Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 2025

Departmental News

Posted: May 01, 2025 - 12:00pm

UNM celebrates Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 2025. Click on the red links below for more information. Scroll down to read about UNM organizations, events, scholars, the history of AAPI Month, research, news and organizations.

UNM Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Center (AAPIRC)

"The Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Center (AAPIRC, pronounced a-perk) was officially established in the 2021-2022 school year. Our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place on April 28th, 2022 in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. We aim to build a sense of belonging for AAPI students during their studies at the University of New Mexico. AAPIRC also seeks to provide culturally relevant programs that cultivate Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders within communities. AAPI designation refers to all Asians including heritages in East Asia, Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, West Asia/Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia. We are inclusive of all AAPI-identified students including those who are multicultural/mixed race, adopted, and part of the widespread diaspora. More information about AAPIRC is available here."

Mission Statement: The mission of the Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Center is to build a sense of belonging for students of Asian/Pacific Islander/Desi American Heritage during their studies at the University of New Mexico. AAPIRC also seeks to provide culturally relevant programs that cultivate Asian/Pacific Islander leaders within communities. Designation of AAPI includes East Asian, Southeast Asian, Central Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander, and Arab American students at UNM.

Vision Statement: The vision of AAPIRC is to provide a physical space where students are able to enrich their university social experience and access student services, programs, research, and educational opportunities without feeling the guilts of the "Model Minority Myth" (SC Pacific Asia Museum)."

2025 Stoling Ceremony-May 13, 2025 (5:30 PM-7:30 PM) UNM SUB Ballroom C

AAPIRC's Community Submission Based Blog

About the Blog: The Visibility Blog features writings, reviews, artwork, news, and other contributions by and/or about AAPI students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members at UNM and beyond. The aim of this blog is to provide visibility to our often invisibilized experiences. It also provides an opportunity for our community to publish their work, be seen, and be heard.

Pamela Agoyo (Cochiti, Ohkay Owingeh, Kewa Pueblos), Acting Director of the AAPIRC, is the Executive Director for Student Support & Special Assistant to the President for American Indian Affairs at the University of New Mexico. "In a career that has primarily focused on student affairs and student development, Ms. Agoyo has served the University of New Mexico in a number of capacities including: Director of Student Union Recreational Services, Recruitment Specialist for the Office of Admissions & Outreach Services, Director of Minority Recruitment and Retention, Scholarship Outreach Coordinator for the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, and Interim Co-Director of the Office of Advising Strategies. She is also the founding Faculty Advisor for UNM’s Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc and Beta Sigma Epsilon Fraternity, the founding and previous Executive Director of the National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education (NINLHE), and a former Special Education Teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Ms. Agoyo’s national leadership experience includes: National Co-Chair of the College Board Native American Student Advocacy Institute (NASAI); Board of Directors for the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) where she served as NIEA President in 2013-14, Board of Trustees for The College Board, Trustee for the Cobell Scholarship Fund, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Board of Directors and Southwest Women’s Law Center Board of Directors, where she served as Board President from 2021-2022." Learn more

UNM Langage Learning Center

"The mission of the Language Learning Center (LLC) is to support all aspects of language learning at the University of New Mexico. We provide expertise, resources, and space for language classes." Learn more about their Language Programs as well as student Language Clubs, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean language and culture.

UNM International Studies Institute (ISI)

"The International Studies Institute (ISI) is an umbrella organization for the interdisciplinary undergraduate program in International Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico. We currently offer a minor in International Studies and a Major in International Studies...ISI's vision is to advance the understanding of global issues and other regions of the world- their peoples, cultures, developments, and challenges- including those that are of strategic and economic interest to the U.S...Serving the undergraduates and affiliated faculty of each program, our mission is to provide greater opportunities for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge about today's world of the UNM campus and throughout the state of New Mexico." Learn more

The Korea-America Student Conference

UNM Department of Philosophy, PHD South Asian Focus

"The Focus in South Asian philosophy at UNM is unique in that it offers graduate students interested in South Asian thought the opportunity to train as philosophers, rather than as specialists in Religious Studies or Area Studies. It allows students to study South Asian intellectual traditions while obtaining a rigorous graduate education in philosophy that qualifies them to teach philosophy at the college level. The Focus is currently in the planning stages to become a formal degree concentration which would appear on official student transcripts.

