Why are Dakotans Not Like Scandinavians?

Since North Dakota was settled by primarily by Scandinavians, then why aren’t the Dakotas culturally similar to Scandinavia?

A gentleman once asked me why the Dakotas are not similar to Scandinavia, given that so many of the inhabitants in North and South Dakota come from Scandinavia. I thought that was an interesting question worth writing an article about. Especially given that I am a Norwegian who lived a year in North Dakota about twenty years ago.

The difference between Norway and North Dakota was stark. I honestly felt totally out of place, like I was on an alien planet. What made the feeling, so bizarre was the fact that so many of the faces on the street looked Norwegian. Not odd given that people of Norwegian descent represent the largest ethnic group in North Dakota. Despite the uncanny physical resemblance, nobody dressed, talked or acted Norwegian in any way.

Their brains had been uploaded with different software making them act American, rather than Norwegian. The difference stood out even more clearly because I moved straight to the Netherlands after my year in North Dakota. The Dutch are not Norwegian, yet it was eerie how much it felt like coming home to Norway. Stuff suddenly made sense in a way it had never done in North Dakota.

The experience hammered home that culture does not get defined by the genetic heritage of the people who make up a society. So, what exactly does define a culture — or more specifically, what causes a culture to change over time? Why did North Dakotans end up so different from Norwegians? And why on Earth are Dutch people so much more similar to Norwegians than Norwegian descendants in the US?

I want to tackle these questions from two different angles:

1. How people get shaped by the society and culture they live in.
2. How economic, geographic, and social factors push cultures in different directions.

Before examining the issue from these two angles, let me give a bit of context. The big settlement boom in North Dakota began around 1870, which coincides with large emigration waves from Norway to the US. Norwegians were the largest ethnic group in North Dakota and probably still are. Why exactly then? A major technological shift ties these events together. Railroad connection to North Dakota arriving around this time opened up the prairies for settlers. Meanwhile, this railroad connection allowed large amounts of grain from Russia, Ukraine, and the US to arrive in European markets. Before railroads, Ukrainian grain could not easily be shipped to the rest of Europe. Another important impact was that Russian timber could be moved to harbors cheaply.

Both these events triggered emigration from Norway. It caused falling prices for lumber, which was an important Norwegian export, while falling grain prices caused hardship for farmers all over Norway. That is why so many came to the US in that time period.

If we are to analyze how North Dakotans ended up different from Norwegians, we have to understand life in America in the 1870s as well as how Norwegian and North Dakotan society diverged from that time period towards the present day.

How We Are Shaped By Culture and Language

One thing I have noticed frequently when following American discourse is that there is an implicit belief in that you are defined by your skin color. “Don’t act so white,” Americans might say, or they might say, “He looks black but acts white.” To Americans these are pretty common and well-understood expressions, but to many of us Europeans they sound bizarre. As Europeans, we live on a continent made up of a large number of states with unique cultures, languages, and histories. The idea that we should act and think the same because we share a skin color seems rather odd.

I recall hanging out with black and white American girls many years ago in San Fransisco. We were going to eat at an Indian Fusion restaurant. I still remember the food was absolutely amazing. While walking, I remember the girls making various remarks about the difference between blacks and white. They were talking about how putting the trash can under the sink was such a typical “white thing,” while keeping it on the kitchen floor was the “black thing” to do. I remember thinking to myself: “No, keeping it under the sink is the Norwegian thing and keeping it on the kitchen floor is the Dutch thing to do.”

It is a strange little random observation, but over the years I have kept noticing how Americans have a strong habit of racializing human behavior. What to me represents different cultures, is a matter of race in America. It isn’t even limited to blacks and whites. I remember being surprised by how American comedian Hasan Minhaj would refer to behaviors and experiences in his family as being about what “brown kids” experience, rather than say Indian or Muslim kids. Demanding parents who want you to be a medical doctor was not explained as a trait among Indian or Pakistani immigrants, but as something “brown parents” do.

I wanted to lead with these recollections because I wanted to hammer home the idea that we are all products of the culture we grow up in. The people around us and the society we live in shape our behavior and values, not our DNA or skin color. Skin color may certainly give certain privileges or make us face prejudice, but it isn’t going to decide whether we prefer rice to potatoes or where we prefer to put our trashcan.

