ABSTRACT
Until about 1980, there were few Somalis living in Canada, but the majority of them were fairly well educated people who had migrated for economic purposes. The absence of race as a social fact of Somali culture, in a sense, becomes activated in the process of migration to North America. This chapter provides data on how Somalis regard themselves, then on how they think white Canadians define them, followed by a description of patterns of association by Somalis that can be viewed as a behavioral dimension of identity transactions. Sometimes the Somali identity is constructed through its merger with other more global identities that suggests an affinity with other groups that are regarded as being similar. The chapter examines the elements of the process of identity devaluation and counterdevaluation between the Somali community and the majority white Canadians through the eyes of the Somali respondents.
