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From Brown Dutchmen to Indo-Americans: Changing Identity of the Dutch-Indonesian (Indo) Diaspora in America

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Abstract

Indos are people of mixed Dutch-Indonesian descent, whose history can be traced to the Netherlands’ 300-year colonization of Indonesia (Dutch East Indies). As an “in-between” people, Indos were accorded the privileges of a Dutch colonial class situated above the native Indonesians, but placed below Europeans in terms of status. Despite their Dutch citizenship, the Indos were often marginalized due to their distinctly hybridized culture and “mixed” physical appearance. During the Japanese occupation of the East Indies, however, the Indos’ political-historical association with the Dutch subjected many among them to numerous persecutions. Similarly, this “Dutch” identity would also place the Indos on the opposite side of the Indonesian independence struggle, creating their massive exodus to the Netherlands after the Second World War. In Holland, Indos were treated more like foreigners than compatriots and often referred to as “Brown Dutchmen.” This drove many Indos toward further migration across the globe, including the USA. In America, first-generation Indos were reluctant to share their traumatic history and instead encouraged their young ones to fully embrace “Americanhood.” Despite this, many among the younger generation have begun to show a collective interest in reconnecting with their Indo heritage. Without an existing homeland however, these “activists” have resorted to intense cultural imagining as a way to locate and define their place as Indo-Americans. Using a multi-theoretical approach, this article critically analyzes the historical journey of the Indo-American diaspora and the shifting identities the group has assumed as they transitioned from one political economic environment to another.

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Notes

  1. Brah, Cartographies, 180.

  2. See discussions on colonial stratification as integral mechanism of colonial social and ideological control in (Tajuddin 2012).

  3. See discussions on critical race theory in (Ortiz and Jani 2010).

  4. See (Gilroy 1987) for analyses on the exploitation, and marginalization of African slave labor and Indian migrant workers in the Caribbean and the UK.

  5. Cohen, Global Diasporas.

  6. Refer to works by (Jain 2011); (Ramji 2006); (Brettell 2003); and (Alba and Nee 2003).

  7. (Vertovec 1999). See also (Clifford 1994) and (Anderson 1983).

  8. Cohen, “Diasporas,” 516.

  9. See (Hall 1999).

  10. (Hollander 2008).

  11. These unions were not legally recognized by the colonial state mainly because European Christians were only allowed to officially marry other European Christians. In these Dutch-Indonesian unions, the native female partner was also not eligible to inherit her male partner’s assets and properties upon his death.

  12. Hollander, Silenced Voices, 61.

  13. Ibid, 149.

  14. Fanon, Black Skin, 18.

  15. Louise Wetzel, personal interview, January 17, 2014.

  16. van der Kroef, “The Eurasian Minority,” 486. It must be remembered that the Indos, through the generations, would also have developed their own form of Dutch creole.

  17. Fanon, Black Skin, 3.

  18. Vickers, Indonesia, 30.

  19. See (Mamdani 1996b).

  20. Vickers, Indonesia, 94.

  21. Bushido in Japanese culture literally refers to “military scholarship,” symbolizing the chivalrous samurai life. During the Japanese occupation of both Malaya and Indonesia, younger generation natives (Pemuda or Kaum Muda) had already been involved in a war of attrition with the conservative establishment over the state of their political economic culture. The Japanese impressed upon these groups that in order for their people to progress like the Japanese, the “softer” aspects of their cultures must be shed and replaced by traits associated with aggression and assertiveness.

  22. Vickers, Indonesia, 104–105.

  23. See (Frederick 2012). The word bersiap literally means “be prepared.” This was the mobilization call of the pemuda in anticipation of Dutch recolonization of the East Indies.

