PDK Example 3

TITLE:

National identity

NAME:

Phil Klein

and Michael Solem

INSTITUTION:
University of Northern Colorado1 , Greeley, Colorado USA and
Association of American Geographers2, Washington, DC USA

DESCRIPTION
The geographic concepts of state, nationality and ethnicity are all factors
in the development of a unified national identity.
Although some countries were originally defined based on a shared ethnic
identity, the U.S., thanks to its history of immigration, has multiple ethnic
groups within its borders (including Irish-Americans, African-Americans,
Chinese-Americans, Polish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and ItalianAmericans, among many others). These ethnic groups have heritages,
shared memories and attachments to different countries, but they
consider the U.S. to be their homeland, the territory of their primary
loyalty that they are willing to defend. For this reason none may be
accurately thought of as being a distinct nation living within U.S. borders.
Other ethnic groups have a more complicated national identity, because
their ancestral homeland is within the U.S. and they may claim
sovereignty over that place. For example, the Lakota Sioux are Native
Americans who live on federally-designated reservations but aspire to
gain sovereignty over broader expanses of the Black Hills region, one
place they view as sacred to their identity. The map shows (green) the
historic homelands of different Sioux groups and the limited reservation
lands allotted to them (brown). This situation is analogous for over 500
indigenous peoples across the U.S

Lakota Sioux Homeland Source:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sioux01.png
DISCUSSION
Terminology in political geography often differs from colloquial language,
which makes the concept of national identity an example of powerful
disciplinary knowledge. Although nation and ethnic group are similar
concepts, the discussion of national identity regarding ethnic groups
living in the U.S. shows there is an important distinction between the two.
When an ethnic group seeks political self-determination in a place they
view as their ancestral homeland, political geographers will generally
consider them to be a nation. Discussing the distinctions between
ethnic heritage and national identity, using the examples of Native
Americans, helps students recognize how their own national identity has
been constructed and reinforced by social institutions. These distinctions
also help us understand relationships between place, culture and identity
in many other locations and regions, such as:
The nation-states that emerged in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The 2014 Scottish referendum for independence.
Separatist movements in Canada, Spain, Ukraine, Nigeria, the
former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland.
The creation of the Nunavut territory by the native Inuit peoples of
northern Canada.
Territorial conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims within
countries whose boundaries were defined by European colonial
powers, such as Syria and Iraq.