By Elliot Kuli Torro (Tan) and Christoph Glowsky (Glowaski)
According to our informal poll, three out of every ten Minnetonka students have no idea what their cultural heritage is. Although it is not necessary, understanding your heritage is an important key for unlocking the mystery of your identity. It can explain why you think a certain way, or act another. It can clarify your beliefs and even give new aspects to them. For instance, a Native American will generally look differently at the woods than an Englishman. An Irish person will view religion differently than a Pole. All these are a result of your cultural identity. Of course, your own beliefs play a part in it, but your ethnic history gives your personality a base.
About a hundred or so years ago, when immigrants from all over the world began to flow into America, their names were changed and they were forced to abandon their cultural heritage in order to assimilate into American mainstream culture. For most of us, our grandparents or great-grandparents were our first generation in America. They were, in many cases, so desperate to make a living that cultural identity did not mean as much as survival. Of course, since they were urged to abandon their culture, their children, born into an American culture, had no notion of where their ancestors came from. We have just recently become a stable enough nation to begin researching and investigating our history. It is a piece of our psyche that we just now are noticing is gone. The melting pot is no longer necessary. A person can be an American and still be German or Irish or Haitian.
The point is that cultural heritage is an important aspect of your being. It affects the way you act and the way you look. For many it is no longer an obscure part of their past, but an important part of their present and future.
If you are interested in researching your genealogy, the Minnesota Historical Society, located in St. Paul, or the Mormon Church have detailed information on the subject.