Icelandic Rootshús Rises in Mountain
Icelandic Roots founder and President Sunna Furstenau was interviewed by the editor of “Lifðu núna,” an online magazine (www.lifdununa.is). The interview has already been published there (in Icelandic). We thought you would like to read how our shared culture was presented in the interview.
Therefore, we are offering a short excerpt of the interview for you to enjoy!
While Sunna stayed in Iceland, she was more busy than ever, meeting many people to tell them about the unique and amazing army of volunteers and what they accomplish every day of the year! The focus of the information this time was certainly the construction of Rootshús, now being built in Mountain, North Dakota. It is only proper to say that this is happening through the combined know-how, energy, effort, and love of Iceland. We are first and foremost referring to Sunna and her husband Jeff, plus all the members of Icelandic Roots who are contributing to the project, each as their abilities and means allow. The dream about having a home for their shared culture is coming true. The Rootshús will be filled with books in Icelandic and English on Icelandic subjects, as well as items that the early immigrants brought with them to America when they emigrated.
Sunna met with the people at Edda, the home for our precious old literature, and told them about Rootshús and the process of securing cultural cooperation. She met with the representative of the prime minister of Iceland, who was engaged in New York at the General Assembly of the United Nations. The prime minister will be informed about our shared heritage.
Their descendants have maintained strong ties to the old country, preserving stories, language, genealogy, and traditions across generations.
-The editors of Rætur Fréttir/Roots News.
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Text From The Interview With Sunna:
The great many Icelanders who left their country for North America left for various reasons. Once in America, some struggled terribly, while some prospered. Icelanders became farmers, teachers, writers, clergy, politicians, business owners and community builders. Their descendants now live in North America and beyond. The children of the immigrants spoke the old language. They heard stories from “home” and many had relatives there. Gradually, the connections became weaker and sparser.
In 2013 Sunna established Icelandic Roots, an organization working to strengthen those connections.
Icelandic Roots has grown like a tall tale to nearly 90 volunteers in Iceland, Canada and the United States who contribute to its work. About 40 of them are genealogists who research families, document the lives of Icelandic emigrants and help descendants on both sides of the Atlantic discover how they are connected.
But Icelandic Roots has never been only about genealogy. Its volunteers offer educational programs, webinars, conversations, book discussions and other opportunities for people throughout the world to learn about Icelandic history, language and culture and to strengthen their connections with one another.
That online community needed a physical home. That wish and dream is being realized these days. The house is being built in Mountain, North Dakota and it even has a name, Rootshús. It is a house where our roots, our shared heritage will be strengthened and cultivated.
Sunna and her husband Jeff have been at the heart of the project from the very beginning, working side by side with the volunteers and members of Icelandic Roots, each contributing according to his or her abilities and means.
The ground was broken on August 1st, 2026, and Rootshús will stand on the historic homestead of Páll Þórláksson, the father of the Icelandic settlement of Dakota. Directly across the street stands Víkur Church, the oldest Icelandic church.
There will be a wealth of exhibits in Rootshús. There will be books, some very old, even skin manuscripts, a replica of the living quarters in a turf house, a most interesting collection of items brought over by the immigrants, a gift shop with Icelandic items to take home from the visit and these are just a few items mentioned. You won’t see the spirit of the house but you will most likely feel it. Rootshús is meant to feel alive!
We hope you all realize that you really need to visit and experience Rootshús!
This invitation reaches in all directions, even over the Atlantic Ocean to the mother country.
People living in Iceland are as much a part of Icelandic Roots as descendants of emigrants in Canada and the United States. The organization was created around the idea that Icelandic heritage does not belong only to one country or one generation. It is something shared.
When its doors open in Mountain, it will not belong to one person or one family.
It will be a home for a shared story- for all of us.