The Focus emphasizes philosophical engagement with the theories and arguments of South Asian philosophy based on the ability to read its literature with philological and historical sophistication. The latter entails both accessing targeted texts directly in the original languages and reading primary literature extensively in translation. The development of proficiency in either Tibetan or Sanskrit is stressed. As students acquire broad knowledge of the history of philosophy, both Western and Asian, they will also develop a philosopher’s ability to think clearly, critically, and creatively. It is hoped that these diverse competencies will enable students to engage with and contribute to multiple disciplines, since South Asian philosophy lies at the cross-section of several fields of study."

Events

May 2 11-2 PM Korean Conversation Circles, hosted by the UNM Language Learning Center, LLC Lab 1

May 3 10-3 PM 2025 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival, National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, 601 Eubank Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123

May 3 11-3 2025 Multicultural Arts Festival, Singing Arrow Community Center, 13200 Wenonah Ave SE

May 13 5:30-7:30 PM 2025 UNM AAPIRC Stoling Ceremony, UNM SUB Ballroom C

May 23-25 2025 Sabaku Con, Crowne Plaza Albuquerque, 1901 University Blvd NE

May 30 12:40 PM Asian Fest, Simms Auditorium at the Albuquerque Academy

May 31 1 PM Van Hanh Lion Dance Performance Summer Reading Kickoff, Erna Fergusson Library

Mondays 3-5 PM Japanese Study Groups, hosted by the UNM Language Learning Center, LLC Lab 6

Thursdays 12:30-3:30 PM Chinese Club Study Session, hosted by the UNM Language Learning Center, LLC Lab 1

Fridays 5 PM Japanese Club, hosted by the UNM Language Learning Center, SUB (3rd Floor Scholars Room)

eGirl Power AAPI Initiative: Empower (A Dedicated Safe Space, Virtual Social Gatherings, Making a Difference)

#MuseumFromHome - Asian Art Museum virtual exhibits

Wing Luke Museum virtual exhibits

Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art virtual exhibits

Museum of Chinese in America

Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast

Smithsonian Podcasts

The AuthEthnic Podcast

Dear Workplaace: Podcast by Innovators Box

Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Storytellers 2021

PBS KVIE provides an array of online/virtual programming

PBS WPI features scholars, podcasts, virtual programming, and more

APAH Tunes 2025, Curated by the Asia Society (Texas) on Spotify

Ballooning and the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum

Sasebo Japanese Garden at the ABQ BioPark

Virtual: Viral Histories: Stories of Racism, Resilience, and Resistance in Asian American Communities (A series of Interviews from May 2020)

Scholars

In Memoriam: "[Dr.] Mala Htun [was] a Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico. [She was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.] She work[ed] on comparative politics, women's rights, social inequalities, and strategies to promote inclusive organizational climates in STEM. Htun is the author of three books, most recently The Logics of Gender Justice: State Action on Women's Rights around the World, co-authored with Laurel Weldon (Cambridge Press, 2018). She has been Vice President of APSA, served as the chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession, and co-chaired the Presidential Task Force on Women's Advancement. She has been an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a fellow at the Kellogg Institute of the University of Notre Dame and the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard, and held the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship in Japan. She[held] a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard and a A.B. in international relations from Stanford. She was an assistant and then associate professor at the New School for Social Research from 2000-2011." In 2024, Dr. Htun was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Htun passed away in January 2025.

"Dr. [Sang M.] Han is [Regents professor and Department Chair] in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering and [professor in] Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico (UNM). He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his BS in Chemical Engineering with Honors from the University of California at Berkeley. Han is a recipient of Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship in 2012 and 2014; UNM Science and Technology Corporation Creative Award consecutively from 2009 to 2014; UNM School of Engineering Senior Teaching Excellence Award in 2012; UNM Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award in 2005; and NSF Career Award in 2001. Han holds 10 UNM-affiliated issued U.S. patents. He has over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals and over 150 invited/contributed papers at academic institutions and conferences." Learn more

Dr. Karen J. Leong recently joined the UNM History Department as an Associate Professor. "[Her] research interests are in 20^th century U.S. social and cultural history, with a focus on nationalism, borders, and citizenship as articulated through popular culture, immigration policy, and social formations at the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and other social factors. ...[She has] three ongoing projects: Japanese Americans in Transnational Arizona uses the archive of Japanese American oral histories explores Japanese immigrant community building in relation to transnational empire building and settler colonialism; American Movements: Understanding the Ideological and Institutional Reasoning for Japanese American and American Indian Relocations, 1940-1970 with Dr. Myla Vicenti Carpio explores how U.S. federal policies toward the Japanese American immigrant community and American Indian communities as domestically dependent sovereign nations informed each other; and Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health: Visibility, Equity, and Asian America, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders with Dr. Kathy Nakagawa and Dr. Aggie Yellow Horse seeks to be an introduction for students and community organizations. ...{[Dr. Leong also] co-organize[s] and co-teach[es] oral history workshops for Japanese American, Pacific Islander, and Native American communities, and to work with K-12 educators in Arizona to create a curriculum about the Japanese American WWII experiences of incarceration." Learn more

