South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange South Dakota State University Agricultural Bulletins Experiment Station 9-1-1993 The uttH erites: A Study in Cultural Diversity J. Satterlee Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins Recommended Citation Satterlee, J., "The uttH erites: A Study in Cultural Diversity" (1993). Bulletins. Paper 721. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins/721 This Bulletin is brought to you for free and open access by the South Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. B 717 The Hutterites A Studyin Cultural Diversity Agricultural Experiment Station South Dakota State University Q U.S. Department of Agriculture c,; f I I I t� hroughout most of Ameri­ T can history, society attempted to blend or assimilate its many ethnic groups, expecting the "melting pot'' to pro­ vide strength, vitality, and cohesive­ ness to society. Not until 1970 was The this philosophy first challenged (Glazer and Moynihan 1970). Hutterites Americans then began to realize that we had not all blended, either cul­ turally or racially. The strength and vitality of our nation now appear to · A Study i� ·cultural Diversify; lie in its diversity of cultures. A renewed appreciation for cultur­ al differences gives us an opportunity to examine a truly unique culture, Dr.Jam es Satterlee, one that has changed little in over Departmentof Rural Sociology four centuries and that has thrived SouthDakota StateUniversity for more than a century in South Dakota. The people of this culture lead a quiet and peaceable life differ­ ing significantly from the dominant culture, not only of the larger Ameri­ can society, but also of their rural South Dakota neighbors. These peo­ * ple are the Hutterite Brethren. The Hutterites are often con­ Acknowledge ments fused with Mennonites or Amish. While the Hutterites, Mennonites, and Amish all exist as a result of the . This research signifiesan on-going interest in the Hutterite culture represented same Anabaptist rebellion against by� or than30 years of studyby staffmembers of the Department of Jµir;b:l � the Catholic Church during the Soaology. atSouth Dakota State University. This studywas conducted through Reformation of the 1500s, the Hut­ surveys and numerous visits to many of the South Dakota colonies during the terites are a very distinctive reli­ summer and fall of 1992. Having been involved in previous department studies gious sect. What sets Hutterites of the 1950s, 60s, and �Os, I welcomed the opportunityto return to the field and _ apart is their communal way of life. renew acquaintances with many finepeople who seek nothing more than under­ standing. The communes are, for the most I wish to acknowledgeLuAnn Burckhardt, MaryBrashier, and Duane Hanson part, agricultural enterprises, highly fortheir work � the preP_aration of thispublication and the South Da�ta Agri­ advanced technologically and highly c.ultural F.xpenmentStat1on and the Bush Foundation CulturalDiversity Grant isolated socially. Spread for the most for support in publishing. part throughout north-central United I also would like to thanktlie Reverend Sam WipfSr. (colony minister) and _ States and the west-central provinces his. sonSam ":1Pf Jr. (German teacher) for their advice and time in reviewing of Canada, the communes seek no and commentingon the manuscript converts. High birth rates alone pro­ �t, but not least, I dediqzte thispublication to "Jake" who made thispossible of, vide the impetus to expand·colony byhis mere presence and intermittentreminders �hat was most important numbers. This expansion creates hard feelings among some outsiders. Dr. Jim Satterlee Neighboring farmers often see the growth in colony numbers as a threat to their own agricultural exis­ tence, as price and scarcity of avail­ able land become ever more critical 1 issues in agriculture. Others have Figure 1. 