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Looking for Finnish North Americans today

At the end of 1990s, Jouni Korkiasaari, information service manager of the Institute of Migration in Turku began a monumental exploration that focuses on the present Finnish immigrant population of North America (USA and Canada). Shifting from traditional histories of Finnish immigrant communities to current conditions among the immigrants is a challenge that will lead to the eventual publication of a book entitled "Finnish North Americans Today". In order to succeed in this undertaking, Korkiasaari has been collecting on-line survey data through the Institute's website. Today, nearly 4,000 people have participated in the survey.

 The survey of Finnish North Americans

Some preliminary results of the survey are reported in a paper presented by Jouni Korkiasaari at the 7th FinnForum conference in Minneapolis, October 28-30, 2004. The paper can be downloaded by following the link below:

Preliminary results of the Finnish North Americans today project

The ultimate goal of the project is the production of a book that will deal with 1) the analysis of the survey data, 2) narratives of Finnish North American individuals and their life stories, 3) short articles on locations, structures, memorials, landmarks etc which have a Finnish origin or connection and left behind by this ethnic group, and 4) a short genealogical guide for readers on how to trace family roots in Finland and North America. A short statistical overview and a summary of the history of Finnish migration to North America will also be included in the book.

In addition to Jouni Korkiasaari there are two other researchers connected to the project: assistant professor of geography Dr. Mika Roinila (Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN) and genealogy expert Timothy Laitila Vincent of Salt Lake City.

In 2004-2005, the researchers travelled across the United States and Canada to collect interview material from people, chosen from lists of interested individuals obtained through former contacts with the investigators.

The project has received financial support from the following funds: Finlandia Foundation Trust, Canadian Suomi Foundation, Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen Fund (Institute of Migration) and State University of New York New Paltz.

Contact:

1. Jouni Korkiasaari, Institute of Migration
2. Mika Roinila, Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN

The number of Finnish North Americans today

In the US Census 2000 the number of people claiming Finnish ancestry was 624,000. Of those 20,000 were born in Finland (including about 8,000 that had arrived since 1990, many staying in the US on a temporary basis). It is estimated that about 80,000 are second generation immigrants. This means that over half a million third, fourth, fifth and even sixth generation Finnish-Americans recognize their Finnish roots at the census polls (as either the first or second ethnicity). In comparison, about ten million claimed Scandinavian ancestry, of which about 800,000 are still first and second generation.

Forty percent of the respondents claimed a single ancestry (Finnish only). Of the sixty percent that claimed multiple (or dual) ancestry, half claimed Finnish first, and half Finnish second. For 100,000 the other ethnicity was Scandinavian.

The Census also asks "What language other than English is spoken at home?". In the year 2000 "Finnish" was the language given by 40,000 (over 6 percent of those claiming Finnish ancestry). 150,000 claimed Danish, Swedish or Norwegian language (only 1.5 percent of those claiming Scandinavian ancestry).

The ranking of the US states with most Finns in 2000 was as follows: Michigan 101,400, Minnesota 99,400, California 56,000, Washington 40,300, Wisconsin 36,000, Massachusetts 27,000, Florida 25,700, Oregon 21,400, Illinois 19,100, Ohio 18,000, and New York 16,800.

How about newcomers? Currently about 500 persons a year from Finland are given permanent residence status (Green Card), mostly by being married to a US citizen. At the same time, there are close to 10,000 non-immigrant visitors from Finland admitted each year. As an example, in year 1994, there were 3,500 admitted on employment visas, 4,000 for studies, and 1,500 for government related purposes.

In the 2001 Census of Canada about 115,000 claimed Finnish ancestry; of those 32,000 reported single ancestry and 83,000 multiple ancestries. Provinces with the highest number of "Finns" were Ontario 44,000, British Columbia 20,000, Alberta 10,500, Saskatchewan 3,000, Manitoba 2,600 and Quebec 1,500.