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319 Adjustment and the Future Adjustment and the Future Mika Roinila The immigrant Finns have always represented a relatively small population, roots of which come from a largely agricultural environment in northern Europe, with specific linguistic and cultural features. Work was usually found in the expanding industrial America, although many longed for farmland. In facing problems of integration, the typical immigrant solution was to build a strong societal life of their own, which often echoed the norms of the Old Country. Immigrant generations played an important role in the development of ethnic life. The first generation had strong roots in either the Finnish or Swedish languages or the corresponding cultural heritage that defined the people of Finland. Much of this remained among the first generation, but many also wanted to learn the way of the new land, led by the desire to learn English. The second generation in turn was much more likely to adapt completely to the American way of life. Only a part of this population, and in turn their descendants, preserved the language and cultural ways of their ancestors. While a small proportion of the later generation Finnish Americans remained in the immigrant social circles, it seems quite clear that the American way of life and society successfully influenced the lives of the majority of the later generations. In spite of a seemingly “vanishing Finnish American” trend, we must recognize the importance of several former “nesting places,” the most important ones of which were found in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, the western and northwestern states, as well as the retirement settlements of Florida. In these regions, Finns left a particularly strong imprint on the population structure and cultural heritage, which is expressed in the form of Finn halls, churches, cooperative stores, or the sauna buildings that dot the towns and countryside. A keen observer may even find traces of ideological and political splits that strongly influenced the Finnish American community, particularly during the first four decades of the twentieth century. This specific feature heavily influenced the Finnish American community and its community interactions, reflecting the hot issues of the “Reds” and “Whites.” The “political trend” of the Finns may be interpreted as a posthumous effort in addressing problems of societal change in Finland, while simultaneously reacting to the problems they saw in their surrounding environment. Conflicts were born both within the immigrant group itself and with the political system Mika Roinila 320 of the United States. However, problems between immigrant factions have faded in recent decades and turned into joint activities predicated upon the preservation of Finnish American culture and history. Throughout the decades there also existed some transnational features. While one-fifth of all immigrants from Finland returned to the Old Country, and a few thousand socialist idealists moved to build the new workers’ society in the Soviet Union during the Great Depression, the great majority remained in North America. But despite the separation from the Old Country, links have existed between various organizations, families, and individuals, particularly in the form of cultural, economic, and political contacts over the Atlantic. But what about the present status and future challenges for Finnish Americans? Current conditions in the economic, social, political, and cultural sphere of the Finnish American community are something that every generation is eager to analyze and discuss. Some of the earliest scholars believed that the Finnish culture would disappear within a short period of time after Finns immigrated to America. This has yet to happen. The imported Finnish culture and the current Finnish American culture are well maintained and promise to continue. Still, there are questions that need to be asked about future trends of Finnishness in America. What does the future hold for the Finnish American population? Some work on this has already been done, and more is forthcoming.1 Perhaps the hardest question for researchers interested in Finnish Americana to answer is why countless individuals in the Finnish American and even Finnish Canadian immigrant communities choose not to associate with “things Finnish”? Over the past several years, some observations and thoughts may be indicative of the only possible response—a lack of interest. There are numerous people of Finnish ancestry who remain marginal or completely ignorant of Finnish ethnicity and uninterested in maintaining and/or perpetuating anything related to Finnishness. This includes the language, religion, culture, traditions, sauna, and other aspects of Finnishness. It may be ironic, yet understandable, to find that food is the most often mentioned feature of Finnishness among...

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