Utah (/ˈjuːtɑː/ YOO-tah, /ˈjuːtɔː/ (listen) YOO-taw) is a state in the Mountain state subregion of the Western United States with a population of 3 million people. Originally populated by the Ancestral Puebloans, Ute, Navajo, and Fremont people, Utah has experienced several waves of immigration over its history, leading to a diversity of ethnic and national backgrounds. Historians characterize the post-Indigenous settlement of Utah as having occurred in three major waves, the first between 1850 and 1880, the second between 1880 and 1920. and the third post World War II to the present.

Background

Immigrants came to Utah in three major “waves”. The first wave took place between 1850 and 1880, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) invited all the new converts, who were mostly from Northern Europe, to “gather in Zion.” The second one occurred between 1880 and 1920 and involved people from all over the world. This happened in connection with the booming railroad and mining industries. The third one, after World War II, was slower and it is still happening to this day. Most of the participants are from Mexico and Latin America.

Demographic data

According to 2000 official estimates,Official Census data the population of the state of Utah was 2,470,000. The percentages of non-White ethnic groups are as follows: Asian 2.4%, Native American 1.7%, Black 1.3%, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.9%. This is a total of 6.3%. The percentages of the major national groups are as follows: German: 11.5%, Hispanic (mostly Mexicans) 10.4%, Danish: 6.5%, Irish 5.9%, British 4.4%, Swedish 4.3% Italian 2.1%. This is a total of 45.1. Other national groups, such as people from Bosnia, France, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela, etc. total 12.8%. The percentage of the British and American (mostly of English/British ancestry) population is respectively 29% and 6.8%, for a total of 35.8%

Ethnic groups African Americans

Utah was admitted to the Union as a slave state under the Compromise of 1850, at which time approximately 50 Black people, or 0.4% of the population according to the 1850 US Census, lived in the territory.

There were about sixty Black residents of Utah in 1850, the majority of them working on farms. In 1900, the Black population increased to 677 because of the railroad construction companies. By the 1890s, two churches were already established in Salt Lake City, the Trinity African Methodist and the Calvary Baptist. Discrimination against Black citizens was endemic, with limited access to public positions many professions considered off-limits to all but White people. Many young Black emigrants would relocate to other states to seek opportunities unavailable to them in Utah.

Throughout the 20th century, Black Utahns faced further systemic issues, such as the prohibition of interracial marriage, and lethal violence, including a lynching in Price, Utah, in 1925.

A chapter of the NAACP was established in Salt Lake in 1919, taking an active part of the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1976, the Reverend Robert Harris, a Democrat from Ogden, became the first African American elected to the Utah Legislature. In 1978, the LDS Church allowed blacks to be ordained to the priesthood.

According to the 2000 US Census, there were approximately 30,000 Black residents of Utah, or 1.3% of the total population.Ronald G. Coleman article in Utah History Encyclopedia, by Allen Kent Powell, University Press, 1994, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah Organizations. NAACP Salt Lake Branch. Black Affairs, Ethnic Office, Utah Government.

Native Americans

The most important Utah tribes today, the Ute, the Shoshone, the Goshute and the Paiutes are the descendants of the so-called Numic population who settled in Utah and bordering states around 1200 a. D. They displaced populations like the Fremont and the Anasazi who had lived in that territory for several centuries, starting from about 400 a. D."The Earliest Peoples", and "The Indians of Utah Territory", in Utah's History, ed. by Richard Poll, et al. (1989) When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah in 1847, these tribes numbered about 20,000 people. Notwithstanding several programs aimed to maintain their survival, for several years they lost control of their ancestral territory. In 1960, the tribes' population was down to around 7,000 people. Following the implementation of more favorable federal and state programs, in 1970 their population increased to 11,000 and in 1980 returned toward the same figure of 1847, about 19,000. Today (2007), many of Utah's American Indians are experiencing a better balance between tribal life and coexistence with the dominant society.Fred A. Conetah, A History of the Northern Ute People (1982)

