Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Finnish American Collections

One of the many ethnic communities represented in the MSU Museum's collections is Finnish Americans, whose population in Michigan, especially in the Upper Peninsula, is the largest and most concentrated in the United States. The Finnish collections include rag rugs, placemats, looms, sauna stove, as well as archival materials such as recorded interviews and musical performances, field reports, photographs, videos, articles and books that cover such topics as textile making and use, sauna making and culture, foodways, music and dance, and Finnish American identity.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Dr. Yvonne Lockwood, Dr. William Lockwood, Dr. James Leary, Dr. Janet Gilmore, Dr. Marsha MacDowell, Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst

Exhibitions

"Sauna, Sisu, Sibelius: Finnish Americans in the Upper Peninsula," East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1985.

Sauna Beer, Bosch Brewing Co., Houghton, Michigan, 1987