"Amerikanuak! Basques in the High Desert"

Date, Location

Tue, 01/31/2012 - 6:00pm - 7:00pm

McMenamin's Old St. Francis School
700 NW Bond
Bend, OR

About the Event

Beginning in the late 19th century the Basques, an ancient people from the fishing villages on the Bay of Biscay and the farms and villages in the rich green country of the Pyrenees Mountains, came to the High Desert. Most came as sheepherders. Some persevered and became prosperous sheepmen. Others opened boarding houses and small businesses and became buckaroos or ranchers. Over the course of a century, Basque-Americans became an integral part of the region’s diverse and distinctive culture, its economy and political leadership.
 

Presented by: Bob Boyd

In 1995 Bob Boyd, Curator of Western History at the High Desert Museum and History teacher in the Bend-La Pine School District, produced the exhibition Amerikanuak! Basques in the High Desert. His presentation will revisit the story of these hardy immigrants to the High Desert West with historic images, artifacts of their life and work, and color photography of landscapes and historic sites from the region’s Basque History.

Cost: Free

To Register:

Free and open to the public.  Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

Event Website

The Oregon Encyclopedia