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I guess having a child can refocus certain questions that have previously lain dormant. One of those, at least for me, has been the question of heritage and identity.
I suppose that there once was a time when such a question would have been less common. This would likely have been a time when the society in which one lived was more of less homogeneous (or at least it would have been pre-suppositionally perceived that way). But, even in those increasingly rare cases in our multi-cultural / heterogeneous society where both parents have a very simple ethnic lineage to trace back, the question of identity is not terribly simple.
In my case, as a father, I ask myself what ethnic identity, if any, am I going to pass on to my children? My ethnic makeup is not easily sorted-out. Even the ideal of an ethnic make-up seems problematic. Historically, ethnic identity was understood within the rather misguided paradigm (in my opinion) of race. The bloodline was the thing and it was measured in fractions. For example, if a person had a German mother and a Chinese father, this person would be understood as being 1/2 German and 1/2 Chinese. And if this person had a child with a Russian person, the child would then be 1/4 German, 1/4 Chinese, and 1/2 Russian. Repeat this process a few more times and the fractions begin to get ridiculous. But, isn't the mere idea that fractions can make up a person's ethnic identity rather ridiculous no matter what those fractions are? What does it mean to be 1/4 German or 1/16 Aboriginal? Numbers don't add up to identity. And this, perhaps is my central issue with this way of approaching ethnicity: even if the number is 100%, that doesn't say anything about identity. My dear wife is 100% Dutch... what does that mean. Simply put, it means that both her parents were 100% Dutch. But, the problem is that this really doesn't tell us anything about her ethnic identity. You might be thinking, "No Tyler, this in fact does tell us a great deal... she's Dutch!" Ah, but what does that mean? What does it mean to be Dutch? For ethnic identity has never been grounded in percentages (even 100%) - it has always been grounded in story... in history. Lineage is important not because of the mere fact of that lineage, but rather because of the stories and history contained in that lineage. And, as we know, all history is selective.
History is always selective. It always gives preference to some things (people, places, events, etc.) over others. All people groups derived from the confluence of several other people groups. The Dutch, for example, are not a homogeneous group (no matter how much it may seem so to outsiders). They derive from the intersection of disparate peoples (to varying degrees) who, for various historical reasons, found common cause and cultural identity. As time passed, the attention to the differences increasingly gave way to focus on the growing similarities (as found in culturally symbolic events, practices, modes of thought, religion, and of course, language). The idea of the Dutch people is a cultural construct. Furthermore, the idea of Dutchness (i.e. what it means to be Dutch) can be subtly, and surprisingly diverse. When one considers the emigration of Dutch people from their homeland to Canada, this issue becomes more clear. What Dutch-Canadians might considers important aspects of their Dutchness, could be quite divergent from what Dutch persons living in the Netherlands consider important. This, again, is because history is always an identity making process: we find our identity in our history and in turn construct our history in the image of our identity (a dialectical process). The history of Dutch Canadian immigrants is much different than that of their relations who stayed behind in the home country. Therefore, they construct different identities from their different histories.
Moving from the theoretical to the practical, I then return to my question of ethnic identity. What is the ethnic identity that will be traditioned to my children. What stories, what history will my wife and I pass on to our children? My wife, no doubt, will pass on the Dutch Canadian identity as she has experienced it and understands it. She will tell stories of her parents and her (predominantly) Dutch Canadian community in which she was raised. She will tell stories of her Omas and Opas making the great journey to Canada and finding their place in this new land (stories of courage and fortitude). This Dutch identity will find voice in the stories, but also in symbolic items (blue and white depictions of windmills and young Dutch maidens perhaps) and family customs. I look forward to her sharing her Dutch Canadian roots with our children.
My situation is decidedly more complicated. I'm one of those all-too-common compilations of fractions. I've been struggling with this of late. Where does ethnic identity come from for those whose story/heritage is more difficult to simplify. I think this is what I've come up with (thus far):
If I went with the fractions, it would be easy. But, as I've discussed above, humans do not find identity in the brute logic of mathematics. So then, what is the story that I've been told? Inevitably a story must favour some aspects over others - some lineages must be subsumed by others. The two stories that have been passed on to me have been that of my Irish ancestors and that of my Native ancestors. Interestingly, though my Native lineage is the lesser according to the mathematics, it has been the overwhelmingly stronger story that has been shared. This story has not been shared in narrative form. It has been shared in the form of a deep respect for, and appreciation of, the Native people of our land and their rich cultural heritage. I guess this is what I have to pass on to my offspring. This is the story I have to share. Strangely, it will likely continue to be a story told in the third person rather than the first person voice. My Irish heritage is more difficult to reconcile. Due to situations outside of my control, the Irish story has fallen by the wayside (I hesitate to use the word, lost, though). In what way I am able to address this, well, I don't know.
In many ways, I understand that my situation is not that different from my wife's: I will tell stories of my father and stories of my mother; I will tell stories of my Granny and her life; I will tell stories of my experiences growing up; I will tell stories that convey to my children who I am and where I come from. The biggest difference is that the label which I attach to these stories will not be as easy to explain.
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Post Script: Perhaps I will post on another occasion about the other very important lineage in which I find my identity.
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