  24. Van Imhoff and Beets, “Demographic,” 57–58.

  25. Hall, “Cultural Identity,” 237.

  26. See (Van der Kroef 1955).

  27. Laarman, “Family,” 1239.

  28. Priscilla Kluge-McMullen, personal interview, February 21, 2013.

  29. Kasson, “The Long Way Home.”

  30. Schram, “From Indonesian-Dutch,” 133.

  31. Kwik, Indos, 92–94.

  32. Theresa, personal interview, December 2, 2013.

  33. See (Laguerre 1984) and (Kasinitz 1992).

  34. See (Easthope 2009); (Waters 1990).

  35. Ibid, 441.

  36. Kwik, Indos, 80–82.

  37. Kwik, Indos, 83–84.

  38. Kwik, “The Indos,” 440.

  39. “Double consciousness” is a concept introduced by W.E.B. DuBois to explain how Blacks in America were able to merge the two worlds of being American and African. For more updated reading on this concept, read (Lyubanski and Elderson 2005).

  40. As a writer, Tjalie Robinson used the pseudonym, Vincent Mahieu, and his works included Piekerans van een straatslijper (Idle Musings of a Street-Loafer, 1965) and two volumes of stories titled Tjies (1960) and Tjoek (1961).

  41. Kwik, “The Indos,” 441.

  42. Theresa, personal interview, November 12, 2013.

  43. Theresa, personal interview, November 12, 2013.

  44. Alexander, Trauma, 15.

  45. See (Easthope 2009); (Waters 1990).

  46. The TIP website can be found at http://www.theindoproject.org/. Various stories, histories, literature, books, calendars, and blogs related to Indo history and events can be found here. The Indo Project Newsletters are also downloadable.

  47. Stern, “Maintenance,” 63–64.

  48. Ibid, 82–83.

  49. Ibid, 42.

  50. Ibid, 39.

  51. Ibid, 57–58.

  52. Michael Passage, personal interview, February 13, 2014.

  53. Stern, “Maintenance,” 58.

  54. Theresa, personal interview, November 12, 2013.

  55. Rochelle Lether, personal interview, February 10, 2014.

  56. Bianca Dias-Halpert, personal interview, September 3, 2014.

  57. Helen Buiskool, personal interview, September 3, 2014.

  58. Theresa, personal interview, November 12, 2013.

  59. Louise Wetzel, personal interview, January 17, 2014.

  60. Mieke Jacobs, personal interview, September 3, 2014.

  61. Priscilla Kluge-McMullen, personal interview, February 21, 2013.

  62. Louise Wetzel, personal interview, January 17, 2014.

  63. Priscilla Kluge-McMullen, personal interview, February 21, 2013.

  64. Alexander, Trauma, 15.

  65. Ibid, 26.

  66. Michael Passage, personal interview, February 13, 2014.

  67. Many such captions can be read or sought out through references found in the TIP website.

  68. Theresa, personal interview, March 1, 2014.

  69. Rochelle Lether, personal interview, February 10, 2014.

  70. Gans, “Symbolic,” 13–14.

  71. Ibid, 10.

  72. Reny Hernandez, personal interview, September 6, 2014.

  73. Michael Passage, personal interview, February 13, 2014.

  74. Priscilla Kluge-McMullen, personal interview, February 21, 2013.

  75. Alexander, Trauma, 19.

  76. Priscilla Kluge McMullen, personal interview, February 21, 2013.

  77. Van Imhoff and Beets, “Demographic,” 48.

  78. Michael Passage, personal interview, February 13, 2014.

  79. Cohen, Diasporas, 516.

  80. Theresa, personal interview, September 9, 2014.

  81. Paula Zina, personal interview, September 3, 2014.

  82. Jeannette Lambert, personal interview, September 8, 2014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, La Roche College, 9000 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15226, USA

    Azlan Tajuddin

  2. Research, Development, and Administration, The Indo Project Inc, 19. Chestnut Square, Boston, MA, 02130-2205, USA

    Jamie Stern

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  1. Azlan Tajuddin
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Correspondence to Azlan Tajuddin.

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Tajuddin, A., Stern, J. From Brown Dutchmen to Indo-Americans: Changing Identity of the Dutch-Indonesian (Indo) Diaspora in America. Int J Polit Cult Soc 28, 349–376 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-015-9197-z

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