Who are we?

Changes in the meaning of individualism in a Finnish American “Uniontown” reveal the tensions created by the ongoing conflict coloring Finnish identity in an overarching American society. Ideological and social structural ambiguities involved in the process of change are encapsulated in local stereotypes about Finns. These stereotypes seem to be based upon (1) the cultural imagery of peasant traditionalists promoted by a folk festival (2) the visibility of Finnish immigrant workers in the fishing industry and (3) historical political conflict. Drawing on fieldwork and archival data, the author suggests that an analysis of the expressive and instrumental uses of these stereotypes reveals a pattern of conflict and accommodation to an ongoing modernizing process.