My Vietnamese-Norwegian Friend in North Dakota

One of my odd early experiences in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sitting right across a Vietnamese-looking guy in my class. We began talking, and I quickly realized that he was Norwegian as well. So, we switched to Norwegian and continued the conversations. I asked where he was from. Turns out he was from the same town as me. What were the odds? The next implausible coincidence was that he had had my dad as his English teacher.

The reason I bring up my old Vietnamese-Norwegian friend is because he proved all too well how culture is thicker than blood. Let me give some context. I frankly felt quite alone in North Dakota. I don’t regret going there. It was an experience worth having, but it reminded me of the quote:

“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.”

– Robin Williams, former Hollywood actor and comedian

I met and hung out with plenty of people because Americans are quite hospitable and make friends quickly. Yet, despite being surrounded by people, I felt alone and that was primarily due to a cultural barrier. I thought I knew American culture from numerous visits as a tourist and countless American TV shows and movies. But I really didn’t, and it didn’t matter that all these people around me shared a lot of my Norwegian DNA.

Instead, my Vietnamese-Norwegian friend was my closest friend. We understood each other. We were on the same wavelength. We had the same references, spoke the same language, and had the same culture. My friend obviously had Vietnamese heritage as well from his parents, but to me, he was just like any other Norwegian guy from my hometown. I am not certain how I would have gotten through the year without him. It is hard to not see the irony. I was around all these people who shared a lot of the same blood and appearance as me, but it meant nothing. It didn’t matter that my Norwegian friend had no actual Norwegian DNA. In the end, what mattered is that he had the same Norwegian culture. Your skin color or DNA isn’t what makes you Norwegian. Being raised in Norwegian culture is what makes you Norwegian.

How Language Shapes Mindset

But if North Dakotans were raised around all these Norwegians, why didn’t they turn into Norwegians? That brings me to an important point I feel is often overlooked in the US, which is language. When discussing diversity in Europe and the US, I frequently notice Americans and Europeans talk past each other. To Americans, there is no diversity in a European city if they cannot see physical differences on people’s faces and skin. In a country so focused on race, the understanding of diversity is closely tied to race.

To Europeans, language is a big part of diversity. Europe is a patchwork of states with people that don’t look that different on the surface. Yet, there is a large variation in culture and language. Language is a major carrier of culture and identity. Language is not merely a pragmatic way of communication, but also a way of thinking. Learning a language doesn’t just tell you what each word means, but with it come the literature and stories that exist within that language.

The Norwegians that grew up in North Dakota were permanently severed from their Norwegian roots when their mother tongue got replaced with English. Suddenly, you are no longer learning Norwegian songs, fairy tales and authors but American songs, stories, and literature. Languages are forged by the culture that creates them and which it lives within.

I want to use some examples from sociologist Alvin T. who writes about living in Japan and the Japanese language. Japanese is useful to illustrate my point because the culture is so profoundly different from Western culture. In Western culture, the concept of “I” as independent of all other things and other people is obvious and natural. In Japanese, in contrast, there is no single word for “I” because in Japanese culture you do not exist independent of your relations. You exist as part of something bigger. You are somebody in relation to other people: In relation to your wife, your children, your friends, your boss and so on. Thus, the word “I” is usually skipped in Japanese sentences. Hence, a simple expression, such as “I like cake,” has no good direct translation to Japanese. Instead, you would write:

「ケーキが好きです。」 — Direct translation:, “Cake, love.”

The same applies when asking the question “Do you like cake?”. The Japanese would ask the following question instead:

「ケーキ、好きですか。」 — Direct translation: “Cake, love?”

Alvin goes on to cover many examples like this, but I think you get the point. While Norwegian is closer to English than Japanese, it also has its own idiosyncrasies shaped by Norwegian culture, landscapes, history and way of life.