16th century Protestant Reformation typecast Hutterites as foreign speak­ ing and have accused them of plot­ HOLY ROMAN CHURCH ting to take over agriculturethrough their expansionist activities. Conservative Protestantism Liberal Protestantism I I • Anabaptist Movement HISTORY AND ORIGINS I I Luther Calvin Wesley Hutterites Mennonites Switzerland-Moravia I Amish The Hutterite movement in the U.S. traces its origins to the Protes­ tant Reformationof the 16th centu­ were forced to leave Switzerland members were put to death by ry. Just as division occurred and find refuge in Moravia (Ger­ authorities. In some cases entire between the Catholic and Protes­ many). As the Anabaptist move­ colonies vanished. tant churches, so did divisions ment grew in numbers, doctrinal occurwithin the new Protestant disputes led to even furtherdivi­ movement. A Protestant group sions. Those who believed in com­ Russian Migration formed in Switzerland under the munal living, the community of leadership of Ulrich Zwingli A centuryof persecution continued goods, and the rejection of military employed a more conservative throughout Europe. In 1760 the violence (Hutterites) were expelled interpretation of the Bible, resulting Empress of Austriaordered the from the main body of the Swiss in the Anabaptist movement. demise of the Hutterites-jailingtheir Brethren in 1528 (Treece 1967). leaders, baptizing their children, The Anabaptist doctrine sought burningtheir colonies, and com­ Under the leadership of Jacob to follow closely in the footsteps of pelling survivors to attend Catholic Wiedenman, this small group of 190 Jesus and his immediate apostles as Mass. The Hutterites, reduced to persons established the first commu­ describedin the New Testament. small wandering groups, migrated to nal church which immediately began But even within this Anabaptist Wallachia (now Rumania). movement, further divisiveness to grow in numbers. Fiveyears later, Jacob Hutter, a hat maker, occurred, as a more radical wing With a promise of exemption under the leadership of such men as joined the group and soon became from military service and religious Grebel, Mantz, and Conrad taught its new minister. Under his leader­ freedomby the Czaress of Russia salvation by regeneration and bap­ ship, greater refinement tookplace (Catherine The Great), the Hut­ tism upon confession of faith and in the patternof communal living, terites and other Anabaptist groups only upon the request of the person and the group eventually came to be entered Russia in 1770, remaining to be baptized (Miller 1965). known as the Hutterites. In 1536, there until the 1870s. Hutter was apprehended by govern­ TheProtestant groups headed by ment officials and burned at the In the 1870s, and under the Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and others stake in Innsbruck, Tyrol (Austria). reign of Czar Nicolas, the military were soon recognized by the secular He died a martyr (Miller 1965). exemption was revoked. Again the rulers. The Anabaptists, however, Anabaptists (Hutterites and Men­ were rejected by both the Catholic The Hutterites and other nonites) were forced to seek a new . and the moreliberal Protestants. In Anabaptist groups such as the Men­ homeland. 1527 the Swiss Anabaptists respond­ nonites organized under the leader­ ed by formalizing the tenets of their ship of Menno Simons flourished beliefs. These were to consist of a fora while. By 1578, SO Hutterite Migration to AmeriCa belief in adult baptism, separation of colonies contained an estimated Churchand State by withdrawal, and 16,000 members. An understanding between the a rejection of violence by refusing to U.S. government and Governor beararms (Pratt 1969). Yet, intensified persecution by Jayne of the Dakota Territory both the Catholic Church and vari­ assured a Hutterite delegation to Because the Holy Roman Church ous governments forced Hutterites the U.S. of religious freedom and and the newly established and rec­ and other Anabaptists to move from freedom from military duty, and ognized Protestant churches saw one country to another. Unwilling from the need to assist in war in them as a threat, the Anabaptists to fight bac� an estimated 3,000 any way (Westhorpe' 1919). 2 Figure 2. Anabaptist movement. and military conscription in their homeland. South Dakota attracted large numbers of these non-Hut­ terite Russian-Germans, and they became the dominant ethnic group in the state (Luebke 1977). The period between Hutterite set­ tlement in the 1870s and World War I saw a rapid increase in the number of colonies in South Dakota. C.Olony construction followed the James River as it was a source of wood sup­ ply and building materials. By 1913 the "mother" colony, Bon Homme (Schmieden Leut), had given birth to three daughter colonies (Milltown, Maxwell, and Huron) which had in turn given birth to two additional colonies (Rosedale and James Val­ ley). Wolf Creek Colony (Darius Leut) had produced four daughter colonies (Jamesville,Tschetter, Spink, and Byron) and one grand­ daughter colony (Richards). Elm Springs (Lehrer Leut) had produced three (Rockport,New Elm Springs, and Melford) (Riley 1970). WWI Reformation of the 16th century World War I brought another round of persecution. The