Chinese Chinese workers started to arrive in Utah around 1860 in connection with the railroad construction companies. They were very appreciated as skillful and dependable workers. After the railroads were built, at the beginning of 1900 some found occupations in the new mining industry and others dedicated themselves to independent businesses such as laundries, restaurants and mini markets. They lived in their humble but colorful Chinatowns, mostly singles without families, because they had the intention to return one day to China. Many of them had periods of hard times and experienced discrimination. For example, in 1902 the mining unions decided to boycott their businesses. The major Chinese communities before World War II were in Ogden, Salt Lake City and Park City. In 1890 there were about 500 Chinese people in Utah. This number grew a little at the beginning of 1900, but then, as a result of the Depression, in 1940 declined to about 500. After World War II it started to steadily grow. In 1970 Chinese numbered about 1.200, and in 1990 their population increased to over 5,000 people.Don C. Conley, "The Pioneer Chinese of Utah", in Helen Zeese Papanikolas, ed., The Peoples of Utah (1976) Organizations. UOCA, Utah Organization of Chinese Americans.

Japanese Similar to the Chinese, the Japanese started to arrive in Utah in the 1860s as laborers in the railroad companies. By 1900, according to the census, over 400 Japanese people were living in Utah. Their number grew in the next twenty years as a result of the booming mining industry. In 1910 their number was 2,100 and in 1920 they reached almost 3,000 people. The most important areas where they were located were Ogden, Salt Lake City and Carbon County. Due to this significant population a newspaper was started, a Buddhist Temple, and a Christian church were built near Japan Town in Salt Lake City. All three are still in existence today (2007). Instead, Japan Town was razed to build the Salt Palace. A similar destiny had China Town in Plum Alley. This short period of prosperity was followed by the anti-immigration laws of 1924. Discrimination worsened when Japanese children were denied access to activities in the public schools. The really big blow came with World War II, when almost all Japanese were segregated in Camps in remote areas of Utah, such as Topaz. Their cemetery was vandalized by paranoid people. Many Japanese from California were also sent to the Camps in Utah. Some of them remained after the end of the war. Because of this, according to the 1950 Census, Utah's Japanese population almost doubled.

Since the 1950s, the Government has acknowledged the bad treatment suffered by the Japanese Americans and has offered some form of reparation. Today the Japanese in Utah continue to keep their national traditions while actively contributing to the local community.Helen Zeese Papanikolas and Alice Kasai, "Japanese Life in Utah", in Helen Zeese Papanikolas, ed., The Peoples of Utah (1976) Organizations. Salt Lake Buddhist Church, Japanese Church of Christ, Utah Nippo newspaper, Japanese-American Citizen's League.

Romani Most of the Romani people who came to Utah were of Balkan, Eastern, and Central European origin. The Roma settled in Deseret, Elsinore, Oak City, Kanab, and other rural communities in Utah since the early 1900s.

National groups from Africa Sudanese As of 2005, there were about 2,000 Sudanese in Utah. Most of these were recent immigrants. They included young families with children and young singles. They started to arrive in 1999 as refugees, and many are still coming, because of the war going on in Sudan between the Muslims of the North and the Christians of the South. For them life in Utah is better and they especially enjoy the security, far from the dangers of the war. They live mostly in Salt Lake County, with concentration in Salt Lake City and West Valley. They plan to remain in the USA. Most of them are working and many are also studying at college. They have found jobs at convenience stores like 7-Eleven or in warehouses. Several of the Sudanese women are attending school at Horizonte High School to obtain the skills necessary to start their own businesses. Almost all of them are renting their homes and apartments.

The official language in Sudan is Arabic, but most of them know English, also because of the proximity with Kenya. Some of those not from the cities speak their dialects instead of Arabic, but they also know some English. Since they are mostly from South Sudan, they are in great majority Christians (95%), and the rest are Muslims. They are very religious and meet every Sunday at church. Organizations. Sudanese Association of Utah, a 501c3 non-profit organization.

National groups from Latin America Hispanics Hispanic Utahns, or Utahns who trace their heritage to any number of Spanish colonial subjects and often speak Spanish as a first or second language, represent one of the largest growing demographics in contemporary Utah. Many of these people have mixed European, African, and Indigenous American ancestry. Also generally included in this demographic are Latino Utahns, who trace their ancestry to Latin America, but may not speak Spanish.

Mexicans