Abstract
In the early 1990s, Somali refugees fled the civil war in their homeland and resettled in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Canada, and the United States with the help of government agencies and charitable organizations. Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the US. I conducted an ethnography of Somalis living in the rural community of Faribault, Minnesota, where they comprise nearly 20% of the population. My primary data source was semi-structured interviews with eight Somalis in Faribault (n=8), including six males and two females between the ages of 21 – 43. The data helped shed some light on how they perceive their place in the broader community. The study’s results describe some of their immigration journey from East Africa to Minnesota, their experiences settling in a significantly different cultural context than in Somalia, local healthcare attitudes and access, and hope for the future. Ultimately, Somalis in Faribault are proud of their community; they have raised families and developed professional careers there. It is also evident that further community-building work is necessary to help both the Somalis and the broader community continue to acculturate to the relatively new cultural climate in Faribault. I propose two solutions that might help build such positive connections in Faribault, including an endowed fund and partnership between a community foundation and diversity coalition and a community garden project for Somali and other youth in Faribault. Future research opportunities I might explore include learning from Somali elders and further investigating healthcare-related issues. Keywords: Ethnography, Somali, civil war, refugee, immigration, clans, acculturation, community, diversity coalition, community foundation, service project