MF 163 Somalis in Lewiston, Maine Collection

Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History: MF 163 Somalis in Lewiston, Maine Collection

Number of accessions: 7
Dates when interviews were conducted: 2003 and 2004
Time period covered: late 20th and early 21st century
Principal interviewers: Elizabeth Hoyt Hannibal, Dianne Schindler
Finding aides: some transcripts
Access restrictions: some restrictions on NA3734
Description: This collection includes interviews with five Somali women living in Lewiston, Maine in 2003. The interviews were conducted by Elizabeth Hoyt Hannibal and Dianne Schindler for a project for ANT 425 taught by Dr. James Moreira at the University of Maine. Included is a narrative of how Hannibal and Schindler set up the interviews with Fatuma Hussein, Azeb Hassan, Hawa Kahin, Kiih Issa, and Ayan Ismail. Interviews took place in Lewiston at Daryeelka, Inc., a resource for families that assists them in becoming economically independent and active participants in community life. Photographs were taken but there was no film in the camera. Also included in the collection is a paper by Caterina Anderson at the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy “The Somalis of Lewiston, Maine: A Policy Perspective” written on May 10, 2004. Also included is a small collection of current articles with maps from the World Wide Web about Somalia and about Somalis in Lewiston.

NA3732 Futuma Hussein, Azeb Hassan, Hawa Kahin, Kiih Issa, and Ayan Ismail, interviewed by Elizabeth Hoyt Hannibal for ANT 425, 2003, at Daryeelka, Inc., Lewiston, Maine. Paper, titled “Somali Women of Lewiston, Maine,” deals with how Hannibal and fellow student Dianne Schindler set up interviews with the five Somali women living in Lewiston, Maine. Daryeelka, Inc. is a resource for families that assists them in becoming economically independent and active participants in community life. Text: 12 pp. paper

NA3733 Fatuma Hussein and Ayan Ismail, interviewed by Dianne Schindler, March 26, 2003, at the United Somali Women Office, Auburn, Maine. Hussein, age 25 and who was originally from Somalia, talks about living in Lewiston for 2 years; food and cultural ways in Somali society; Hussein’s family and her education; food preparation; anchero; tea; spices; samosas; raising girls; cookies; beef; types of foods at celebrations; Qu’an; milk; chapati; American fast food; baby food. Ismail had a small part in the interview. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2650.

NA3734 Azeb Hassan, Hawa Kahin, and Kiin Issa, interviewed by Dianne Schindler and Elizabeth Hoyt Hannibal, March 26, 2003, at Daryeelka Women and Children’s Advocacy, Lewiston, Maine. Hassan, Kahin, and Issa talks about foodways and cultural dress of Somalis; Somali culture of hospitality and strong community relationships; rich tradition of Somali Muslim society. Text: 8 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2652.

NA3735 Fatuma Hussein, interviewed by Elizabeth Hoyt Hannibal, March 26, 2003, Hussein’s office in the Community Concepts building, Auburn, Maine. Hussein talks about being the head of an organization called United Somali Women of Maine that helps Somali women adjust to living in nearly all-white Lewiston; importance of family support; hospitality of Somali people; marriage; refugee camps in Kenya; traditional dress; hijab; diraa; religious requirement to cover head; Somalis in Atlanta, Georgia; moving to Maine; wearing pants; shoes; flip-flops; Western clothing; challenges of skin color, religion, culture, language; fear of change. Text: 19 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2651.

NA3736 By Dianne Schindler for ANT 425, spring 2003. Paper deals with Schindler’s collection of information about the foodways and food customs of Somali women in Lewiston, also a narrative of how she prepared for the project, found informants, set up interviews, and recorded her information. Text: 10 pp. paper.

NA3737 Sue Charon, Phil Nadeau, Pierrot Rugaba, Jeff Burgess, Kathy Harris, and Victoria Scott, interviewed by Caterina Anderson, for the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, May 10, 2004. Paper, titled “The Somalis of Lewiston, Maine: A Policy Perspective” deals with U. S. immigration and refugee policy; inner workings of the refugee resettlement infrastructure; the situation; policy analysis; why accommodating newcomers is a good idea; Anderson’s findings. Text: 50 pp. manuscript.

NA3748 Collection of miscellaneous documents and maps about Somalis in Maine. Included are articles from the internet: “A Yankee mill town globalizes” by Patrick T. Reardon (2002), “Lewiston’s Somali surge” by Kelley Bouchard (2002), “Somalia” from the World Factbook 2002, “US to resettle thousands of Somalis” by Juma Kwayera (2002), “AU threatens sanctions against Somalis” by Abebe Andualem (2003), “Somali Muslims in Maine,” cover story in Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (Nov. 15, 2002). Also included is “Toward Harmony: Understanding A New Diversity in Lewiston-Auburn,” program for a conference held at Bates College on March 14-15, 2003. Also copies of photographs of Somalis from the internet.