By Koldo San Sebastián This article originally appeared in Spanish on EuskoNews. Translated, with the aid of Google Translate, with permission of the author. Jordan Valley, Oregon includes the village of the same name and the nearby territory in which it is located. It is halfway between Boise, Idaho, and Winnemucca, Nevada. As Joseph H. […]
Back in May, at the Los Banos Picnic, N.A.B.O. held its annual convention. This one was particularly special, as it marked 50 years since the founding of the federation of Basque clubs and entities. During the last 50 years, N.A.B.O. has helped bring the Basque community of the United States and beyond together by hosting […]
Ever since Robert Laxalt’s Sweet Promised Land told the story of his Basque immigrant father, there has been a growing recognition that the lives and stories of these men and women are not only worth telling, but comprise an integral part of our collective history and experience. Professor Richard Etulain has made it his life’s […]
The Basque men and women who came to the American West typically came because of the sheepherding industry. However, they often had other, even greater, impact on their local communities. One example is Ignacio Berriochoa who settled in southern Idaho. He was of course a sheepherder, and a farmer, but his more lasting contributions (besides […]
Basques looking for opportunity traveled throughout the world. Many landed in the Americas but more than a few made their way to Australia, encourage by informal government initiatives between Spain and Australia to work in the sugarcane fields. But these lonely men desired companionship, so a second plan was hatched to bring “young, attractive, and […]
Today, I’m sharing a number of interesting items that have been sent to me over the last… well, I don’t dare say, as some of these have been sitting in my inbox for far too long. I hope you enjoy these!
Press release by Sancho de Beurko Association (sanchobeurko@gmail.com) The Texas House of Representatives, namely Rafael Anchia (HD 103), will present a resolution honoring Basque WWII Veterans on the House Floor at the State Capitol in Austin, TX on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. This will be the first resolution to honor Basque and Basque American WWII veterans in the […]
“My father was a sheepherder, and his home was the hills.” The opening to Robert Laxalt’s Sweet Promised Land resonates with so many of us, capturing not only the sheepherder life of his own father, but the experience of many Basque immigrants who made new homes in the American West. I discovered Laxalt’s books when […]
Thomas Jefferson. John Adams. Benjamin Franklin. George Washington. These are the founding fathers of what would become the United States of America. The Basque community in the United States has, in some sense, our own founding father. Along with his brother Bernardo, Pedro Altube was the catalyst of the Basques’ strong role in the livestock […]