Recap from Jamie’s Seminar Presentation in the Netherlands

Recap from Jamie’s Seminar Presentation in the Netherlands

In August 2016, I was nominated to attend a Migration Seminar in the Netherlands to present the research I’ve been compiling for The Indo Project. Our data collection has been in progress for the past six years. (To participate in our data collection please click here.) Located in the Bioscience Park at Leiden University, the Lorentz Foundation brought together leading field researchers for this week-long event. It was a seminar, workshop, and think-tank. The other research scientists came from Australia, Brazil, the U.K., and different parts of the Netherlands. It was an honor to be both the only representative from the US as well as the only presenter who was focused on the topic of Indo migration. I am pleased to share the transcript of my presentation and slide show.

Warmly,

Jamie

 

Maintenance of Cultural Identity of the Indo People, Post Diaspora,

Through Virtual Social Networking: A Model for Other Populations

By

Jamie Danielle Stern

Introduction:

I am the Research Director for The Indo Project (TIP), an international non-governmental organization (NGO). We are the first NGO to focus on the Indo people. My research to-date has focused on the Indo experience via cartography, cultural geography, data collection, statistical analyses, and cultural neuroscience.

The term “Indo” is defined by The Indo Project as a shortened term for Indo-European which means people of Indonesian and European lineage, who originated in the former Dutch East Indies.

My research with TIP represents Indos, both within the United States as well as internationally. TIP is based in the US with hubs in Southern California, Northern California, Massachusetts, and Florida. Under the auspices of TIP, I have been gathering and developing statistical data on the worldwide Indo population since 2011. My data collection allowed us to be the first organization to map the distribution pattern of the Indo population within the United States. By cross-referencing this data, we developed a worldwide population distribution map.

These maps have been very valuable to our scattered Indo community: allowing us to identify population centers as well as sparsely populated outposts.   Our maps have been used by students and by personnel in the San Francisco branch of the Dutch Consulate. Since 2010, we have been gathering personal recounts of the Indo experience and have developed an impressive archival database, which we are cataloguing into a virtual Museum-Library. All we have accomplished has been made possible by virtual, internet-based, social networking. Some current and ongoing projects include:

• The Worldwide Indo Challenge = Our online Indo census
• Virtual Museum-Library = A work in progress, serves as a virtual museum and virtual library shares archives online, and will have rotating exhibits.
• TIPTalks = A seminar style presentation, organized by The Indo Project that shows off current work, films, guest speakers, and research that celebrates or focuses on the Indo culture.
• Kumpulan parties organized and sponsored by The Indo Project (Florida, and California).
• Sponsoring “Indo Sisters” meet-ups: from the group Indo Sisters which may be visited on Facebook.
• Supporting or spearheading initiatives and petitions to help address events world-wide   that have impacted the Indo people. Topics include but are not limited to:
  • Acknowledgment, apologies and possible redress of the so-called “comfort women” of WWII
  • Back payment still owed to elderly Indos and their families, by the Dutch Government

History of Indos in the US and Ongoing Research:

The Indo population of the United States originated as a diaspora of displaced persons from the former Dutch East Indies subsequent to World War II. The arrival of the Indos in the US is demonstrably a model of successful assimilation into a host society.

The majority of the Indo people encouraged their families to adopt the customs of the US and were regarded relatively approvingly as they did so. This attitude of fitting in and moving forward appears to be a direct consequence of the horrendous experiences endured by the first generation of post-diaspora Indos. They carried with them the traumas and experiences of social stratification in the Dutch East Indies; the horrors of World War II inside and outside of the internment camps; the chaotic Bersiap period; the loss of their homeland; repatriation to the Netherlands; encounters of racism in the Netherlands; and then often leaving the Netherlands and immigrating to a new country in hopes of a better life (with the hurtle of having to begin all over again for the second or third time).

The first generation Indos appear to have made a deliberate attempt to “forget” in an effort to move forward with their lives. This cultural-neuropsychological phenomenon has been anecdotally described in detail by hundreds of second generation Indos. We believe that the very small population size of the Indos immigrating to the US in the late 1950s to mid-1960s militated against the societal pressure that often influences migrant groups to stay close to each other. As a result, Indos did not form ethnic enclaves. While this facilitated more rapid assimilation, it greatly reduced cultural identity and created the beginning of a cultural disconnect that has led to a broadening chasm of lost personal and cultural history. The result has been a major dilution of Indo culture—leaving it on the verge of extinction.

Many second and subsequent generations of Indo people, albeit often diluted with genes of other ethnicities, quest for information on their heritage. The advent of social media and other forms of electronic communication, which the younger Indo people have rapidly and strongly embraced, have facilitated a reawakening of cultural interest.

Reliance on social media in the US is essentially rescuing the Indo culture from disappearance. Our micro-community, united through the Internet, appears to be experiencing a rebirth and is flourishing. We feel that this has demonstrated successful maintenance of the Indo culture in the US. We believe our methodology can be applied to other at-risk populations and should be used as a baseline to measure the success of cultural rescue via social media. Current topics and questions that are still being addressed:

• We do not have a homeland. This makes us wanderers in strange lands and, like the experiences of the Jews for over two millennia, places us at the mercy of our hosts. Would it be feasible to establish a virtual country?
• There isn’t a fresh supply of “pure” Indo culture in each subsequent generation. The ethnic identity of Indos is mixed however, the cultural identity can be considered pure, as it is a unique identity of its own. With children being mixed with other cultures, it is unlikely that their Indo cultural identity can remain solely Indo.
• Indos who were born in the US or grew up in the US typically do not speak Dutch. Language barriers exist for Indos who wish to be able to study Dutch literature on the subject of Indos. Hundreds of research papers and books have been written about Indos in the Netherlands. Very little, besides my work, has been written about the Indos in the US, let alone in English. Most information remains out of reach for the US Indos and is available only to those who still speak Dutch.

