Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Guest
Field Note
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg, Kansas, founded by Swedish Luther-
ans in 1869, has remade itself in recent decades
as “Little Sweden, U.S.A.” Swedish gift shops,
restaurants, and ethnic festivals, along with
faux-Swedish storefronts, all attract visitors
interested in the Swedish American heritage.
Here you see a Dala horse, a traditional Swedish
folk craft that has been adopted as the town
symbol. Note, too, the Swedish and American
fl ags fl ying in the background. Most visitors to
the town assume one of two things: either the
town is an island of nineteenth-century culture
passed on unchanged for generations, or it is a
crock of Disneyesque fakery cooked up to draw
in gullible tourists. The fascination of fi eldwork
is that it undermines any such simplifi cations. I
found ethnicity here to be complex, quirky,
ever-changing, and very much a part of the
people's lives. Swedishness in Lindsborg has
been invented and reinvented time and time
again through the decades, as people con-
stantly look for answers to that most basic of
questions: who am I?
Credit: Steven M. Schnell, Kutztown
University of Pennsylvania
Figure 4.7
Local Cultures and Cultural Appropriation
Local cultures, whether rural or urban, often fi nd them-
selves trying to keep their customs for themselves, to pre-
vent others from appropriating their customs for eco-
nomic benefi t. Anthropologists and geographers have
studied how others are using local cultural knowledge,
customs, and even names. For example, the estate of
Crazy Horse (a Lakota Indian leader) sued a brewery that
produced Crazy Horse beer.
The process through which something (a name, a
good, an idea, or even a person) that previously was not
regarded as an object to be bought or sold becomes an
object that can be bought, sold, and traded in the world
market is called
commodifi cation
. One need look no
further than eBay to see commodifi cation. Newspapers
frequently report on bizarre objects, such as a waffl e
challenge to local cultures in cities is the migration of mem-
bers of the popular culture or another local culture or ethnic
group into their neighborhood. The local cultures in
Brooklyn and the North End work to maintain their culture
and customs as young artists and professionals move into
their respective neighborhoods. Rents and housing costs are
climbing in each neighborhood, and the cultural landscapes
are starting to refl ect the neighborhood's new residents. A
new arts community is inundating the Hasidic neighbor-
hood of Brooklyn called Williamsburg. Today, you will fi nd
art galleries, artistically painted old warehouses converted
into residences, and even a new brewery. In Boston's North
End, young professionals are taking advantage of the neigh-
borhood's favorable location, choosing apartments in the
North End so they can walk to their jobs in the city center.
Today, you will fi nd apartments being renovated to appeal to
the North End's newest residents.
121
