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The Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Nevada hosted a ‘Basque Family Cultural Celebration’ that included conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and even an Euskara class. “The purpose was to introduce the immigrant nature of Nevada by highlighting the Basque immigrants,” told EuskalKultura.com Deborah Stevenson, Curator of Education of the museum. “It was successful and fun,” she added.

Carson City, NV, USA. “Everyone in Nevada is an immigrant,” says categorically Deborah Stevenson, Curator of Education of the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. And that’s the main reason the educational institution hosted, this past October 10th, a ‘Basque Family Cultural Celebration.’ “We have Native American neighbors, Hispanics, Chinese, Germans, African-Americans… All of them helped shape the character of Nevada, and so did the Basques, who brought a wonderful contribution to the State, for their loyalty and hard work, and also for being very family oriented. They also had to face discrimination, and the fact that they survived helped shape our character,” she adds.

To celebrate the contribution of the Basques, as part of a bigger immigrant community, the museum exhibited Ikurriñas (the Basque flag), espadrilles, cooking vessels, maps of the Basque Country, a beret… Daily life items. But also some rare and valuable articles like original old documents, certificates, and passports from decades ago.

Activities for all kinds of visitors

It was the first exhibit of this kind in 12 years: kids, youngsters, and adults attended. Some were interested in the historical perspective of the topic, brought by Iker Saitua, PhD student at the University of Nevada Reno. Some were attracted by the uniqueness of the Basque language,  presented in an entertaining way by Monika Madinabeitia, professor at Mondragon University in the Basque Country, by using songs to learn words and useful expressions. And some others wanted to start playing Mus, the Basque card-game par excellence. Xabier Irujo, co-director at the Center for Basque Studies at UNR, took the responsibility of teaching the basics of a game that some Basque-Americans baptized as ‘the Basque Poker.’

There were also screenings of Basque dances and the film Amerikanuak, and Basque music could be heard from the sound system. Stevenson was happy about the turnout and told this bulletin that “it was successful and fun.” The curator is already thinking of organizing a bigger exhibition, maybe, next year, “including food and Basque dancers.”