What draws so many to the lands of their ancestors? Why do so many Americans have a longing to identify with a faraway place they may know little about? In the words of scholar David Eric Jessup, “The Scandinavian-American pathos is not unique, but it is real … there is a drop of sadness and an ache for something far away that is almost impossible to grasp.” The son of a Norwegian immigrant, Erik Brakstad, explores trends, traditions, and how the desire for identity remains a force to be reckoned with.

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More about our speaker, Erik Brakstad

As a twelve-year-old, two weeks at Camp Nidaros, a Norwegian language camp on the Oregon Coast, awakened what has become a lifelong passion. For many of the next 40 summers he attended, staffed, or directed language camps in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Norway, and Switzerland. He spent a gap year at Follo Folkehøyskole in Vestby, Norway. After graduating from Reed College, he returned to Sandane, Norway for the next two summers to teach Norwegian to Americans. Erik worked on a farm for a season in SE Norway, and spent a winter working at a monastery in Finland.

Erik directs Skogfjorden for Adults, a twice-yearly program in Norwegian language and culture in Bemidji, Minnesota. While he still maintains his general contracting business, Erik’s primary focus is Tivnu, a social justice construction skills gap year program. Erik engages his students in hands-on projects that address Portland’s houselessness crisis. For Erik, sharing Norwegian language and culture with his two children has been an ongoing source of connection and affirmation.