 

Maintaining Cultural Identity in the United States:

• Food is what unifies us:
  • Over 2,000 of our Worldwide Indo Challenge responders were asked: How do you identify being Indo?
    • 91% of the 2^nd generation responders said “I identify being Indo through food”
    • 94% of the 3^rd generation responders said “I identify being Indo through food”
    • 100% of the 4^th generation responders said “I identify being Indo through food”
  • It can be concluded that food continues to be an enormous cultural identifier for the US Indo population, and the most unifying one. My data analyses are proving just how critical it is for one generation to pass Indo food recipes along to those who come after. This may be one of the most important vehicles in preserving Indo culture aside from our virtual interactions on social media.
• Prior to the use of social media, hindrances to cultural maintenance in the US has included:
  • Trauma passed down from the first generation:
    • This made sharing history and culture more difficult
  • Distance between Indos in the US:
    • In the US, our scattered geography makes it more difficult to retain that distinct cultural identity
    • In the Netherlands, close proximity to other Indos per square mile simplifies cultural maintenance
    • The rapid and efficient assimilation contributed a third generation population in the US that is only “Half Indo”. Half meaning, one parent is Indo and the other is typically of another ethnic/cultural identity.

(More than 90% of 2^nd generation Indos in the US did not marry other Indos – meaning that it can be assumed that nearly 90% of third generation Indos are “half”.)

• Accessibility to food ingredients specific to Indo cooking:
  • The Worldwide Indo Challenge has determined that Indos residing in the Netherlands are two times more likely to eat Indonesian and Dutch-Indo Fusion foods compared to their counterparts in the US.
• Events: The Southern California Indo Population is the largest Indo Population in the United States. However, there are two active cultural hubs in Northern California, and Florida. These central spots hold Kumpulans—group events—and host other Indo parties and gatherings. Examples include:
  • The Long Beach Holland Festival – which has become more of an Indo festival (Southern CA)
  • The AVIO club (Southern CA)
  • TIPTalks (Southern, and Northern CA)
  • Florida Kumpulans

Conclusion:

Of all attempts to encourage cultural maintenance, the most effective modality for connecting Indos has been virtually, through the Internet, and specifically Facebook, through groups such as The Indo Project, The Indo Sisters, The Old Dutch-Indonesian Community, The Indo Kitchen, and others. Social media obviates the problem of distance, otherwise often preventing Indos in one locale from interacting with other Indos worldwide.

It is also critical that we address the underlying traumas that manifest as neuropsychological disturbances to many members of the worldwide Indo population. These include:

1. The trauma of WWII
2. The Bersiap
3. Loss of homeland
4. Repatriation to Netherlands
   1. Having to begin all over in the Netherlands
   2. Completely different environment
   3. Prejudices and racism by indigenous population
5. Immigration to yet another country, such as the US and Australia
   1. Starting over again for a second or third time
   2. Isolation from the familiarity of other Indos and the Dutch language

 

These five traumas relate primarily to the first generation of Indos. TIP defines this group as those who were born before WWII and who experienced the war as teenagers and adults. The second generation of Indos is categorized as those who were born just before the war, during the war, and after the war (typically up to the 1970s). The second generation was further traumatized by:

• Forced or pressured assimilation (US) or acculturation (in other countries).
• Mysteries about their families:
  • Parents who were highly reactive, suffering from the wide variety of symptoms associated with PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), needing medical treatment for “mysterious” illnesses, and old injuries (that were from the war but this fact wasn’t always relayed to the children)
  • Children sometimes wondering who they were ethnically, and other historical truths that weren’t shared with the children in an attempt to move forward and not look back.
  • On the other hand, some children were traumatized by their parents’ stories.

 

Afterword:

All of these social stressors have impacted the social dynamic of the Indos, and have been a hindrance to cultural maintenance. Many want to forget the pain and suffering and have shut out that portion of their lives. But the traumas are an important part of the Indo experience because they are the direct reason that our culture is without a homeland, why our culture has been teetering on the edge of extinction, and why so many Indos outside of the Netherlands no longer speak Dutch.

 

The traumas sustained by the Indos have been addressed in the Netherlands through governmental programs and private practice psychologists. In the US, Indos did not have programs specifically designed to even acknowledge what they had endured. As a core task, The Indo Project is working on a program to use a variety of methodologies to help our elder Indos cope with the lingering memories of the traumas, and to feel comfortable sharing their personal histories. This task is fairly urgent as many are quite elderly. We need to learn from them while we still have the opportunity and privilege to do so.

 

My newest role in TIP, as a private practice Neurological Clinician, will be in exploring the use of Neurofeedback therapy to help volunteers heal enough to share and release their memories. By helping older generation Indo people to self-regulate, they will individually find more peace in their lives, and help contribute critical data to US Indo research.

My work in cultural neuroscience allows me to work with patients who have endured a variety of traumatic experiences that result in PTSD symptoms:

• Memory loss
• Difficulties in thinking and concentrating
• Troubles with sleep patterns
• And a variety of emotional dysregulations

My current Neurofeedback modalities are NeurOptimal® and Cygnet which support brain resilience and stability of the central nervous system. Through non-invasive monitoring of the electrical activity in a person’s brain, we retrain neuropathways and create more favorable and comfortable mental states. I have an example of how this works taken from volunteers at this conference, who I thank for their cooperation.

Please click on this link to see the slides and watch the map video.

Thank you for your attention. I’ll be pleased to answer questions if time permits.

Jamie Danielle Stern

jamies@theindoproject.org

Jamie.D.Stern@gmail.com