impacts individuals; fourth, we will explore what it means to be a refugee; fifth, we will look toward elections and explore how this co-culture has become involved in American politics.

Meet Two of Our Peer Student Speakers, Abdullahi & Tammad:

https://mediaspace.minnstate.edu/media/Dental+Interview+C/1_5if28ibj 

*Note that this version of PressBooks does not embed MediaSpace videos. The video linked above will be uploaded and embedded via youtube soon. The interview is one hour. It is a nice conversation about their experiences with health and dental care – it is not “edited” but provides insight into their experience. 

We sat to chat more about how RCTC students Abdullahi and Tammad experienced “coming to America” and learned more about their perceptions of American culture. To begin, they graciously discussed the Cultural Atlas’ “Do’s and Don’t List” and Somali communication norms.

Abdullahi is from Somalia and moved to the US when he was ten. On their journey, they first lived in Ethiopia after leaving Somalia. Tammad is from Kenya, but her family originated in Somalia. She moved to the United States when she was 12, settling first in Utah. Their interview includes perceptions of the Somalian culture and their lived experiences at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC). They also chat about Somali culture’s “Do’s and Don’ts” and their journey to Rochester, Minnesota. Tammad speaks to the differences in her settlement in Utah compared to Minnesota. When she came to Rochester, she learned to read and write when placed in ESL classes. Before that, she sat in a general classroom in Utah. She is grateful she could access an education system better equipped to work with non-English speakers.

Abdullahi traveled with his mom and two older sisters. Ethiopia was the first step, then Rochester. In the video, he shared that they needed to learn English. Even asking for help at the airport proved to be a challenge. He speaks about how he could adapt to American culture–“I adapted here very quickly, as I was young. So I started learning English. It took me probably about a year. After that, it was all good; the younger you are, the more quickly you’ll adapt to it.” Abdullahi and Tammad, like many immigrant children, assumed the roles of interpreters in their families. As you listen to their video, engage in the listening activity. One might make many inferences (guesses or tentative conclusions based on some information while listening). We might infer that their family came to the US as refugees. However, both stated, “We came to the US to reunite with our family.” When listening to stories from other Somali-Americans who settled in Minnesota, many will share that they arrived as refugees. Reading and listening to the stories in this unit will help to understand better how the experiences of Somali immigrants in 2021 might differ from individuals who first arrived in Minnesota during the Somali civil war in the early 1990s as refugees.  The term “migrant” refers to a person who leaves his/her country of origin to seek residence in another country  (USDHS, 2020).

Optional Activity: Facts vs. Inferences

As we begin this unit, it is helpful to distinguish between a fact (observation or what we take in from our five senses) and an inference (a tentative conclusion based upon some evidence). This activity will help you as we create paraphrases and perception checks later. Students will:

• List three facts from each speaker’s story.
• For each fact, list 3 + inferences you could draw–the goal is to discover how many inferences one could make.
• Check out your inferences.
• Share with your classmates as you can or with others in your living space.

General Information – Somali Migration & Minnesota

Individuals from Somalia, an East African country located in the Horn of Africa, which shares borders with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, have resettled in Minnesota since the 1980s and earlier. With the civil war in Somalia in the 1990s, “VOLGS,” or voluntary agencies, helped individuals settle in the United States. Then, Somalis who settled in Minnesota also assisted new arrivals in their journey to the state (Rutledge, 2018). According to the MN Compass (2021), the total population of Somalis living in Minnesota is approximately 78,046. Of this number, 77.8% of the Somali population resides in the Twin Cities metro area, and 22.2% are in Greater Minnesota. 

Diaspora is defined by the Cultural Atlas (2021) as “The movement, migration or dispersion of any people away from their established or ancestral homeland” and is often used to describe the Somali experience. “…Somali-born people living outside their homeland doubled to 2 million between 1990 and 2015,” according to the Pew Research Center. The United Nations notes that “Somalia is one of five countries that produce two-thirds of the world’s refugees; another is Myanmar, which is also a major source of newer refugees in Minnesota” (Rao, 2019).

