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In this activity, students
- Read about the historical
migration of the Honduran Garinagu
- Trace the migratory patterns
of the Garinagu with a map or globe
- Investigate and draw a
map of their relatives' immigration to the U.S. Present the map
to the class and share a cultural tradition rooted in their family
- Discuss their personal
experiences of moving and adaptation to a foreign environment.
Interview local immigrants
about their experiences adapting to life in the U.S.
goals of this activity include:
- To learn
about the migratory practices and ethnic origins of the Honduran
- To increase
students' cultural awareness and appreciation by investigating
the immigration of their family members to the U.S.
- To enhance
students' empathy towards immigrants living in the U.S. by reflecting
on students' personal experiences of moving and adaptation and
interviewing local immigrants
- To understand
the historical events that led up to the Garífuna "diaspora"
Why study the Garífuna diaspora?
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asked to answer the following questions about the Garífuna
diaspora. Click here for the student question
sheet and the teacher answer sheet.
Students may begin learning about the Garífuna diaspora by
exploring the following links:
online resources include:
After learning about the
Garífuna diaspora, you may now want your students to:
- Investigate their families'
own immigration to the U.S.
- Reflect on their own experiences
relocating and adapting to a foreign environment
- Interview Garífuna
peoples living in the U.S. or local immigrant groups
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|| Family Heritage Map
Students can draw a map of their relatives' immigration to the
U.S. They can draw arrows from 1). their ancestors' country/countries
of origin 2). to their point of entry in the U.S. and 3). to their
present-day location. Students may present their maps to the class
and share a tradition or cultural practice rooted in their family
create this map, students may:
- Use photocopies of world maps
- Use world maps found on the Internet:
- Draw their own maps freehand or with a computer-aided drawing
program such as ClarisWorks or PowerPoint
To investigate their ancestors' immigration to the U.S., students
what they have previously learned
their parents and other knowledgeable family members
about their relatives' countries of origin on the Internet: http://www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_World/Countries/
When presenting their maps to the class, students should answer
the following questions:
- From which country/countries where your ancestors originally
from? What was their ethnicity? What was their relationship to
the student (great-grandparents, parents, etc.)?
- When did your ancestors immigrate to the U.S.? Where did they
first arrive in the U.S.? Has your family since moved to another
- Describe your relative's experience immigrating to the U.S.
and adapting to life in a foreign country. (Note: a response may
not be explicit and students may have to imagine their reactions.
They can gain insight into this experience by reading similar
accounts found in the school library, on the Web, or by talking
with family members.)
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Experiences of Relocation and Change
Below are several questions to initiate
a group discussion about moving and adapting to a foreign environment.
By reflecting on their own experiences with relocation, students
may gain an increased empathy towards immigrant groups living in
you moved in your lifetime? When? From what place to what place?
did you feel leaving your town and saying goodbye to your friends?
What was it like arriving in a different town and being new in
you have a choice? If not, how did this make you feel?
think about the Garífuna peoples. How was their move different
or similar to what you experienced?
that you are Garífuna
and recently arrived in the U.S.
What would life be like? How would you feel?
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Another way for students to understand the migration of the Garinagu
and other ethnic groups is by interviewing immigrant populations
living in the U.S.
Students can enter the Garifuna
World or Garinet
chat room or post messages to their bulletin boards. They can also
research and talk to local immigrants in their neighborhood. Students
can present their findings to the class through a report or presentation.
Finally, students may want to invite a speaker to their class to
discuss their cultural heritage.
Suggested questions (to be asked during the interview):
- Could you
please share with me your experience coming to the U.S.? Can you
help me understand what was it like first arriving in this country?
If you feel comfortable, would you mind telling me what brought
you to the U.S.?
- Can you
recall your initial impression of U.S. culture and way of life?
Did you find it different from where you grew up? What differences
did you see in customs and beliefs?
- Did you
face challenges as an immigrant living in the U.S.? If so, would
you be willing to share your experiences with me and and how you
managed to cope with these difficulties?
- Do you
feel that you have been welcomed and treated fairly by other people
in the U.S.? If not, how would you suggest to change these behaviors?
- May I ask
how many years you have now lived in the U.S.? Do you feel that
you have adapted to life in the U.S.? May I ask if living in the
U.S. has changed your family and your cultural traditions?
- Is there
anything else that you would you want people to know about your
of other immigrants?
that students should ask permission before conducting this interview
and should be sensitive to their
informant's background. They should use wise judgement and avoid
asking questions that may be painful to answer. For example, first-generation
immigrants may be political refugees and may not want to discuss
their departure from their home countries.
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from whom a person is descended. Frequently, this person is
more remote in the line of descent than a grandparent.
||The act of expelling a person from
his/her country of origin.
||The breaking up and dispersion of
a people, often far from their ancestral homelands.
The word comes from the Greek word - diasperein -"to
scatter." When it is capitalized as Diaspora it
often refers to the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside
Palestine after the Babylonian exile.
||The Africanized version
of the word, "Garífuna," which many Garífuna
people prefer to be called. This term is typically used when
talking about two or more Garífuna peoples (plural version).
||The term applies to one person of
Garífuna heritage (singular version of the word, Garinagu).
It can also be used as an adjective such as "Garífuna
peoples," "Garífuna culture, foods... etc."
||The act of moving from
one country or physical location to another. The term migrate
sometimes implies a lack of permanent settlement, particularly
as a result of seasonal or periodic movement. The words emigrate
and immigrate imply a permanent move, generally across
a political boundary.
Why study the Garífuna
Did you know that nearly 90,000 Garinagu live in the U.S.? Were
you aware that this number nearly equals the 100,000 Garinagu living
in Honduras - the largest concentration of Garinagu in Central America?
Therefore, one compelling reason to study the Garifuna diaspora
is to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for a growing
ethnic group within our own borders!
Students can gain a heightened respect for the resilience of the
Garinagu by learning of the historical injustices suffered by one
of Central America's underrepresented ethnic groups. For example,
students will learn of the inhumane treatment and forced exile of
African and Amerindian populations with the slave trade and European
colonization of the New World.
Students can gain an increased sensitivity towards immigrant groups
living in the U.S. by understanding how poverty, unequal distribution
of resources and opportunities, and political marginalization have
forced many Garinagu to find work abroad to maintain their families.
Students will glimpse the complexity of immigration - the benefits
of economic prosperity and the costs to family cohesion, cultural
preservation, and community leadership.
By studying the Garífuna diaspora, students will see how
banana corporations headquarted in the U.S. have exploited Garífuna
cheap labor. Students can explore how these unethical business practices
have been backed by U.S. military intervention and foreign policy
and have harmed Central America. Students can learn how their consumer
choices and political voice can impact their Central American neighbors.
The Garífuna diaspora teaches students that history is fundamental
in shaping cultural norms and values. Students will see how forced
expulsions from Africa and Saint Vincent set in motion a pattern
of historical migration, which is characteristic of the Garinagu
today. They will also learn how this movement brought the Garinagu
in contact with different peoples and how they blended European,
Amerindian, and African customs and beliefs into a rich, hybrid
Finally, studying the Garífuna diaspora can serve as a springboard
for students to examine their own ethnic roots, family history,
cultural values, and practices. It can foster students' recognition
of and appreciation for the cultural diversity which characterizes
the U.S. And it can be used to help bridge cultural barriers and
misunderstandings that may separate students in your classroom.
Credit: lesson plan developed by Wendy Morris, Learning, Design &
Technology Program, Stanford School of Education, 6/5/00. Revised by K.
Stevens, Stanford Center for Latin American Studies.