[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17449-17450]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2000

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member would ask his colleagues to 
note that Hispanic Heritage Month begins next week on September 15th. 
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated nationally and in this Member's 
home state of Nebraska from September 15th to October 15th. For 
Nebraskans, this is a time for us to learn more about an ethnic group 
which currently comprises 4 percent of our state's population. In fact, 
the U.S. Census Bureau has noted that Hispanics are the largest 
minority group in Nebraska.
  As this member's colleagues know, individuals throughout this country 
were involved in the celebration of the Library of Congress 
Bicentennial and America's richly diverse culture through the Local 
Legacies Project. One of the projects selected in Nebraska as a ``local 
legacy'' was Nuestros Tesoros, translated as Our Treasures: A 
Celebration of Nebraska's Mexican Heritage. This project resulted in a 
soft-cover book that was the culmination of a partnership between the 
Nebraska Mexican American Commission and the Nebraska State Historical 
Society. The goal of this was to explore and document the traditional 
arts, beliefs, and histories of Mexican Americans of Omaha, Lincoln, 
Grand Island, and Scottsbluff. As a result of this project, it was 
discovered that Hispanics now live in each of Nebraska's 93 counties. 
It was also noted that while many are recent immigrants working in many 
of Nebraska's food processing plants, still others are third- and 
fourth-generation Nebraskans--descendants of those who came to work on 
the railroads throughout Nebraska or in the sugar beet fields in 
western Nebraska.
  We celebrate each and every one of these individuals who sought the 
``good life'' that Nebraska offers its residents. Therefore, while many 
events are planned throughout the nation to celebrate Hispanic 
heritage, this Member would like to note that the following events are 
a few of those scheduled in Nebraska:
  --September 14th, fundraiser in Omaha at El Museo Latino, featuring 
speaker Jose Cuevas, Counsel-General of the new Mexican consulate in 
Omaha;
  --September 16th, celebration in Omaha sponsored by the City of 
Omaha;

[[Page 17450]]

  --September 16th, festival in Scottsbluff sponsored by the Our Lady 
Of Guadalupe Church;
  --September 29th to 30th, festival in Lincoln sponsored by the 
Hispanic Center; and
  --throughout the month, performances by a dance group from Mexico 
that will tour various communities in Nebraska.
  Again, this Member urges his colleagues to join the celebration of 
Hispanic Heritage Month by recognizing and participating in the events 
that are taking place in their congressional districts and states in 
honor of those Americans of Hispanic descent.

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