Asian Indian Celebrations of Ethnicity: Perspectives from the Mid-western United States

Asian Indians are among the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States today. Eighty-two percent of Asian Indian immigrants now living in the U.S. arrived between 1980 and 2000, and their population more than doubled in the 1990s. Currently, the U.S. Asian Indian population totals more than 3.2 million (U.S. Census 2010, March 2011 Update). The majority of Asian Indians residing in the United States are English language proficient, have a high socio-economic status, are better educated than the general populace, and are well represented among professional career groups (Chandras, 1997; Mogelonsky, 1995; Helweg and Helweg, 1990; Takaki, 1989). In spite of their strong presence in U.S. institutions and economy, little research has focused on the everyday experiences of Asian Indian families in the United States (Mehra, 1997; Bhola, 1996). Voices of Asian Indian women in particular, have been absent from the literature. This paper explores U.S. Asian Indian women's efforts to retain ethnic culture during their transition into American society, with particular emphasis on public and private celebrations.