Liga Ejups of the Latvian Center Garezers outside of Three Rivers stands next to one of the banners for the “We Are Latvian” traveling exhibit, which is stopping by the Garezers this weekend until Aug. 23. (COMMERCIAL-NEWS | ROBERT TOMLINSON)

By Robert Tomlinson
News Director

FABIUS TWP. — Michigan has one of the largest concentrations of Latvians in the United States, and this weekend, people in the Three Rivers area can learn more about the history of the country that community came from.

The Latvian Center Garezers in Fabius Township, near Three Rivers, is hosting the traveling exhibit “We Are Latvian,” at its brand-new Bērzi (Birches) building on the center’s campus at 57489 Lone Tree Rd. The exhibit, which is open from 1-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 22-23, is presented by the American Latvian Association.

“We Are Latvian” showcases the history of the Latvian people, going back to the early Baltic people and discusses the twists and turns they had through the years, from being invaded by Germans, Russians, Swedes and more, to becoming serfs, all the way through their time as a Soviet Republic and, now, as an independent country.

Included with the exhibit are supplemental videos related to the banners of information on display, as well as “what would you do?” placards that put guests in the shoes of a Latvian person during that time period and deciding what path to take in life, given their circumstances.

“The idea is to just educate people about, what is Latvia. We are Latvian and we live here, you know, we’re in America. We tend to be kind of the immigrant group no one talks about,” Liga Ejups, the marketing and communications director for the Garezers, said. “The idea is to get this exhibit, to just put it in places where non-Latvians can come and see an immigrant story.”

Ejups said the exhibit tells the story of a people that have “been unlucky to have been occupied for most of its existence.” Right away, the exhibit talks about how the area now known as Latvia was invaded by the Germans around 1200, then by the Swedes 40 years after the Livonian War, and the Russians twice over the next 200 years, before finally fully gaining independence in 1991.

Through it all, she added, Latvians were able to maintain their identity and culture and keep it alive to this very day, even through exoduses to other countries, such as the United States, Canada and Australia during World War II.

“It’s a story of true resilience,” Ejups said.

Ejups also mentioned the fortuitousness of the timing of the exhibit, given that Aug. 23 is the 37th anniversary of what’s known as the Baltic Way, a peaceful demonstration where people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a 400-mile-long unbroken human chain across all three countries to, according to the exhibit, “show the world that the Baltic nations were determined to be free.” That day was a milestone when it came to the fight for independence from the Soviet Union in Baltic nations, and today is known as a day of remembrance.

Egons Kubulins, the president of the Garezers, said he saw the traveling exhibit during an annual American Latvian Association meeting in Minneapolis, and said it would be perfect fit to bring it to the Three Rivers area.

“We thought it’d be really wonderful for the folks that live in the Three Rivers area to get a chance to see who these Latvians really are,” Kubulins said. “They see the sign if they drive by on Lucas Road, but people don’t really know who we are, and so I thought that this would be a wonderful way for them to get an appreciation for everything that the Latvian people have gone through and where they are today.”

Kubulins added that the story of the Latvian people is something that could resonate with the local community.

“Those that appreciate freedom and have a respect for America’s struggle with freedom would really come to appreciate some of the things that they’ve seen here [at the exhibit],” Kubulins said.

Admission to “We Are Latvian” is free. For those that aren’t able to visit, Ejups said the exhibit will be in Kalamazoo at the Kalamazoo Latvian Center sometime in September.

Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.