south indy

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by valpofan11

Correct. The Chin Burmese are an ethnic minority in Myanmar and are mostly Christian, many of whom have fled Myanmar to escape religious persecution from the Buddhist regime there. Many of the Burmese in Indianapolis work in warehouses throughout the city/metro or in small businesses on the south side.

That was the term - "Chin" - I couldn't recall it. These are the folks that have pretty well overrun the southside, at least the area around Southport and Emerson, correct?

RM

[valpofan11]

Originally Posted by MortonR

That was the term - "Chin" - I couldn't recall it. These are the folks that have pretty well overrun the southside, at least the area around Southport and Emerson, correct?

RM

Correct. Like I mentioned, Perry Township Schools is only 39% white and now 33% Asian, with there being more Asian students than white students in the elementary school enrollment. This means that there will be an Asian plurality and maybe majority in the near future in the district.

Yep, the apartment complexes around Southport, Stop 11, and County Line Road along Madison Ave are mostly Burmese IIRC.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by valpofan11

Correct. Like I mentioned, Perry Township Schools is only 39% white and now 33% Asian, with there being more Asian students than white students in the elementary school enrollment. This means that there will be an Asian plurality and maybe majority in the near future in the district.

Yep, the apartment complexes around Southport, Stop 11, and County Line Road along Madison Ave are mostly Burmese IIRC.

Family member owned a home for some years around Emerson and Stop 11. Sold out to the Chin earlier this year when they retired and moved out of the area. Said that nearly everyone in the neighborhood was Asian, they felt very out of place. They had been there since the mid to late 1980s.

Asian gentrification?

I see a lot of what appear to be a lot of Hindu people in the Greenwood and Whiteland area. Are they simply Indian or some other culture?

RM

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Interesting. I wonder what made the area attractive to a particular culture?

I think it is social media that somewhat plays a part. Possibly locals who are involved in relocation as well. Between both of these avenues, people will find out where so and so lives and if a small group of three to five people have reached out to offer jobs, advice, etc. all live on a certain area of the metro, it is likely the immigrant will want to be around people that are similar to them. Just in the last three years there has been two Indian religious centers and an Islamic center built in SE Hamilton County, NW Hancock County. There was a similar Indian temple built on the far E/NE side of Indianapolis (more east than north). So when places like that go up, those cultures will usually be drawn to those areas as well.

I know on the far east side, back when I was growing up, there was a small established Asian group. I wasn't really old enough to know/care about which part of Asia these folks came from, but there were enough to notice them in day-to-day living. There is/was a long established Korean Christian Church on the east side (might be more than one) so that might have played a part in them locating in that area of the city.

Despite trying to diversify the population, from my lower Midwest perspective, people mostly are inclined to want to be near people they can relate to, look like, etc. It seems to take a generation or two before people of different races or ethnic backgrounds start to not self-segregate.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by indy_317

Despite trying to diversify the population, from my lower Midwest perspective, people mostly are inclined to want to be near people they can relate to, look like, etc. It seems to take a generation or two before people of different races or ethnic backgrounds start to not self-segregate.

I lived in Wisconsin when the resident Hmong population's second generation was coming of age. Still lots of multi-generational homes, a strong and close knit community among them, etc., but the kids who were born and raised here were definitely not having any of this. I know it caused a significant amount of consternation amongst their elders, but once you've been to the big city...

Sadly, what was a quiet, resourceful and law abiding community became far less due to their kid's assimilation. We started to see gang activity and an increase in petty and street crime, most of (not all) which was perpetrated by these kids. I worked with some of the adults, and they were clearly distressed about what was happening, but didn't know what to do about it. It was a real bummer, because they were great people to work with and had a serious work ethic, which fit in well with the local culture.

Funny story:

When I was i Washington D.C. on business some years ago I had my spouse and oldest son (preschooler at the time) with me. We had been in D.C. proper and were going back to our hotel in Rockville on the Metro, where my son noticed some men in Hindu garb. He got all excited and started pointing and saying, "Mom! Dad! Look! Genies!!"

The two men were quite gracious about it and just chuckled while we were shrinking into the floor. Of course, it's funny today.


RM

[valpofan11]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Family member owned a home for some years around Emerson and Stop 11. Sold out to the Chin earlier this year when they retired and moved out of the area. Said that nearly everyone in the neighborhood was Asian, they felt very out of place. They had been there since the mid to late 1980s.

Asian gentrification?

I see a lot of what appear to be a lot of Hindu people in the Greenwood and Whiteland area. Are they simply Indian or some other culture?

RM

Not sure about Whiteland/east Greenwood, but the Asian enrollment in Clark-Pleasant Community Schools (Whiteland) has grown quite a bit, obviously not as much as Perry Township. Franklin Township Asian enrollment is fairly high too and seems to be growing, although I don't know if that's Burmese overflow or just regular moderate to high income various Asians looking to be in a nice area of Indy that is much cheaper than Carmel.

Interesting story on your family member. I was wondering on how much Burmese were buying/living in single family homes in Perry Township, I knew they were the majority in many of these apartment complexes. Sad that your family member felt out of place, but as someone who is half white, half Filipino, I understand since my Filipino mom felt very out of place after leaving Chicago for lily white Porter County in Northwest Indiana in the 90s.

[hapaleeretired]

The epicenter of the Chin population seems to be Stop 11 Road and Madison.
There is a large concentration of Sikhs south of Main Street east of I-65 in Greenwood.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by hapaleeretired

The epicenter of the Chin population seems to be Stop 11 Road and Madison.
There is a large concentration of Sikhs south of Main Street east of I-65 in Greenwood.

We own a house off of Main St. east of I-65, and I would posit that easily half of the residents are Sikh. It's actually pretty cool, as they're really nice people and seem to have a lot of gatherings on a regular basis. We're looking forward to crashing one of their parties and getting to learn more about the culture and trying the food.

I pointed out to my oldest son that we now have a house in a neighborhood full of "genies"!

RM

[sheerbliss]

A few days ago, Sikhs in Kent, England made and delivered thousands of meals to truck drivers stranded on the highway.
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-...snt-sf-twitter

[WestsideMac]

With the Burmese the federal and local government helped the first ones get settled as I understand it. I'm not sure how the government decides where though, may just be what Rental Company/Apartment Complex is willing to allow them to live there and will take government subsidies. Once a few families settle in an area and are either accepted or seem to have success that becomes the epicenter for most other resettled refugees, in this case Chin.

Right before we sold our house on the southside a Chin family moved in a few doors down. I talked to the husband a couple of times and found out he was actually a minister at a Chin Christian Church being established in the area and had been back in Myanmar, that was a big reason he and his congregants were fleeing. Many are persecuted if Christian. This was before their population exploded on the Southside. He was working with the relocation arm of the government to bring over more Chin from his actual congregation that were still in refugee camps. We ended up selling our house to one of his congregants.

I haven't been back to the area myself much since we sold, but I have a friend who teaches at Southport HS and confirms they are largest minority group in school system now. He said now that many of the older/first siblings have gone through the schools they are starting to see increased extra curricular participation as the older kids push for their younger siblings to get involved. I also know a few years ago the Valedictorian at Southport was Chin. I think that's why so many are settling in that area. Just between having others who can help in the area, where their church is, success and people who share their culture/language, and schools that are more equipped than other districts to support their children. I'm sure the government looks at that too. Like someone mentioned i think the Burmese in Ft Wayne saw similar success/support and that's why Ft Wayne is one of the largest epicenters in the US for the Burmese.