"Dr. Sojeong (SJ) Nam joined the Counselor Education faculty [in the College of Education and Human Sciences] in Fall 2022. Dr. Nam’s research and clinical interests center on mental health disparities including mental health stigma, literacy, and help-seeking among underrepresented and underserved populations, multicultural and social justice counselor education, interventions for depression and suicidality in children and adolescents, and psychometric properties of assessment tools in counseling and counselor education." In 2023, she received the Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color Mentorship Award. Learn more

"Dr. Hyoung “Hank” Lee is a Professor and Chair in the Department of New Mexico at the University of New Mexico. ...Dr. Lee has more than twenty-five years of research experience covering a broad spectrum of topics in radiation detection, nuclear imaging, and medical physics. He has attracted numerous research grants and contracts amounting to ~$32 million and has provided new methods and solutions in nuclear imaging beyond traditional technologies. He has published 116 peer-reviewed journal papers, 41 conference proceedings, edited a book chapter, and registered 11 patents. He was awarded the Minister’s Citation from the Government of South Korea in 2009 and the Young Faculty Award from DARPA in 2012. He is a Senior Member of SPIE and IEEE and a member of ANS and AAPM. Also, he was the Chair of Isotopes and Radiation Division of ANS from 2016 to 2017." Learn more

Dr. Eva Chi is Professor, Regents' Lecturer and Associate Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. She writes: "Our multidisciplinary research program is focused on understanding the underlying interactions that drive the structure, dynamics, and function of biomolecular assemblies. We are particularly interested in protein assemblies and their related biological consequences. For example, the misfolding and assembly of intrinsically disordered amyloid proteins into ordered fibrillar aggregates underlie the pathogenesis of a myriad of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. As the abnormal protein assembly process is believed to occur decades before the onset of symptoms, they are ideal biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We are working on developing novel molecular probes for sensing amyloid protein aggregates that can lead to early disease detection and intervention." Learn more

Dr. Abhaya Datye, Distinguished Regents' Professor, "...has been on the faculty at the University of New Mexico since 1984 after receiving his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan (advisor Johannes Schwank). He has authored 250 publications, 7 patents and has presented 166 invited lectures around the world. His published work has received 22,221 citations with an h-index of 77 (Google Scholar). He is a fellow of the AIChE, the Microscopy Society of America and The Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been actively involved in the North American Catalysis Society, serving as co-chair for the Denver NAM 2017, program co-chair for the Snowbird NAM 1995 and Vice Chair for the International Catalysis Congress 2020. He was the Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis in 2010. He has served on the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Advisory board (2014 – 2020) and on the Frontiers of Catalysis board at Haldor Topsoe in Denmark. He was elected as a board member for the North American Catalysis Society (2017-2021 & 2021 – 2024) and he is serving on the Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences (BESAC) advisory committee." Learn more

"Sanjeev Arora, MD is a Professor in tthe Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and the Founder and Director of Project ECHO at the UNM Cancer Center (Cancer Control & Population Science). He writes: "... I developed the ECHO model as a platform for service delivery, education and evaluation. Using videoconferencing technology and case-based learning, primary care clinicians from rural and underserved areas are trained and mentored by ECHO’s medical specialists to deliver best-practice management of complex health conditions in their communities. A key component of the ECHO model is its innovative Knowledge Networks, in which the expertise of a single specialist is shared with numerous primary clinicians through teleECHO clinics, increasing access to care in rural areas without having to recruit, retain and fund additional providers." In 2023, Dr. Arora was named a 2023 New Mexico Humanitarian Award Recipient by the New Mexico Humanitarian Awards committee for his ground breaking work with Project ECHO. The award recognizes New Mexicans who have done extraordinary work and set an example for others by demonstrating a passion for philanthropy, human welfare, social reform, and values-based investing. Read more