Let me take a small, silly example: The Norwegian fairy tale “De tre bukkene bruse,” which has been translated to English as “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” In the English version the goats are crossing a river to go to a meadow. That is actually quite an inaccurate translation, which fails to convey the obvious reason for the goats to be crossing the river. In the Norwegian version they are not going to a meadow but a “seters.” The word has no good English translation because it relates to a way of life that never existed in Britain or the United States. Norway is a mountainous country with countless valleys and dramatic seasons. In the summer months, grass grows far up the hillsides. Farms thus have a sort of mini-farm in the hillside called a “seters” utilized during the summer months. Animals journey up the valley to this smaller summer farm and eat the grass there. Thus, animals move up and down the mountain sides with the seasons. In Norwegian, you only need one word to convey that the goats are simply making this journey.

This example is about a word related to physical and historical realities of Norway. However, many other words have developed because of Norwegian culture and values. You have words such as “dugnad”, “dugnadsånd” and “spleiselag” which ties in with a general Scandinavian spirit of cooperation and working towards common good.

Education and Media Reality

American and Norwegian education, newspapers and media realities are very different, although Norway is definitely experiencing a strong Americanization due to the strong influence of American pop-culture worldwide. Yet, until the last two decades, local media would be the primary influence on most people.

People in North Dakota are part of the US and speak English, which means the media reality they are exposed to for over a hundred years has been American. Stories about what is going on in the world are told from an American perspective. Textbooks in school explain topics from an American perspective. North Dakotans don’t get extensively taught about Norwegian history. In fact, North Dakotans in my experience know shockingly little about Norway. I have met plenty of Mexicans and Chinese who know more about Norway. The American school system simply deprioritizes in-depth knowledge about the outside world, which means that your average North Dakotan knows very little about the land of their forefathers.

It might be pertinent to ask why on earth would a North Dakotan be Norwegian at all? They are cut off from their roots completely. They know none of the history, language, or literature of their ancestral home. Furthermore, they are not taught how Norwegians see the world. What they are taught is how Americans see the world. If everything you get taught from childhood is taught from an American perspective, then how can your mind ever be Norwegian? Norwegian mindset and values do not travel through the blood.

That is why I must sadly say that while North Dakotans look like Norwegians, they are not my people. We are nothing alike. What is left of the old country is only the most superficial things. It is akin to suggesting America has preserved Mexican culture because there are Taco Bell fast-food places all over.

Food and What Preserving a Culture Entails

It is frankly a bit sad because I think many Americans want to connect with the culture of their forefathers. I have seen that with my own distant relatives. Yet, when the gap becomes too big, you don’t even know where to start. My relatives have wanted to learn Norwegian ways of making Christmas decorations, various Christmas foods and so on. This kind of focus often miss the point. Things like decorations and food are so international now that eating some special Norwegian thing ceases to have any meaning. The most Norwegian thing to eat today is probably a taco or pizza. Most people, especially in Northern Europe, don’t eat traditional foods anymore.

Culture is typically not about a unique kind of food, but about the contexts in which you eat particular food. After Norwegian national day, we are all out in town with the family or meeting friends while eating ice cream and hotdogs. You cannot simulate that event and that experience by just serving hotdogs and ice cream at home in the living room.

Norwegians eat pancakes just like Americans, but a significant cultural signifier in the context in which we at them. We never eat pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes are dessert food, not breakfast food, in Norway. Omelettes, scrambled eggs, bacon, or muesli are typical Norwegian breakfast food.

Often it is about food access rather than the dish. Americans have bread just like Norwegians, but buying freshly baked wholegrain bread with a crust is a very Norwegian thing. It isn’t so much about a special dish, but how commonly known dishes are made. Norwegians tend to eat more whole grain, less salt and with much less use of sugar or sweetener.

Differences in Economic and Social Conditions

Even if North Dakotans had stuck with Norwegian as their language and kept learning Norwegian history and literature, they would still have evolved into a very different society from that in Norway because North Dakota, like many other American states, developed economically, socially and politically in a profoundly different way from Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

When Scandinavians arrived in the US in 1870 it was a land of opportunity and plenty. A successful Norwegian farmer could not hope to have much more than 20 acres of poor quality in Norway. In North Dakota and other prairie states, the government gave away prime farmland; Up to 320 acres of land with a rich soil beyond anything accessible to the average Norwegian.

