Final Project – The Aryan Nation

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The Ku Klux Klan had a significant impact on the Aryan Nation, based out of Hayden, Idaho. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was established in 1866 and primarily hated and victimized Catholics, Jews, blacks, and immigrants.
The KKK started small and grew to roughly 4 million people in the 1920s, Nathan Bedford Forest was their leader. “The organization of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction (History.com Staff).
This was the beginning of large hate groups organizations.
The Aryan Nation shares similar views as the KKK and is located in northern Idaho. They have been known to perform similar violent acts against similar groups of individuals.
The Aryan Nation, a neo-Nazi group, recruits a member not based their level of racism, but by “how white” that person is.
This right wing, white supremacy group — based out of Hayden, Idaho — has been struggling with a clear definition of what it means to be White. Kristen Haltinner, a Sociologist at the University of Idaho, stated that the “white-ness” of a person is determined by their ancestors. Shockingly, it has nothing to do with ones appearance. If there is even a trace of Native American or African American blood in someone they are considered no white enough, informed Haltinner.
The Aryan Nation seeks the week to join their highly racist group. However, according to Haltinner, the majority of new members are not racist prior to joining.
This raises the question, why do people join if they are not racist?
The women members of the Aryan Nation are encouraged to pursue traditional family roles, by staying home and tending to the house and children, stated Haltinner. The women tend to be the welcoming face of the Arian Nation; they make the group look kind and gentle.
Haltinner also explained that the women have an immense pressure on them to have as many children as possible. The Aryan Nation believes that it is God’s will to have a large family and they also want to keep their group strong and large, and more children serve that purpose.
A common theme that most hate groups poses is their fear of loosing power. Haltinner stated that members feel a sense of entitlement and they feel threatened by people of other races. Their power in society is staying the same, but as time has progressed, other races are now being given the same rights and opportunities that Whites have always had, explained Halintner.

“Ku Klux Klan.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

Final Project Plan

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I am very excited to piece together my project and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on my plan. I would like to go to Coeur d’Alene and gather some photos/video footage of the Aryan Nation Compost. I also am hoping to use the interview that I conduct in a large way as well. I want my project to show the power that this group once had and how their power and decisions affected those surrounding them. I feel like I could integrate my experiences of growing up in a generally white area with the Aryan Nation around me into my project as well. I have seen protests and parades that displayed so much hate to other races. I want to do a mostly visual project, using videos and still images and voicing over them. I also would like to record my interview to add to my video portion. I would like to use IMovie for my project, I am very familiar with the soft wear and it is creat for voicing over and adding music. I feel that I am a strong writer, so I may want to do a small written report. However, my project will be mostly visual.

Citation Systems

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1. The Ku Klux Klan had a significant impact on the Aryan Nation, based out of Hayden, Idaho. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was established in 1866 and primarily hated and victimized Catholics, Jews, blacks, and immigrants. “The civil rights movement of the 1960s also saw a surge of the Ku Klux Klan activity, including bombings of black schools and churches and violence against black and white activists in the south (History.com Staff). The KKK started small and grew to roughly 4 million people in the 1920s, Nathan Bedford Forest was their leader. “The organization of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction (History.com Staff). The south divided into military district in the hopes of gaining “equal protection” for former slaves. This was the beginning of large hate groups organizations. The Aryan Nation shares similar views as the KKK and is located in northern Idaho. They have been known to perform similar violent acts against similar groups of individuals. With the help of authorities these groups are dying down, but there will always be individuals who have theses strong beliefs.

http://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan 

2. The Aryan Nation has affected many individuals, specifically a mother and her young son. The two were beaten at the compound located in Hayden, Idaho, and pressed charges. The mother and her son won the battle and were rewarded the property after the Aryan Nation’s leader and “self-proclaimed pastor”[1], Richard Butler, filed bankruptcy.  The compound was full of Nazi flags and fliers with hurtful slogans. Former chairman of the Internet service Prodigy and Idaho native said, “We’re not just going to tear the place down and pretend it never happened and say, ‘there, we’ve cleaned up our image as a state.’”[2] With the help of Mr. Carr, Idaho has raised nearly $1 million to “erect the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise.”[3] The issue of the Aryan Nation will not be easy to solve, but the Idaho officials are determined to increase positive moral in the state and specifically in the cities of Hayden and Coeur d’Alene.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/07/us/new-future-for-idaho-aryan-nations-compound.html

[1] Sam Howe Verhovek, “New Future for Idaho Aryan Nations Compound”

[2] Greg Carr

[3] Sam Howe Verhovek, “New Future for Idaho Aryan Nations Compound”