"Distinguished Professor Hua Guo is a theoretical and computational chemist in the UNM Department of Chemistry. Guo was elected American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow for his "...distinguished contributions to the field of computational and theoretical chemistry, particularly for theoretical modeling and predictions of chemical reaction dynamics." Using various theoretical tools, Guo research group investigates the mechanisms and dynamics of surface reactions related to heterogeneous catalysis, particularly those involved in energy conversion. His research group is interested in these studies of electronic and vibrational spectra and reaction dynamics of polyatomic molecular systems. These molecular systems are prevalent in gaseous environments such as interstellar clouds, atmospheres, and in combustion. Guo’s group develops and applies quantum mechanical solutions to understand these fundamental processes." Read more

Vinay Harpalani, JD, PhD is a Professor in the UNM School of Law. "...He was the recipient of the 2017 Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Awardfrom the Association of American Law Schools Section on Minority Groups; and [received] the 2016 Junior Teaching Faculty Award from the Society of American Law Teachers. His scholarship focuses on the intersections between race, education, and law, as he explores the nuances of racial diversity and identity from various disciplinary perspectives. His writings have covered topics such as affirmative action in university admissions, racial ambiguity, skin color discrimination, and the psychological development of racial identity. Professor Harpalani’s 2012 law review article, Diversity Within Racial Groups and the Constitutionality of Race-Conscious Admissions, which was published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, was cited in eight U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin I and II, and was quoted (with citation omitted) in Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent in Fisher II."Read more

Read Dr. Harpalani's article Understanding the Nuances: Diversity Among Asian American Pacific Islanders (5/2021)

Frances Hayashida, PhD is Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the UNM Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII). Dr. Hayashida brings to the LAII a distinguished record of scholarship and teaching on Latin America in the field of Archaeology, and a strong set of connections to scholars in South America. Her research examines states and empires, political economy, political ecology, agriculture and water management in arid environments, ritual practices, human impacts on the environment, craft production, beer brewing, ethnohistory, ethnoarchaeology, and archaeometry in Andean South America (Peru and Chile). She recently published a co-edited volume Rethinking the Inka: Community, Landscape and Empire in the Southern Andes. She and her co-editors were the 2023 recipients of Society for American Archaeology's Book Award in the Scholarly category. Read more

Dr. Shuya Wei, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering was named a recipient of the prestigious New Mexico Tech Council’s Women in Tech Award. Dr. Wei’s groundbreaking research focuses on next-generation high-energy batteries, including technology that captures greenhouse gases while generating electricity. As co-founder of Flow Aluminum Inc., she is pioneering the development of alternative battery materials that are more sustainable and cost-effective. "She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and B. Eng in Bioengineering from Nanyang Technological University. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT." Learn more

Yan Lin, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the UNM Geography & Environmental Studies department and at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is "...a geographer in GIS and health/medical geography with a research focus on the development of GIS and spatial analysis methods as well as their applications to gain a better understanding of relationships between human health, society, and the environment. [Her] research in GIS engages broadly in spatial analysis and modeling, and particularly spatial accessibility modeling, air pollution exposure modeling, and web-based spatial demographic research. [Her] research in health/medical geography is focused on cancer disparities and environmental spatial epidemiology." Learn more

Kiwoong Park, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Sociology. He co-authored a recent paper published in PLOS ONE entitled Assessing COVID-19 Risk with Temporal Indices and Geographically Weighted Ordinal Logistic Regression in US Counties which examines "...three temporal dimensions of the COVID-19 infection risk in US counties, namely probability of occurrence, duration of the pandemic, and intensity of transmission, and investigate local patterns of the factors associated with these risks." Read more

Roli Varma, PhD is the Carl Hatch Endowed Professor and UNM Regents' Lecturer in the UNM School of Public Administration. "Dr. Varma's research focuses on women and minorities in information technology, Asian immigrants in the science and engineering workforce, the management of industrial research, and professional ethics. Dr. Varma's research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation. She is the author of Harbingers of Global Change: India's Techno-Immigrants in the United States (2006, 2007) and Managing Industrial Research Effectively (2006). Dr. Varma is an invited member of the Social Science Advisory Board of the National Center of Women in Information Technology (NCWIT)in the USA." Her most recent article Challenges and Opportunities: Asian Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics has just been published in American Behavioral Scientist. Read more

Jingjing Wang, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Economics at [UNM], specializing in environmental and natural resource economics. Her research focuses on the role of public policy in internalizing externalities and the performance of markets for efficient resource allocation in the context of environment, agriculture, and water. She uses quantitative tools such as integrated modeling, dynamic optimal control, and applied econometrics to solve real-world questions. Her research program is interdisciplinary and model-driven. Representative projects include urban water conservation, water trading across different sectors, livestock manure management coupled with bioenergy production, and nitrogen management in arid-land ecosystems." Learn more

