The American Melting Pot: Maintaining Your Cultural Identity and Supporting Immigrants

The American Melting Pot: Maintaining Your Cultural Identity and Supporting Immigrants

By McKay Strong

I know that this can be a sensitive topic — some people immigrate and want to leave their home behind for whatever reason. They wish to assimilate fully and completely and that is okay. But today, I wanted to share some research on those who have moved to a new place and still want to celebrate and share their culture with those they love.
If you are someone who is working on finding their place within a new culture, here are some thoughts on how you can avoid losing your unique cultural identity:

1. Keep in touch with your loved ones.

Make an effort to keep in touch with both family and friends in your home country. This is a big way to stay connected to your heritage — maintaining relationships with people who are still living in the home you left can help you have a little bit of home where you are.

2. Make your new home feel like home.

Fill your new home with pictures and family heirlooms. Cook recipes from your home country. Listen to music in your native language. Just because your home is in a new location doesn’t mean your home shouldn’t feel like home! Tangible items around you can help you feel grounded and remind you of your cultural identity.

3. Find people who share your cultural background.

Whether it means joining a new church or going to city events that recognize your culture, find a way to meet people who know what you know. Chances are, you won’t be the only one who has left your home country! Research even shows that youth programs help adolescents socialize among their cultures (Iturbide et al., 2019).
 

4. Celebrate your culture.

Invite friends from your new home to celebrate traditional holidays with you. Participate in multicultural events at your child’s school. Share your culture and be proud of it!

If you’re reading this and live in the same country you were born in, here are a few things you can do to support immigrants in celebrating their native cultures:

1. Never assume.

You may not know why someone left their native country, nor is it your right to know. So don’t assume that you know why they immigrated. Don’t assume their life was a certain way at their old home. And definitely don’t assume you know how they should assimilate best. All you need to do is be there to support them in whatever way they need support.

2. Ask thoughtful questions.

Moving to a new place can be lonely and when the culture is so incredibly different from what a person or family is used to, it can be terrifying to try and meet new people. If you know someone in your neighborhood, your work, your child’s school, wherever, that is from another country, don’t be afraid to talk to them. I can almost guarantee that they need the love and support you can offer. Invite them to activities and get to know them just as you would any new neighbor. Be sure to take an interest in their culture and customs, because chances are, they would love to talk about them and share them with you. Ask thoughtful questions, and make an effort to get to know the individual/family as well as where they came from. They’re likely homesick, and any way you can make this new place feel like home for them would be greatly appreciated. You may even make a new friend and find a new interest in a culture different from your own!

3. Avoid appropriation.

Cultural appropriation is the use of elements of a minority’s culture, often in a way that doesn’t respect the element’s original significance or recognize where it came from. As previously mentioned, America is a melting pot, and that’s something to celebrate, but it can cross into cultural appropriation when it turns exploitive. One example of cultural appropriation is sugar skulls used to decorate American homes around Halloween. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not “Mexican Halloween,” it is a celebration of the lives of lost loved ones with roots going back to the Aztecs. The calaveras, or skulls, are displayed alongside pictures of those that have passed on.

“They include beautiful flowers and designs to show that death shouldn’t be feared or shown in a morbid light” (Moreno, 2016), and are an important way to demonstrate respect and honor for deceased loved ones. So you can see why using such sacred parts of an ancient tradition to decorate your home in America for Halloween can seem incredibly disrespectful to those who observe Dia de los Muertos. That is cultural appropriation to a “T”. The best way to fight cultural appropriation? Take the time to educate yourself, listen to those who are among the culture these elements belong to, and once you’ve learned, educate others who may be misinformed as well.

Something that makes America so great is our diversity. It’s really something to celebrate! People come from all over the world to live in the United States of America, and we’ll miss out if we just expect them to assimilate and don’t get to know about where they came from.
Furthermore, adapting to a new environment doesn’t mean that you have to let go of your old customs. Leaving your home should not have to mean leaving behind who you are – and culture is an important part of that. 
This week, make an effort to learn about a different culture from your own. If you know someone who has recently immigrated to your country, find ways to connect and help them feel welcome.

References

Ayón, C., & Villa, A. Q. (2013). Promoting Mexican immigrant families’ well-being: Learning from parents what is needed to have a strong family. Families in Society, 94(3), 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4315

Bhavnagri, N., & Kamash, S. (2019). A Mother Promotes Cognitive and Affective Outcomes via Museum Education on Arab American Immigrants’ Culture: A Vygotskian Perspective. School Community Journal, 29, 87-116.

El-Awad, U., Fathi, A., Vasileva, M., Petermann, F., & Reinelt, T. (2021). Acculturation orientations and mental health when facing post-migration stress: Differences between unaccompanied and accompanied male Middle Eastern refugee adolescents, first- and second-generation immigrant and native peers in Germany. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 82, 232-246.

Iturbide, M. I., Gutiérrez, V., Munoz, L., & Raffaelli, M. (2019). “They Learn to Convivir”: Immigrant Latinx Parents’ Perspectives on Cultural Socialization in Organized Youth Activities. Journal of Adolescent Research, 34(3), 235–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558418777827

Lindert, A.T., Korzilius, H., Stupar-Rutenfrans, S., & Vijver, F.J. (2021). The role of perceived discrimination, intergroup contact and adoption in acculturation among four Dutch immigrant groups. International Journal of Intercultural Relations.

Moreno, N. (2016, October 24). The History of Dia de los Muertos and Why You Shouldn’t Appropriate it. Wear Your Voice. https://www.wearyourvoicemag.com/history-dia-de-los-muertos-appropriate/.