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Icelandic Roots newsletter theme for 2026 is the emigration to North America and the settlements there. Some are still active settlements, while others have since been abandoned. Washington Island is a settlement from 1870 that remains strong today.   In the mid-1800s, Icelanders began to emigrate to America. Many hardships in Iceland contributed to its people searching for a better life, for them and their family. Emigration proved to be the answer for some. Stories of settl

Book review of The Icelandic Emigration Journey

by Rob Olason The Icelandic Roots 2026 focus is “Exploring and Documenting Local Icelandic Settlements in North America.” In 2025, the focus was on Icelandic art and culture in Iceland and North America. 2024 saw us focusing on the Settlement Era of Iceland around the first millennium. We inaugurated the idea of focusing on a specific topic in 2023 when we explored Icelandic emigration to North America and other continents. The idea of examining a focus topic each year doesn’

by Doreen Borgford McFarlane This is an excerpt from a yet unpublished book Leirarskotta  by Doreen Borgfjord McFarlane. Author's Note: This book that I wrote tells the story of an Icelandic girl ghost who, according to Icelandic records, lived and followed the Borgfjord family for no less than eight generations. I learned about her quite accidentally around 2015 by reading a lecture on "Icelandic Immigrant Ghosts" that was delivered at the University of Victoria, B.C. in 200

Minneota: Celebrating 150 years since the 1875 Icelandic Immigration By Elaine Olafson Henry Photos provided by the author The Minneota...

My mother once, after reading one of my short stories, said, “How did you know that?” “That” was a description of ice forming on rocks...

by Anne Brydon Department of Anthropology McGill University, Montreal, Quebec   ** Reprinted from Icelandic Canadian v.48 n.2 Winter...

Beth remembers the Icelandic Festivals she attended in August 2025

by Anne Brydon Department of Anthropology McGill University, Montreal, Quebec   ** Reprinted from Icelandic Canadian v.48 n.2 Winter...

By Sharron Arksey A book review is the best way to get an overview to see if you would like to read a book. This review comes from...

Bill tells of his ancestral arrival to New Iceland and his memories.

By Rob Olason ÞÓ LÍÐÍ ÁR OG ÖLD   – THOUGH YEARS AND CENTURIES PASS INLNA Convention is May 1-4, 2025 The theme of the 2025 Icelandic...

By Jason Doctor At family reunions and visits with relatives in Watertown, South Dakota, a rich history of Icelanders from the area was hidden in plain sight. Jason recounts the story of Kristín Þorkelsdóttir, a well known writer, and other Watertown ancestors. Recounting this history and their stories is vital to keeping the past alive. Growing up, the family reunions I attended alternated between the Black Hills and Lake Kampeska in Watertown, South Dakota. We would typical

Note: On January 29, Icelandic Roots will host a public webinar featuring Julianna Roberts, the executive director of the New Iceland...

Celebrating the Icelandic settlement in Minneota 150 years earlier.

Note: Rev. Stefan Jonasson presents the topic "Religion in the New World" in an Icelandic Roots Webinar on October 28, 2024. The webinar...

The discovery of L’Anse Aux Meadows in the 1960s is proof that the Vikings, discovered North America before Columbus.

Memories lurk at L'Anse Aux Meadows.

Excitement blossomed deep within me as I imagined being among people who loved everything Icelandic as much as I did.

Does the Torfhús at L’Anse aux Meadows smell the same as the ones remembered in Iceland?