The Ukrainian National Association (UNA) ( uk, Український народний союз), known before 1914 as the Ruthenian National Union ( uk, Руський Народний Союз), is a North American fraternal organization founded in

Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian languages, Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") (Unami language, Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United Sta ...

on February 22, 1894 when the first wave of immigrants from the territories of today's

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

Originally called the Ruthenian National Union ( uk, Руський Народний Союз), it was partly established to counter the influence of the Hungarian-oriented

Greek Catholic Union of the USA The Greek Catholic Union of the USA (GCU) is the oldest continuous fraternal benefit society for Rusyn immigrants and their descendants in the United States. History Founded as the Greek Catholic Union of Rusyn Brotherhoods in the USA (GCU) i ...

. The Union adopted the newspaper '' Svoboda'' (Liberty) as its organ and sought to develop a distinctly Ukrainian identity. It offered to provide for material needs, such as funeral expenses and care for destitute members while also promoting

Ukrainian culture The culture of Ukraine is the composite of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian historiog ...

. The Union later changed its name to the Ukrainian National Association in order to assert a specifically Ukrainian ethnocultural identity. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the UNA advocated on behalf of Ukraine's independence. It also sponsored the creation of a Ukrainian Studies Center at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, the erection of the Taras Shevchenko Monument in Washington, D.C. and the publication of ''Ukraine: a concise encyclopedia''.Schmidt p.335 UNA retains a close relationship with the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of USA; uk, Українська православна церква у США) is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the United States. It consists of two eparchies (dioceses), ruled ...

.Schmidt p.336

Membership

Membership is open to those of Ukrainian descent or married to the same. People under sixteen must join the junior division. In 1965 the UNA had 84,414 members. By 1979 this had declined to 81,000. There were 69,000 members in 1995.Axelrod p.245 It now has more than 50,000 members in the United States and Canada, who own over $170 million in life insurance protection in the UNA. In 1979 the UNA had 465 local units in the US and Canada in twenty nine districts in 1979. Its headquarters were in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.

Activities

In 1952, the organization founded the

Soyuzivka Soyuzivka Heritage Center (Ukrainian: Союзівка), also known as Soyuzivka, Suzi-Q, or the Q, is a Ukrainian cultural center located in the hamlet of Kerhonkson, New York in Ulster County, in the Shawangunk Ridge area south of the Catskill ...

Heritage Center in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

for use as a cultural center by its members. The association founded the weekly English language newspaper, ''

The Ukrainian Weekly ''The Ukrainian Weekly'' is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America. Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copies ...

'' and the Ukrainian language daily '' Svoboda'' and the monthly ''Veselka''. It also sponsors summer school, folk dances, cultural events and charitable giving.

References

External links

Ukrainian National Association Official Website

The Ukrainian Weekly - English language weekly newspaper published by UNA

Svoboda - Ukrainian language weekly newspaper published by UNA

Soyuzivka - Ukrainian Heritage Center owned by UNA
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1894 Ethnic fraternal orders in the United States Ukrainian-American culture Ukrainian diaspora in Canada Ukrainian diaspora organizations