Basques in Boise

Javi and Josu Zubizarreta are over in the Basque Country visiting family. Their dad, born in Gernika, first moved to Boise to work in a lumber company with their uncle Joe. There he met their mum, a Basque-American with roots in Lekeitio.

"Our grandfather, ''Aitxite Joaquin'', was the first Zubizarreta to come to Boise and work as a sheepherder," they explain, though he would later move back to Gernika to raise his family.

Aside from family commitments, Javi, who recently made a documentary about Basque Shepherds in Idaho entitled Artzainak: Shepherds and Sheep, is also looking to make contacts over in the Basque Country, where he hopes to focus his future film work.

Josu, his older brother, is essentially ''along for the ride'', he says, though his professional pursuits are no less interesting, or less Basque, than his brother''s.

Josu graduated in Spanish and Biology at Boise State University and hopes to go on to study medicine. He is currently working at BSU as part of a research project into Basque DNA headed by Dr Greg Hampikian.

Research into the paternal lineage of Boise Basques is still ongoing, though investigations have already uncovered some interesting results:

"When comparing the Boise Basques with those in the Basque Country there appears to be less diversity, which would be expected since the majority of Boise Basques can trace their ancestors back to the Gernika-Urdabai region," explains Josu.

The Boise State University project is being run in collaboration with a similar project at the University of the Basque Country, which is looking into the prevalence of certain illnesses in Basque genes.

"The idea is to better understand health risks for Basque people, including an increased incidence of both Alzheimer''s and Parkinson''s diseases," explains Josu.

During the study at BSU researches have collected over 60 different samples from unrelated donors living in or around Boise.

"The process of collecting DNA samples has been great," says Josu.

"The majority feel proud to be Basque and are interested in the research. Many realize that by participating they are helping to shed light on illnesses common in the Basque population."

Though essentially pursuing very different careers, it is no coincidence that both brothers'' interests focus heavily on immigration, specifically the Basque Diaspora:

"Immigration is a big part of who we are," say Josu and Javi, whose maternal grandfather - the only non-Basque - was of Scandinavian descent.

Zubizarretak: Sheep and Science

Josu''s brother Javi, meanwhile, made his film Artzainak as a tribute to Idaho''s Basque shepherds:

"Our family''s stories (about our grandfather''s life) really make us aware of the sacrifices they made for us. These stories inspired me to create Artzainak and my upcoming thesis film."

Members of Javi''s family, including Josu, were involved in the making of the documentary, though they were not to make it to the final cut:

"I was excited to be on camera," says Josu, "but I ended up on the cutting room floor."

Says Javi: "It was a tough decision to cut my brother out of the film," quickly adding, "But not that tough!"

Javi''s next project for his thesis is a fictional film based on his grandfather''s experiences as a shepherd.

For now it looks as though the brother''s will continue to study their interests in very different fields, though Josu still has some ideas on how to combine them:

"He has an idea for a movie about a Basque geneticist - studying Basque DNA - who has an accident in the lab," says Javi.

"When he wakes up he is ''Super-Basko''. His super powers are eating pintxos and drinking txakoli until the sun rises!"