The majority of the population are ethnically Somali and can trace their genealogy back to common forefathers. Somalis are distinguished by their traditional clan system, Somali language and Sunni Islamic beliefs. Daily life and culture can differ significantly across Somalia as many regions experience varying levels of poverty, governance and safety. Widespread and prolonged displacement has also contributed to diverse understandings of Somali culture. For example, many displaced people and refugees rely on abstract ideas of the Somali identity as they have few or no personal memories of their homeland. Nevertheless, there are certain values that are characteristic to Somalis, these being generosity, hospitality, kinship, respect for the elderly and honour. Broadly, Somalis have also demonstrated a high level of adaptability and entrepreneurialism in the face of adversity.

Syed, Fish, Hicks, Kathawalla & Lee (2020)  share, as quoted with permission, an overview of the Somalian diaspora :

The global diaspora of Somalis was triggered by the Somali Civil War, which began in the late 1980s and resulted in an overthrow of the government in 1991 (Kusow, 1994). Though fighting, factions, and governments have ebbed and flowed, there has been ongoing conflict ever since, displacing Somali people across the globe. There are an estimated 2 million Somali refugees worldwide, many of whom are still in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia (Connor & Krogstad, 2016). The U.S. population of Somali Americans is around 150,000, with between 40,000-80,000 living in Minnesota—the location of many of the participants in our study. A section of Minneapolis near the University, Cedar-Riverside, is known colloquially as Little Somalia or Little Mogadishu, named after Somalia’s capital. Somalis have established themselves as part of the Twin Cities community and have increasingly participated in governance, with Abdi Warsame being elected to city council (Williams, 2013) and Ilhan Omar elected first to the Minnesota State House (Minneapolis Public Radio & Xaykaothao, 2016) and subsequently to the U.S. House of Representatives (Witt, 2018).

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce (2021) also describes the successful migration Somalis have made to Minnesota:

Beginning in the early 1990s, Somali refugees moved to Minnesota fleeing extreme violence as a result of the collapse of the Somali government. As of 2019, Minnesota had the largest Somali population in the U.S. Currently, Minnesota’s foreign-born Somali population totals 36,495,70 the vast majority of whom (~77%) reside in the Twin Cities metro area. While many Somali refugees arrived with limited education, low workforce participation rates and high poverty levels, their situation two decades later has shifted significantly. Poverty levels have dropped, workforce participation has increased, median household income has ticked up and educational attainment has made marginal gains…The percentage of Somali homeowners has also increased. One of the major industries for Somali employment is home health care services, with over 15% of all Somali immigrants in Minnesota working in this industry. Somali workers have also become a vital part of the state’s food manufacturing industry. There are over 2,000 Somali workers in the animal food processing subsector, comprising 11% of total workers. The entrepreneurship rate among Somali immigrants is relatively low and is nearly identical to the rate for the broader foreign-born population statewide.

A table that shares the progress Somalis in Minnesota have made in a remarkable amount of time is shared on the Chamber of Commerce’s website and generated from data from MN Compass.

“Curious Minnesota” Podcast Addresses – Why Minnesota? 

“Minnesota has 52,333 people who report Somali ancestry — the largest concentration of Somalis in Amer ca. This week, we are answering a question from Erik Borg, who wondered about the roots of the Somali inf UX. Host Eric Roper talks with race and immigration reporter Maya Rao about its unfolding. Read the story: www.strib.mn/30ztTvA.” The podcast shares how some Somali individuals came to Minnesota as “secondary refugees.”

Many Somalis also migrated here directly from Africa as primary refugee arrivals, meaning that Minnesota was the first state in the United States where they moved. A group of voluntary agencies, including Lutheran Social Service and Catholic Charities, worked with the federal government to resettle the refugees and help them find housing and jobs. Minnesota was a favored location in part due to the success of resettling Hmong refugees in the 1970s and 1980s. As more Somalis formed a larger community, they drew even more friends and family members who wanted to be among their own (Rao, 2019).