"Yuting Yang, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of New Mexico, specializing in environmental and energy economics. At present, her research program is broadly focused on applied theory analysis of policy-related issues, mainly in the context of energy transition towards green and sustainable energy use. Dr. Yang received her BA in International Economics from Zhejiang University (China), her MA in Economics Development from the Vanderbilt University, and her PhD in Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics (France)." She recently published an article in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management entitled Electricity Interconnection with Intermittent Renewables. Read more

"Su Zhang, PhD is the Associate Director at the Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) at the University of New Mexico. ...Dr. Zhang received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico in 2017. He also has Master’s Degrees in GIScience and Construction Management. His research focuses on leveraging GIS, remote sensing, and drone technologies for infrastructure management and he has many peer-reviewed publications in this field. His project experience includes GIS/Remote Sensing applications for Geomasking, Transportation Infrastructure Condition Assessment, Emergency Management, and Web Mapping...Dr. Zhang is a member of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC). He is also a committee member of the U.S. Transportation Research Board (TRB)." Read more

"[Dr. Yolanda Lin, the new Director of the ASPIRE Program and Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at UNM,] develops computational tools and methods in disaster risk analysis for identifying, analyzing, and communicating extreme events. In particular, [she is] interested in low-probability, high-impact, data-sparse events at the intersection of natural hazards, the built environment, and society. [She focuses] on the nonlinear impacts in disasters that can have significant implications for our understanding of past, current, and future risk at the city and regional scales. [She uses] both probabilistic and event-based approaches to study risk through multiple lenses, including engineering, hazard science, and social science. This work contributes towards disaster preparedness and mitigation, ultimately as a way to build more resilient communities." She was one of two professors to win the 2023 UNM Faculty Mentored Research Award. Learn more

"Dr. [Shinsuke] Eguchi characterizes themselves as a Critical Cultural Communication scholar. ... Dr. Eguchi's research and teaching interests are in Critical Cultural Studies; International and Intercultural Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Studies; Race and Ethnic Studies; Asian/American Studies; and Performance Studies. Dr. Eguchi is a recipient of the 2019 Randy Majors Award - annually recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender scholarship in communication studies - bestowed by the National Communication Association's (NCA) Caucus on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns." They developed and teach the new COMM 1996-001 Introduction to Asian American Studies, first offered during the Spring 2023 semester. In 2024, they became the new Director of the UNM Institute for the Study of "Race" and Social Justice. Learn more

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. A mural in San Francisco's Chinatown. "This month, we celebrate the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities, whose ingenuity, grit, and perseverance have pushed our great American experiment forward. From Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders whose ancestors have called their lands home for hundreds of years to Asian immigrants who have newly arrived and those whose families have been here for generations — AA and NHPI heritage has long been a part of the history of our great country and a defining force in the soul of our Nation. As artists and journalists, doctors and engineers, business and community leaders, and so much more, AA and NHPI peoples have shaped the very fabric of our Nation and opened up new possibilities for all of us."

Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) Announces 2025 National AANHPI Heritage Month Theme: "A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience''

"In 2025, FAPAC will celebrate four decades of service to the AANHPI community. This year’s theme honors the hard work of AANHPI leaders who established a foundation for future generations to thrive and adapt to change and adversity. The 2025 AANHPI Heritage Month poster features bamboo as a symbol of strength, endurance, and resilience for its ability to withstand the harshest conditions. Bamboo’s solid foundation ensures it can bend with the wind and stand tall after the storm passes. The bamboo also acknowledges the colloquial “bamboo ceiling” and the cultural, organizational, and individual barriers that hinder advancement for AANHPIs in the workplace. Throughout history, AANHPIs have transformed adversity into opportunities for public service, efficiency, and innovation; resulting in lasting change that resonates beyond our community and has positively impacted our world. This resilience is woven into the fabric of our success, and it is a testament to the unwavering spirit of our ancestors who faced their own struggles with dignity and strength." Read more

The National Museum of American History: Asian Pacific American History

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can trace their histories to a region that spans more than half the globe. They have played key roles in shaping America's past, leaving an enduring impact in areas such as work, politics, culture, and law. They have done so as immigrants, sojourners, settlers, refugees, citizens, aliens, U.S. nationals, and members of overthrown sovereign kingdoms. Join us in exploring the rich and complex histories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through NMAH's collections, exhibitions, archives, and scholarly research."

