Jackson Hole, Wyo., residents work together on immigration

by Julie Fanselow

April 4, 2007 | | Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Like many recreation-oriented towns across the United States, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has a growing Latino population. In 2004, the U.S. Census estimated that 1,765 Latinos lived in the Town of Jackson and Teton County. Just three years later, that has grown to about 3,000, and Latinos now make up about 15 percent of the total population.

 

Jackson Hole residents take part in the study circle program's March 13 action forum. Translation services were made available to Spanish-only speaking residents. Courtesy: Gloria F. Mengual.

With its proximity to two national parks and three major ski areas, Jackson Hole (as the town and its surrounding area are known) is a magnet for service-industry jobs. But Jackson’s growing reputation as a retreat for the rich and famous has created sky-high housing prices, forcing many working-class people to move elsewhere. Immigrants—mostly from Mexico, eager for economic opportunity and willing to work several jobs and crowd into rental homes—are literally riding to the local economy’s rescue.

It’s a story that’s playing out in resort towns all across the United States, but Jackson residents have taken the reins to address both the opportunities and the challenges represented by the area’s changing demographics. In a five-week series of study circles called “Changing Faces, Changing Community,” more than 60 people got together to discover ways to help the Latino and European-American cultures better understand one another and work together to improve the community.

The program was organized by the Jackson-based Center for Resolution with the support of the Study Circles Resource Center. Activities got under way in February with a summit and supper at historic St. John’s Episcopal Church. Over the next three weeks, participants met in five groups of about 15 people each. In mid-March, they gathered for an action forum at Snow King Resort to review their work, vote on ideas, and start turning talk into action.

Jackson’s action forum was especially exciting because a wide range of community leaders including the mayor, several town council members, the police chief, and a county commissioner—about 100 people in all—were on hand to hear brief presentations from each of the five circles, all simultaneously translated into Spanish. Afterward, study circles participants chose their favorite ideas and met in small groups to start planning action steps, which ranged from broad to very specific:

• Start a diverse city-county task force to help gather more information and dispel myths about Latinos in the Jackson area. At this table, town council member Melissa Turley (who also took part in the study circles) and county commission chairman Andy Schwartz listened and gave feedback as constituents tossed around ideas and brainstormed about resources. Participants also spoke about how the media can help by broadening its human-interest coverage of the Latino community.
• Reduce and overcome language barriers. People in this circle expressed support for bilingual
   

  A Jackson resident reads through action ideas posted during the study circle action forum. Courtesy: Gloria F. Mengual

  education in the local schools and heard a local business owner who employs 80 Latinos and 30 European Americans tell how he reimburses workers who pass an English as a Second Language course. “It’s creating great loyalty to the company,” he said. “If you help people, they will help you.” The group plans to approach other employers to ask that they pay for ESL lessons and perhaps hold classes at worksites, on company time.
• Increase cross-cultural understanding. People gathered in this group are seeking more opportunities to get to know one another better, not just between Latinos and European Americans but among the broad range of Spanish-speaking people, too. For the group’s next meeting, they planned a social event and pledged to invite friends.
• Change current law that prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers licenses. People in study circles realized how difficult it can be for immigrants to obtain sustained employment without a driver’s license. Jackson police chief Dan Zivkovich helped the group understand this is a state law, not a local regulation. Changing a state law will require the group to research what other states have done and enlist allies to make a stronger case. “It’s all about a campaign where you show how valuable you are to the community,” said SCRC Program Director Gloria Mengual who provided Jackson assistance to organize its study circle program.  

Although many ambitious ideas emerged from the study circles, one Latina participant, Triny Lopez, said forging better relations between the cultures might be as simple as taking time to acknowledge one another on the street and in the stores. “It wouldn’t hurt to say ‘Hello’ or ‘Buenos Dias’ or ‘Buenas Tardes.’ A simple hello or a smile won’t hurt anyone.”

Daniel Buchan, a European American participant, agreed. He mentioned that he saw a Latino man at the local ice hockey rink, which surprised him. Previously, he said, he probably wouldn’t have connected with the man, “but because of this program, I went over and asked him about his interest in hockey.” Buchan suggested that Jackson residents might launch a cross-cultural soccer league or have picnics on the town square, adding, “Let’s have some fun together.”

Barbara Hauge of the Center for Resolution was pleased with the turnout and how much energy the event generated both among the study circles participants and the wider community. Several of the small groups lingered past the two hours allotted for the meeting. Councilwoman Turley took this as a good sign, noting, “You know you’re doing something right when people hang around and talk, and they don’t shoot out of the room.”

Learn more: Diversity  | Immigration