Because the US had the West with boundless quantities of prime soil, the common man had options. You could not retain common workers unless you could offer competitive wages. Norwegians in Norway in contrast were basically boxed in. There was no free land to take if you would rather not work in a factory, sawmill, fishing, or something similar.

The end result is that American society at the time had 3–4 times higher wages and was often more egalitarian. Under such conditions, socialists movements did not have fertile soil to grow. Scandinavia, like much of Europe, saw the rise of powerful labour movements with socialist ideologies because Europe was an overpopulated region of the world with limited resources.

The US never saw this political change because the need for it wasn’t there, given the much better conditions that existed for common people. Norwegians didn’t move to the US to get freedom. Norway was already one of the most democratic countries in the world. Norwegians moved to the US because of abundance of resources and land available. Being resource constrained vs. having resource abundance creates very different political development.

Lack of resources made politics far more focused on sharing than in the US, and pushed the whole Nordic region into a far more socialist direction. From the 1870s and onwards, North Dakota had plenty of opportunity to expand agriculture. In Norway, no prosperity could ever be built on agriculture. Industrialization was the only way, but Norway lacked coal and railroads were very hard to build in such a mountainous country. The maritime sector, lumber, and fishing continued to play a significant role in Norway, while those industries didn’t exist at all in North Dakota. People get shaped by what they do. Norwegians in the inland have a different culture from those living on the coast. Most Norwegians live on the coast. Norway is foremost a maritime country, going all the way back to Viking age. If you place Vikings in the middle of the prairie, far away from the sea, their way of life and their culture will be profoundly transformed.

If I look at my family from my grandparents’ generation and back, I find countless people who worked on ships as sailors, captains, machine operators and so on. Doing your confirmation at 15 and then going to sea was the old Norwegian life. This is not the life of North Dakotans. I grew up hearing the sound of bolts, metal, and hammering from the shipyard in the morning. A lot of time was spent with my dad at the marina. He always had something to do on his sailboat when I was a kid. We would walk around, and he would talk about the different boats, how they were made and so on. My grandmother would take me on ferry trips across the fjord to the town of Horten. The sea was always there. The sound of the seagulls. When my distant American relatives came over to visit the first time, that is one of the things that stood out to me: They had no relation to the ocean. They had never been at sea, whether on a large car ferry or a sailboat.

For Norwegians in Northern Norway, the sea is even closer. Kids do their first jobs cutting fish in the filet factories. The culture of the North has been shaped by the long history of fisherman who died in storms. The culture around marriage adapted significantly to the fact that so many young women became widows.

What I am trying to get at is that people get shaped by their way of life and the North Dakotan way of life was diametrically opposite of the way of life that have long dominated Norway. The prairie states are quite conservative. That is no surprise. Inland Norway is also more conservative. Maritime life breeds a much more progressive and open-minded culture. So many people would get exposed to other cultures and countries through trade on a regular basis. My great-grandfather sailed all over the world shipping goods. He spent extensive time in every possible country. When he came home, he had stories from all over the world.

He was far from unique. Norwegian families everywhere heard stories of the world abroad. Norway is a nation of adventurers and explorers. Our heroes are explorers such as Fritjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and Thor Heyerdahl (Kon-Tiki). Norwegians have long wanted to read stories about explorers, foreign land, and travel. My dad grew up with all the stories from his grandfather and wanted to travel all over himself. He was many places, perhaps most notable was his time as a teacher in Uganda. It meant that I grew up in a house full of African spears, shields, and instruments.

The world I met in North Dakota and Minnesota twenty years ago was very different. The culture seemed very insular to me. People didn’t seem to know much about the world outside or care much about it. That is what happens when you take the sea away from a Norwegian.

Conclusion

This story can probably be summarized as: The land, way of life and language is what makes people who they are, not their blood. Today, Norway is a multicultural society, but that will not radically change Norwegians. Norwegians with different skin color and heritage will be shaped by the same landscapes and way of life which shaped me and my ancestors, just as new waves of immigrants to America will be shaped by the unique features, language, and way of life that exists in the US.