Community

New York

The Scottish-American community is large, although no entirely reliable figure exists. Duncan Bruce's book Mark of the Scots cites 1980 census figures giving a total in excess of twelve million.

The Scottish community divides itself into two broad strains 'ancestral Scots' and 'contemporary Scots'. Both groups are active but differ in their mindset and interests. Ancestral Scots are unlikely to have ever visited their ancestral home but read the Highlander Magazine, attend Highland Games, wear the Highland garb, attend Burns Night dinners and, while generally nostalgic about Scotland, are removed from its present day reality.

A second strain, derived primarily from recent immigrant Scots, focuses on the present, looking at Scotland, warts and all, with pride and interest. This group reads Scottish Life and other contemporary publications having a Scottish orientation and is involved in current affairs and open to addressing Scotland's current situation and needs.

The Foundation sees itself as relating primarily to the second strain, for its focus is contemporary and unabashedly commercial in orientation.

The Foundation, recognizing the benefit of collaborating with the public and private sectors to accomplish mutually agreed-upon goals, has worked hard to establish its credibility with these groups.

At the Caledonian Foundation USA, Inc.'s 20th Anniversary meeting in Sarasota, Florida in 1996, The American-Scottish Foundation, Inc. called for a national organization to represent Scotland's interests in the UN.

This call resulted in the formation of the Scottish Coalition, an informal body that seeks to coordinate activities and minimize duplication. To date, its most significant achievement, with the help of a local sponsoring committee in Washington DC, is the establishment of April 6th, in perpetuity, as National Tartan Day.

Members of the Coalition are:

  • American-Scottish Foundation, Inc.
  • Association of Games and Festivals
  • Association of St Andrew's Societies
  • Caledonian Foundation USA, Inc.
  • International Association of Tartan Studies/Tartan Educational Cultural Association
  • Scottish Heritage USA
  • The Council of Scottish Clans and Associations