Basque Americans

According to the 2008–10 American Community Survey (ACS) estimate, there are approximately 55,822 Basque Americans of full or partial Basque descent living in the United States. The Basque people are indigenous to the Pyrenees mountain [Page 326]region in Europe where some originated in southwestern France and others in northeastern Spain. The earliest Basques in America may have arrived with Christopher Columbus. The largest contemporary populations of Basques in the United States reside in California, Idaho, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon, and they have been present there since the mid-1800s. Many migrated to the United States at that time seeking economic stability because of poverty in the Basque region.

Though the first Basque men in the western United States became sheepherders and ranchers, they were not predominantly herders in the old country. They came mainly from varied rural occupations. Pictured in the homes of many Basque Americans today are paintings or photographs of their traditional family homesteads. Bright white stucco with red tile roofs, the farmsteads (baserri) dot the rolling hills in the old country. Though a small percentage of Basques in the United States are still running sheep operations, increasing numbers have attended universities and have entered varied other professions.

Roman Catholic is the dominant faith of Basque Americans, and the people strongly support education. Though the Basques participate fully in American culture, they treasure their ancient and unique heritage. They keep many ethnic markers alive, and most important to many Basques is their unique language. It is of non-Indo-European origin, and it remains somewhat of a mystery to scholars. To speak it is a point of pride for the Basques, though the use of the language has faded with passing generations. Both the University of Nevada at Reno and Boise State University in Idaho sponsor Basque language classes using Batua, a unified consensus dialect created by scholars because of variants in the original spoken and written Basque. In some cities where the Basque American population is sizable there are Basque-language choirs and dancing clubs for adults and teenagers. A few cities in the United States have language immersion primary schools for children.

The North American Basque Organization (NABO), various Basque Cultural Centers, the Society for Basque Studies in the United States, and a Basque Museum on Grove Street in Boise, Idaho, are only a few of the formal efforts the Basque Americans have created to preserve their heritage for future generations. There are Basque restaurants in several of the western states that offer authentic Basque cooking served family style. The menus are varied, but thick and savory bean soup, codfish served with tomato sauce, lamb, fresh green salad with a light vinegar-oil dressing, freshly steamed vegetables, long loaves of bread, and a variety of desserts are almost always available. The Basques were cod fishermen for generations that stretch back into antiquity, and long ago they fished the northeastern shores of America. Cod is a staple in the diet of the Basque country, and the tradition has continued here.

The photo shows a Basque American hotel and restaurant in Winnemucca, Nevada, in 1981. About 55,822 people of full or partial Basque descent lived in the United States in 2010.

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