Smithsonian Institute

A young girl is looking up at the sky and wears fresh flowers on her wrist and head.

"In the month of May we take time to reflect and celebrate the important role that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have played in our shared history. Explore Smithsonian events happening online and in-person and find resources, podcasts, and collection items to learn more about AANHPI contributions to our nation."

The National Parks Service Celebrates Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old and have both shaped the history of the United States and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Every May during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and our partners share those histories and the continuing culture thriving in parks and communities today." Visit the National Parks website to watch interviews and learn more

Stories from the VHP: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American Veterans

"Today there are more than 300,000 living Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American veterans. The Library of Congress's Veteran's History Project honors those veterans who have shared their stories, veterans such as Kurt Chew-Een Lee, Jaden Kim, Kenje Ogata, Maginia Sajise Morales, Peter Young and Veasna Rouen. The digital collection Asian Pacific Americans: Going for Broke highlights additional stories from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. (Library of Congress)."

The Archaeology of Chinese Railroad Workers at Golden Spike National Historic Site

"On May 10, 1869, during an elaborate ceremony at Promontory Summit in Utah, the “Golden Spike” was driven in and the nation’s first Transcontinental Railroad was completed. Newspapers of the time highlighted the corporate “race to Promontory” and technological advancement, and many acknowledged the significant contribution Chinese laborers made to the project. However, these were all second-hand accounts. The voices of the approximately 11,000 Chinese workers who labored on the Railroad faded or were left out entirely. Their day-to-day experiences help tell the full story of how this incredible engineering feat was accomplished." Read more on the Golden Spike National Historic Park website

Japanese-American Internment during World War II

"In his speech to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was "a date which will live in infamy." The attack launched the United States fully into the two theaters of World War II. Prior to Pearl Harbor, the United States had been involved in the European war only, by supplying England and other anti-fascist countries of Europe with munitions. The attack on Pearl Harbor also launched a rash of fear about national security, especially on the West Coast. In February 1942, just two months later, President Roosevelt, as commander-in-chief, issued Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans. The order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to evacuate all persons deemed a threat from the West Coast to internment camps, that the government called "relocation centers," further inland." Read more about this historic injustice at the National Archives and visit photographer Patrick Nagatani's website to see images of internment sites

An Archaeologist on the Railroad of Death (Dr. Cyler Conrad, UNM PhD, 2018)

"As a millennial, born in 1989, I grew up with a fascination of wars past, especially movies about World War II. Nothing quite stood out like The Bridge on the River Kwai and the human experience it portrayed. It is only now, as an anthropologist and archaeologist who has conducted research in Thailand and mainland Southeast Asia, that I recognize the intersection between this film, the history of World War II, and archaeological developments within this region. David Lean’s 1957 Hollywood film adaptation of the 1952 novel The Bridge on the River Kwai was a hit. It won seven academy awards and was well-received by the public. The tale is loosely based around real events and people. But it alters the timeline and glosses over the truly horrific experience of prisoners of war—even though the production crew and cast did experience their own bouts of dysentery, leeches, monsoon rains, oppressive heat, and accidental deaths while filming on location in Sri Lanka. The cinematic version was still kinder than the reality." Read the full article

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Site from the National Archives

"The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience, and highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media." They have developed a website for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month featuring articles, images, and video. Visit the site

The National Archive Asian Pacific American Heritage Month site provides access to a variety of exhibits, documents and information. Explore a variety of artworks made by Asian American artists from the National Gallery of Art's collection. The artworks include paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and drawings, and range from the early 20th century to today. There are also video and audio collections.

Research

The Model Minority Myth

"Since its introduction in popular media more than a half century ago, the term “model minority” has often been used to refer to a minority group perceived as particularly successful, especially in a manner that contrasts with other minority groups. The term could, by its definition and logic, be applied to any number of groups defined by any number of criteria, but it is perhaps most commonly used to frame discussions of race. In particular, the model minority designation is often applied to Asian Americans, who, as a group, are often praised for apparent success across academic, economic, and cultural domains—successes typically offered in contrast to the perceived achievements of other racial groups.

The model minority argument, however, is not without controversy and has earned the labels of stereotype and myth as critics have taken aim at both its premises and conclusions. Many point to the purpose of the argument as disingenuous insofar as it is intended to drive a wedge between different disadvantaged groups. Others claim that it is misleading because performance metrics and even representation figures do not speak to many of the biases that persist today."