Listen to the podcast: Via Apple Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher

 

Finding a Home in Minnesota

If you ask why anyone lives where they do, they mention reasons such as family, jobs, educational opportunities, crime rates, and weather. The following video shares Fartun’s story and the story of the Minnesotans who decided to learn more about Somali culture by involving themselves in her resettlement. When watching the video, to whom do you most relate? How? Have you learned more about someone new to your neighborhood, city, state, or country? Perhaps you have needed to uproot your family life and can relate to Fartun’s experience. Still, others will have experienced moving and perhaps the trauma and fears of individuals fleeing war zones. Taking a dual perspective

When Fartun was just 15 years old, she came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia. Soon after settling in Minnesota, she realized that there was a large population of Somali immigrants in her community that were looking for ways to connect to their new home. That’s when she started the Somali-American Women Action Center, with the intention to uplift, protect and educate refugee women to have successful futures. She made a post on Nextdoor looking for an instructor who could help her start a sewing club for the women in her community and met Leslie Mallery, an instructor who vowed to always use, ‘Nextdoor for good.’ (Youtube Description).

Minnesota cities home to many Somalis include Rochester, St. Cloud, and Worthington. For an in-depth analysis of the Somali refugee resettlement, see https://www.unhcr.org/50aa0d6f9.pdf.

While not as common today,

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota’s Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA) helps immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the process of resettlement. Why Rochester? IMAA’s Executive Director, Armin Budimlic, shared with the MinnPost (2019):

“It has to do with the welcoming environment, the opportunities for jobs and good life here, and there are some well established communities already. In the city of Rochester, the Southeast Asian community has been around for over 30 years. The Somali community is really strong and well established.”

While strong immigrant and refugee communities may draw people to the Rochester area, Budimlic believes that for many people, the range of jobs open to new arrivals is also a major attraction.

“The industries that we have in our region, a lot of them being food processing, hospitality, health care, attract new arrivals for their initial jobs,” he said. “We also have great educational institutions and great a school system that also attracts families.”

While the following video features news coverage dated 2016, it shares the Rochester, MN, immigration story in detail. The report explores the notion of “secondary migrants,” a term often used with Minnesota refugees. The story shares more about this topic. (YouTube Description). “Primary refugees are refugees who are initially resettled in Minnesota. Refugees include refugees, asylees, entrants/parolees, and victims of trafficking. Secondary refugees are refugees who originally resettled to another state in the United States before moving to Minnesota. Currently, there is no systematic way to identify all secondary refugees migrating to Minnesota” (Minnesota Department of Health, 2021).

To define asylee, we turn to the United Nations:  “An alien in the United States or at a port of entry who is found to be unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality, or to seek the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution or the fear thereof must be based on the alien’s race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. For persons with no nationality, the country of nationality is considered to be the country in which the alien last habitually resided. Asylees are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one year of continuous presence in the United States. These immigrants are limited to 10,000 adjustments per fiscal year” (unhcr.org, 2021).

St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud has been in the press recently as the community adjusts to migration. “The most recent American Community Survey shows 3,542 residents report Somali ancestry in the 194,000 St. Cloud metro area, which includes Stearns and Benton counties” (Maculus, 2019). St. Cloud has changed its racial profile in recent years.

In keeping with national trends, the St. Cloud is becoming increasingly diverse, U.S. Census data shows. According to U.S. Census 2020 data, St. Cloud-area cities saw growth in almost every census category for race except for white. Sartell and Sauk Rapids are the exceptions, with Sartell’s white population increasing by 13.9%, or 2,100 people, and Sauk Rapids’ by 0.7%, or 79 people. Sherburne County was the only county of the three in the St. Cloud area whose population of white citizens did not decline. Area cities increasingly became home to Black community members. Every major community in the St. Cloud area saw its population of Black citizens grow by more than 100%, with all but Sauk Rapids growing by more than 150% in this category. Waite Park’s population of Black citizens grew by 400% or 1,770 more people. St. Cloud’s population of Black citizens grew by 157.1% or 8,094 more people (Kocher, 2021).

What is it Like Being Somali in St. Cloud? Talia Stump from the City to Country Project talks to locals about what it is like being Somali in St. Cloud, Minnesota – published in May 2019. Before this video, St. Cloud experienced a 2016 Crossroads Mall Shooting. Concerns about retaliation and racism, and anti-Muslim organizing were often on the minds of Somali-Americans in St. Cloud. During this time, some residents voiced their worry about potential terroristic recruitment and activity. These concerns have led many to the polls in more recent years. Asa notes in several videos below that groups are working hard to help bridge community divides based on fear and misinformation.

