Challenging Folk Icons - Rewriting Woody and Santeri

Woody Guthrie’s song, “The 1913 Massacre,” written around 1940-41, has become something of a folk anthem for progressives, leftists, and labor supporters. It depicts the Italian Hall Disaster of December 24, 1913, in a plainspoken and colorful way, but has been (rightfully) described as “deeply flawed historically.” Much like Guthrie’s English-language folk songs, Finnish immigrant Santeri Mäkelä had a major impact on capturing the working-world around him. Mäkelä’s lyrics for the “Kaivantomiehen Laulu (The Miners’ Song)” were first published in Hancock, 1909, in “Uusi Työväen Laulukirja (The New Workers’ Songbook),” and was probably sung widely by Finnish strikers during the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike. Leading up to, and during this Strike Centennial year, there have been renewed performances of the song, both in Finland and the United States—but only in the original Finnish language. This presentation will delve into the accuracy, history, and lyrics of these two important, but historically problematic labor songs.

Teofilo Petriella : Marxist Revolutionary

The paper will examine the role Teofilo Petriella played in splitting Italian communities through Marxist agitation. As a strike leader on Mesabi Iron Range and in Copper Country, Petriella traveled throughout the Great Lakes region. In each community he found supporters among the discontented miners, while also facing strong opposition from Catholic priests and middle class community leaders. By examining his activities in both regions, I will illustrate the connectivity of Italian communities around Lake Superior, while also addressing religious and class conflict amongst the populations.