Tag Archives: american west

Telling the Stories that Need to be Told: An Interview with Richard Etulain

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 […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Jordan Valley, the Little Basque Town in Oregon

The American West was a strong draw for many young Basques seeking opportunity. Jordan Valley, Oregon, was one of those areas that provided opportunity for young Basques. Jordan Valley first attracted miners around 1863 when gold was discovered. The first Basques arrived soon after, in 1890, as part of the sheep industry. So many Basques […]

Vince J. Juaristi: The Work of a Generation

As part of the buildup to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrating the Basque culture, Vince Juaristi is writing a series of articles highlighting the connections between the Basques and Americans. He has graciously allowed me to repost those articles as they appear on Buber’s Basque Page. The Work of a Generation By Vince J. Juaristi […]

Intertwined histories: Basques and America by Vince Juaristi

Following up on the Smithsonian Folklife Festival featuring the Basque Culture this summer in Washington DC, I wanted to share a series of articles highlighting how the Basque history has “intertwined” with that of the United States. Vince Juaristi, a native of Elko, Nevada and author of Back to Bizkaia, was asked by the Smithsonian […]

Behind the Cultures of the Basque Soccer Friendly

In his article at The Blue Review — Beyond the Friendly, Two Idaho Immigration Stories — Mark Bieter takes the opportunity of the Basque Soccer Friendly, to be played this evening between Athletic Bilbao and Club Tijuana, to delve into the history of the two cultures these teams represent, the Basques and the Mexicans. Both […]

Robert Laxalt: Story of a Storyteller by Warren Lerude

Probably most Basque-Americans are vaguely familiar with who Robert Laxalt was, though the Laxalt name might be more recognizable because of his brother, Paul Laxalt, who was a Senator from and Governor of Nevada. Robert was a writer who distilled the Basque-American experience into simple but stark stories of life in the Nevada hills. His […]

A Bevy of Basque Films

It seems like we are in a special time for Basque films. A number of projects are either in production or just wrapping up for release that promise to highlight numerous aspects of Basque culture. Here are a few that have caught my eye. The first is Basque Hotel, by Josu Venero: Basque Hotel is a […]

Basque Arboglyphs

Long-time Basque historian, and frequent contributor to Buber’s Basque Pages, Joxe Mallea, has done a lot of work documenting Basque history recorded on the trees of the American West.  Joxe has decided to start a website (since, as his daughter says, no one reads books anymore) that will showcase many of the arboglyphs he has […]