Overcoming Fear – St. Cloud’s “Dine and Dialogue” Community Education

“Overcoming the Fear” is a theme in news articles and vid os. Some will question, “Why is it my place to educate the dominant culture;” others will say, “It is my opportunity to create a safer home by introducing you to my culture.” The following story shares Hudda Ibrahim’s decision to take action in her St. Cloud, MN community.

 “Hudda Ibrahim and her family fled civil war in Somalia for a new life in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She soon discovered that her neighbors were curious about Somali culture, but many were afraid to ask questions. Instead of falling to assumptions and misconceptions, Hudda wanted to encourage a community based on conversation. She started Dine and Dialogue—a program that invited her neighbors to ask questions and get to know each other, all over a home-cooked meal. From hijabs to Sharia law, no subject is off the table. Today, she continues to host this open forum every month, bridging the gap between people and finding a path to compassion through the stomach. The story of America is the story of immigrants. We teamed up with Minnie Driver to share stories of some incredible individuals building a stronger, more united America. Check them all out in our latest series, ‘I Am An Immigrant.’

Willmar, Minnesota

The video below, from 2013, shares the recent transformation rural Minnesota experienced in Wilmar, Minnesota. As discussed below, Minnesota Public Radio featured the integration of multiple cultures in this rural community.

2013: Postcards Somali Culture in Willmar

“Learn about Somali culture in Willmar, MN. Community member, Mohamed Sayid, invites us into his daily life and explains his family traditions. We also hear a tune from Somali musician Aar Maanta and take a trip to the Center Point Mall” (YouTube Description).

Since this 2013 “Post Cards” program aired on MPR, the population of Willmar has grown. Feshir (2019) reports that one-third of the people of Willmar, as of 2019, is 1/3 comprised people of color. Listen to the full story here. Below are highlights from Feshir’s news story:

Deka Ahmed fled civil war-torn Somalia, first to Kenya and then to Arizona in 2009. Willmar, though, is where she wanted to be – a place that welcomed refugees like her and held the promise of a job and a new life.

“There are a lot of Somali people in Willmar that I thought would be helpful,” she said recently through an interpreter. “Neighbors that were from a refugee camp that lived in Willmar – they’re here.”

A city that once seemed an unlikely spot in the country for such a fresh start is now a vital destination for Somali immigrants, joining a Latino population that’s called west-central Minnesota home for decades. People of color now make up about one-third of Willmar’s population of 20,000.

The MPR broadcast discusses the controversy of refugee resettlement. During recent elections, individuals have been more vocal about this issue. It might be tough to determine your response when you find dissent (or hostility). Sometimes when we are unsure what to say next, the best thing is to listen and paraphrase. You might not be ready to comment, or perhaps you have not formed your own opinion yet. In such cases, an honest attempt at paraphrasing can be helpful. Like all advice, remember that verbal and nonverbal communication cues combine in the overall message. Sighing or rolling your eyes while asking, “Did I get that RIGHT?” will certainly not have the calming impact of a sincere question asking for clarity.

Optional Listening Activity: Paraphrasing

This activity focuses on active listening and using the tool called paraphrasing. First, listen to the MPR Story. 

Next, listen to Lori share about this activity. The text matches the writing below.

• As a reminder, paraphrasing is a restatement of what you hear. Generally, after listening, you would orally state a paraphrase of the person. In this activity, imagine you will respond to Deka Ahmed and Rollie Nissen, two people interviewed in the MPR story.
• A paraphrase includes three parts:
  • First, begin with an I statement:
    • I  heard
  • Second, restate what you heard, focusing on the “facts,” not your inferences. “So I heard you say ____.”
  • Finally, ask for clarification
    • “Is that correct?” (ask for clarification).
  • So, for example, one paraphrase of Deka Ahmed could be:
    • “I heard you say you are from Willmar. Is that correct?” This paraphrase is simple; it is just asking about basic information.
    • In many cases, you will create a more complex paraphrase.
      • “I heard you say that your family lived in the same refugee camp for 30 years, and now you are struggling to reunite with t em? Is that right”
    • A paraphrase does not move into a full perception check. That, too, might be an excellent tool to use. In this activity, though, we are only paraphrasing.
• Paraphrases serve at least three purposes:
  • 1) to help you understand and retain the message as the listener.
  • 2) to help the speaker “hear” what you heard, and
  • 3) to provide an opportunity for clarification.
• Now it is your turn!
  • First, paraphrase Deka Ahmed’s comments.
  • Second, paraphrase Rollie Nissen’s remarks.
  • What might be challenging about listening to one another’s comments if Deka Ahmed and Rollie Nissetalked to each other? Why?

