Basques in Nevada: Why did they come here?
A brief history of Basque turmoil, diaspora and life in Nevada
by Logan Schauer
The Basque symbol or Basque cross (aka “lauburu” or “four heads”) on a wall in Elko, NV.
Photo Credit: Ally Bauer
RENO, NV-- Basques may not make up a large percentage of Nevada’s population, but their culture and mark on the state is unfading. Many wonder why Basques chose Nevada when they were searching for refuge away from Basque turmoil and abuse in Spain. Some have said the land was most comparable to their homeland; others, that it was far enough away from Europe; and some have said Nevada offered them a change of scenery. Regardless, they have let their roots grow deep into Nevada, keeping their culture intact while mixing with America.
The Basque country, or Euskal Herria, is a tiny region comprised of seven provinces around the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Though the Basques are one of the oldest civilizations in Europe, their precise origin remains unknown. They lived in the Pyrenees before the arrival of Indo-European tribes during the second millennium B.C. According to EveryCulture.com, “the Basque kingdom withstood many challenges and maintained independence for 1,200 years. In 1512, however, Castilian (Spanish) forces conquered and occupied the kingdom. The northern section of the region was ceded to France, and the rest was incorporated into Spanish territory.”
By the late 18th century, political turmoil in France and in Spain took its toll on the Basques. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic campaigns invaded the Basque territory in France; soon thereafter, during the 1830s, Spanish Basques supported the conservative pretender to the Spanish throne, Don Carlos, who was brutally defeated. His supporters were forced to flee the country, and many Basques made their way to Spanish colonies in South America.
The creation of the Spanish Republic in 1931 caused split loyalties in the Basque Country. The regions of Guipuzcoa, Vizcaya and Alava supported the republic, hoping that the government would grant them autonomous status. Navarre, another region, however, vigorously opposed the republic. The ensuing civil war attracted international attention.
The Nazi bombing of the city of Guernica in Vizcaya, memorialized in a painting by Picasso, was seen as a brutal suppression of Basque nationalist hopes. At the war's end in 1937, many Basques went into exile. When dictator Francisco Franco assumed power, his government instituted harsh anti-Basque policies, most notoriously the suppression of the Basque language.
When Franco's rule ended with his death in the 1970s, the liberal Spanish monarchy was established. Basques pushed for autonomy and independence. In 1979, a statute recognized the Basque Country as an autonomous community, but radical Basque factions were not satisfied.
Picasso's "Guernica" painting at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain
Photo Credit: Logan Schauer
The military, and notably terrorist, wing of the Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna ("Basque Homeland and Liberty", or ETA) was responsible for several bombings and other terrorist activities intended to publicize the Basques' demands for complete political independence (click here, to see a timeline of ETA terrorism in Spain).
Large-scale Basque immigration began in the 1800s. The California Gold Rush brought the first waves of Basque immigrants to the United States, but most of these adventurers did not come directly from Europe. They were Basques who had immigrated earlier to Spanish colonies in South America. In the 1820s, Basque immigrants were welcomed in Argentina, where they were able to get unused rangeland where they raised sheep. There, they developed the ranching and herding skills that they eventually brought to Nevada, and other parts of North America.
When gold was discovered in California in 1848, Basques quickly sailed there. Large numbers of French Basques also came directly from Europe, sailing around the South American continent to San Francisco. Overall, several hundred Basques, both Spanish and French, came to the American West. After gold was discovered in Nevada, many Basques moved from California to Nevada’s rural rangelands, where they could not only become miners, but also raise and herd sheep.
Sheep being herded near Lake Tahoe
Photo Credit: The Basque Studies Center at UNR
Basques who worked as sheepherders experienced a lonely life. They spent long months alone on the range, moving from place to place. When they returned to the towns at the end of the season, they rented rooms at Basque boarding houses, known as ostatuak or hotelak, where they could socialize with their countrymen, speak their native language and enjoy Basque food and drink. These boarding houses served an essential role in maintaining Basque culture among a group who were scattered over a wide geographic area. One of the hotels many Basques stopped at was in in Reno. Today, it is a restaurant called Louis’ Basque Corner. They keep things traditionally Basque and family-style (click here, to learn more).
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Louis' Basque Corner in Reno, Nevada
Photo Credit: Ally Bauer
After World War II, however, the situation changed. Sheepherders had become so scarce that Senator Patrick McCarran of Nevada sponsored legislation to exempt European herders from immigration quotas. According to Robert Laxalt, in his book, Sweet Promised Land, “within the next decade, more than 5,000 Basques applied for jobs on American ranches. After 1970, however, Basque immigration slowed significantly in the wake of improved economic and political conditions in the Basque Country.”
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Today, Basque culture is still very prevalent throughout Nevada. Basque festivals are important events in the rural areas of Nevada. They generally start with a Catholic Mass and are followed by displays of folk dancing and general, lighthearted ethnic competitions such as stone lifting, wood chopping, sheep hooking contests and sheepdog trials. There are opportunities to sample Basque food and libations. Such celebrations provide the opportunity for the descendants of the earlier Basque migrants to keep the feeling of their culture, ethnicity and heritage alive, as the Basques have become well assimilated into Nevadan culture and may now consider themselves first and foremost, Nevadans. (click here, to see traditional Basque dancing in the heart of Nevada).
The monument to the Basque Sheepherder at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, Nevada
Photo Credit: Logan Schauer
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, today, about 5,390 Basques live in Nevada, mostly in the central and northern parts. The National Basque Festival is held in Elko each year, and the National Monument to the Basque Sheepherder is in Reno at the Rancho San Rafael Park.
Paul Laxalt, one of the most well-known Basques in Nevada, rose to power in 1967, when he became Nevada’s first Basque governor, until 1971. From 1974-1987, he was a United States Senator, and throughout his life remained one of Ronald Reagan’s closest friends. His name is plastered throughout the University of Nevada, Reno campus, where the internationally-famous Basques Studies Center is located (click here, to read about the center).
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The Basque country is no longer fighting with Spain now, though there are occasionally peaceful protests for Basque secession and autonomy. The terrorist group, ETA, has been disbanded, and Basques are accepted throughout the country. Basque diaspora is arguably one of the most important facets of Nevadan culture, especially in the rural ranges out east. Some people are unaware of its presence, but it cannot be denied that Basques are here to stay. They and their culture are, and will continue to be, celebrated each year.
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Sources include the Basque Studies Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, Clare O’Toole, Robert Laxalt, EveryCulture.com and the Las Vegas Review Journal.