Rhode Island Swedish Heritage Association

What is RISHA?

A Brief History

The Rhode Island Swedish Heritage Association (RISHA) was organized in 2002 to promote Swedish culture in Rhode Island and Southeastern New England and to generate financial support for a Swedish presence in the new Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence. During its brief existence, RISHA has sponsored a variety of educational, cultural and social events designed to raise awareness of our Swedish heritage and to raise the funds necessary to ensure participation in the museum's exhibits and programs. RISHA has sponsored Viking lectures, an American Union of Swedish Singers choral concert, a course in Swedish history, formal banquets with special desserts by Swedish-born Master Chef Mauritz Adolfsson, Swedish genealogical workshops, and a fundraising tea in Barrington with entertainment by Rhode Island's own Swedish-born soprano, Birgitta Anderson-Whited. We have celebrated various Swedish holidays, such as Lucia Day and Tjugondedag Jul, as well as taught Swedish traditions at well known holidays, like Christmas and Easter. We also encourage local children to learn of our customs by including them in our celebrations, as well as holding events just for them.

Our Vision

The Heritage Harbor Museum, soon to be built in Providence, will provide us with a unique opportunity to document the contributions of Swedish-Americans to the life of southern New England. It is estimated that more than 350,000 people annually will visit the museum and have the opportunity to learn our story, from its Viking origins to the present day. The museum has a dream of presenting the culturally diverse multi-ethnic groups of Rhode Island and their contributions to the state’s history. The Heritage Harbor’s vision is supported by its affiliate, the Smithsonian Institute.

Our major goal is to produce a professional-quality documentary to be shown at the museum. It will promote Swedish heritage and culture by emphasizing the influences, achievements, and contributions of Swedes visiting or residing in Rhode Island. Inclusion of related Connecticut and Massachusetts Swedish groups, integral with Rhode Island Swedes, would be recognized and mapped. It will document our social and cultural organizations, the Vasa Order, singing societies, churches, and the contributions of the Swedish-Americans to the life and economy of southern New England.

The Swedish presence in the museum will also serve as a catalyst for a number of exciting projects to document the story of the Swedish-Americans in southern New England, including the collection of artifacts, paintings, photographs, oral histories, and publication projects, such as the translation and updating of Svenskarna i Rhode Island (The Swedes in Rhode Island), originally published by the Svea Press in 1915.

The Museum’s community room will be a venue for educational interactive programs such as the Sankta Lucia festival, Swedish concerts, and lectures concerning the interaction of Scandinavians within Rhode Island. The Heritage Harbor’s projected flexible gallery will allow for occasional traveling exhibits. In coordination with the Heritage Harbor Museum, the Rhode Island Swedish Heritage Association and its volunteers will have an excellent opportunity to document for future generations much of our Swedish heritage before it is lost.

If you share our vision of a permanent Swedish visual exhibit, we encourage you to join us today with a membership. Click here for membership information.