Worthington, Minnesota 

Stories of success and backlash demonstrate the different perceptions of Somali and other refugee resettlement in smaller towns like Worthington, Minnesota. Michael Miller’s article in the Washington Post drew national attention to Worthington’s changing demographics. He writes, “…immigrant kids fill this town’s school. Their bus driver is leading the backlash” (2011). In addition to the Somali refugee resettlement, Miller notes that thousands of unaccompanied minors have moved to Nobles County, Minnesota.

More on Somali and Somali-American Experiences in Minnesota

Minnesota Needs Immigrants

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce further states that for economic security, Minnesota needs immigrants. “Minnesota’s demographics are shifting, and the population is quickly aging. According to the State Demographer, deaths will outnumber births by the early 2000s. For Minnesota to experience meaningful population growth in the future, it will need to come from migration to the state” (2021).

More about Somalia

Somali Cultural Descriptions from the “Cultural Atlas”

Beyond Stereotypes

Ifrah Mansour, “I am a Refugee”

As a reminder, communication is most simply defined as “making common” or “sharing and understanding a common message” by many authors and Communication researchers. However, in our globalized society, more barriers exist to what we believe to be “common” messages or interpretations of messages. As noted before, communication messages are verbal (words both oral and written) and nonverbal (everything other than words – such as body both explicit (overtly planned) and implicit (more subtle).  Perhaps the most significant barriers to healthy intercultural communication include ethnocentrism and stereotypes. Somali-American and Minnesota-based artist Ifrah Mansour shares the problem of ethnocentrism through the award-winning performance of her poem, “I Am A Refugee,” accompanied by Sultans of String. For ideas on incorporating this poem and performance in a classroom, see https://www.tpt.org/resource/ifrah-mansour-multimedia-artist/.

Who is a Refugee?

In this poem, the term “refugee” is used. You might wonder what distinguishes a refugee from an “immigrant” or other newcomers to a culture. Immigrants are “People who voluntarily move to a country of which they are not natives who take up permanent residence. Merriam Dictionary (2021) helps us better understand the confusion between immigrant and emigrant: “The main difference is that “immigrant” refers to the country moved to, and “emigrant” refers to the country moved from…While the words have been used interchangeably by some writers over the years, immigration stresses entering a country, and emigration stresses leaving.”

Another term to consider is diaspora. “Diaspora refers to a population that shares a common heritage scattered in different parts of the world…The key difference between diaspora and migration is that in diaspora the people maintain a very strong tie to their homeland, their roots, and their origin, unlike in migration” (Differencebetween.com 2016).

The following text boxes share definitions from three entities: the United Nations, an advocacy group, Amnesty International, and the US Federal Government.

Culture Shock

After reading the stories of migration to Minnesota, you will notice that many of the individuals featured in this unit share similar experiences in their acculturation process. The following section, shared through a Creative Commons license agreement, briefly outlines culture shock.

Case Study: Voting

Minnesota Joins the National Conversation in 2020 – “Across America: Being Somali- American”

Here is a shorter version of the video above. Nadia mentions that she did not know she was black until she came to America.

Visit the podcast as it aired on National Public Radio: https://the1a.org/segments/2019-09-05-across-america-somali-americans-get-their-say/.

Current Events: SuperModel Halima Aden

Minnesotan, Halima Aden, shares her departure from high fashion and modeling as a resolution to her tug-of war-between cultures. The Guardian quotes Aden, saying, “When I started, I thought: ‘This is going to open the door for so many girls in my community,'” she s ys. “I never got to flip through a magazine and see someone in a hijab, so to be that person for other girls was a dream come t ue. But the last two years [of my career], I had so much internal conflict.”

UNICEF (n.d.) shared the following information from Ms. Aden’s Ambassador bio:

Somali-American supermodel and activist Halima Aden was a UNICEF Ambassador from July of 2018 to December of 2020.

Halima is no stranger to firsts – she was the first Muslim homecoming queen at her high school, the first woman to wear a hijab at a Miss USA state pageant and was the first model to wear her hijab on the covers of major women’s magazine, Allure, British Vogue and Teen Vogue to name a few.

Halima was born in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, after her family fled civil war in Somalia. She lived there for seven years with her parents before moving to the United States. Early on she developed a passion for empowering young people and a desire to give back, which led to her introduction to UNICEF USA.

As a UNICEF Ambassador, Halima used her voice to engage young people across the U.S. to support UNICEF’s mission to put children first. She brought awareness to programs that save and protect children’s lives and used her platforms to advocate for children’s rights. As a refugee herself, she uniquely understands the needs, along with the hopes and dreams, of the 30 million children around the world who have been forcibly displaced by conflict.

Wikipedia notes:

Halima Aden (born September 19, 1997) is a Somali-American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, where she was a semi-finalist.^[2][3] Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to IMG Models.^[4] She was also the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.^[5]In 2021 she was named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women.^[6]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4joMN7nEs

Additional Links to Explore

More Oral Stories

• Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees
• Confederation of Somali Community of Minnesota  http://csc-mn.org/
• “Immigrant Stories.” Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, 2 15. https://cla.umn.edu/ihrc/immigrant-stories
• “Minnesota 2.0: Digital Archive.” Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, 2 10. https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/mn20/
• Somalis in Minnesota Oral History Project, 2013–2016 Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/oh176.xml
  • Description: Fifty-eight interviews were conducted with Somali residents of the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, as well as the St. Cloud, Rochester, Mankato, and the Fargo-Moorhead area. Interviewees are community leaders, politicians, healthcare professionals, activists, educators, scholars, businesspeople, artists, and poets.
• “Sheeko: Somali Youth Oral Histories.” Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, 2011. http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ihrc/sheeko/

Somali Organizations

• Somali Museum in the Twin Cities
• Somali Family Services http://ussfs.org/

Demographics & Economics

• Check out the changing demographics of Minnesota with the Minnesota State Demographic Center.
  • In addition to Somalia, Minnesota is home to immigrants from Mexico, Laos, India, and Cambodia, among others. Explore the demographic profile of MN – our characteristics and languages.
• MN Compass shares a detailed demographic profile of Minnesota’s Somali Community.
• Rochester, ICC INDEX ANALYSIS 2020 – MN’s Intercultural Community Profile
  • This report is an in-depth analysis of the community’s intercultural prof le. Rochester will be one of the first cities in the “Intercultural City” distinction.
• Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce’s “Contributions over Time” Report
• Coming to MineSota Learn about historical migration to Minnesota, from Indigenous origin stories to current events. See this full PBS Documentary to learn more about the complex history.

Works Cited

Bolter, J. (2019, June  0). Explainer: Who is an immigrant? Immigration policy.org. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/explainer-who-immigrant

Connor, P., & Krogstad, J. M. (2020, May  1). 5 facts about the Global Somali diaspora. Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/01/5-facts-about-the-global-somali-diaspora/

Contributions change over time. Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. (2021, March  3). Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.mnchamber.com/blog/contributions-change-over-time.

Definition of terms. Definition of Terms | Homeland Security. (n. .). Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/data-standards-and-definitions/definition-terms

Department of Homeland Security. (n. .). Definition of terms. Definition of Terms | Homeland Security. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/data-standards-and-definitions/definition-terms

Differencebetween.com. (2016, February 4). Difference between diaspora and migration. Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-diaspora-and-vs-migration/.

Editorial Board. (20 3). The World Bank Research Observer, 28(2),  60. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lks019

Ethnocentrism and Stereotypes. (2020, August 3). Butte College. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/47459

Evason, N. (2019). Somali culture. Cultural At as. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/somali-culture/somali-culture-core-concepts#somali-culture-core-concepts.

Feshir, R. (2019, December  3). Willmar keeps the refugee door open despite concerns. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/12/23/willmar-keeps-the-refugee-door-open-despite-concerns

Gerber, P. J., & Murphy, H. (2020, May 8). ICAT interpersonal communication abridged textbook. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://mytext.cnm.edu/course/i-c-a-t-interpersonal-communication-abridged-textbook/

Guardian News and Me ia. (2021, July  1). ‘Fashion can be very exploitative’ – Halima Aden on why she quit modeling. The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jul/22/fashion-can-be-very-exploitative-halima-aden-on-why-she-quit-modelling.

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