Introduction
May is Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month which uplifts and honors the identities, experiences, histories and cultures of Asian Pacific Islander and Desi-identified individuals.
Festival
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
6:00–9:00 PM
Whatcom Community College
Syre Student Center
All are welcome to celebrate, learn, and be in community at the APIDA Festival 2024. The festival is a free event that includes dinner, a panel presentation, performances, local and community vendors, art, food, and more!
About this Celebration
Every May we reach toward the past, embrace the present, and move towards the future of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) cultures. APIDA represents a diverse community of more than 50 ethnic groups and includes people of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi ancestry who trace their origins to the communities of these geographic regions. This year, we honor the APIDA legacy by sharing stories, collaborating, and enjoying everything from our Connected Roots to our Collective Futures.
Connected Roots.
With roots in more than 20 countries, Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi Americans represent diverse cultures with strong connections to family heritage and histories that center community, endurance and celebration. For many APIDA communities in the United States, there is a shared parallel experience of racial injustice, xenophobia and lasting impacts of colonialism that continue to have an impact today. As we connect our present to our past, we can look toward a hopeful future
Collective Futures.
Standing strong and holding tight to the wisdom of those who paved the path before us, we work in community to amplify our voices now and far into the future.
Accessibility
Syre Student Center is wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation for the formal program provided. Please contact Chris.Roselli@wwu.edu to specify individual needs or request specific language interpretation.
Schedule of Events
5:45 PM Doors
Doors open and food is available
6:00 PM Mural Painting & Silent Auction
Enjoy mural painting and a silent auction
6:15 PM Welcoming Remarks
6:30 PM Panel presentation
7:30 PM Activities
Martial arts demonstration, Hula class, and games!
8:00 PM Silent auction winner announced
WWU APIDA Heritage Month Events
Featured Speaker
JaeRan Kim
Coming to Consciousness for Transracial Adoptees
Wednesday, May 8th at 12pm
MCC Lunch & Learn, VU735
Transracial adoptees have unique experiences related to race and adoption that shape their identity development. Dr. Kim will talk about the ways transracial adoptees develop their individual and community racial and adoptee identities
JaeRan Kim, Ph.D., MSW, (she/hers) is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington at Tacoma, located on the traditional territories of the Puyallup peoples. Prior to completing her doctoral degree, she worked with foster and adopted children and families and with adults with disabilities in residential care. JaeRan’s research is focused on the wellbeing of adoptees, exploring disability, race, and transnational experiences for adoptees. As a public scholar, JaeRan is passionate about engaging in community-based projects; her blog Harlow’s Monkey, which focuses on the transracial/transnational adoptee experience, is one of the longest-running transracial adoption blogs in the United States.
PISA Discussion Panel
Wednesday, May 15th, 2024 at 12 PM
MCC Lunch & Learn, VU 735
Join the Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) as they facilitate a discussion about Pacific Islander identity and issues faced by the community.
Student Clubs
Support our student clubs as they celebrate their culture and community during their heritage dinners. Information for how to purchase tickets can be found on the WIN website.
April 20 - Vietnamese Student Association
May 11 - Chinese Student Association
May 18 - Japanese Student Association
May 19 - Filipino American Student Association
May 25 - Pacific Islander Student Association
History of APIDA Heritage Month
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Most of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. Please visit the Asian Pacific Heritage website to learn more about this month.
APIDA is a pan-ethnic classification that intentionally includes South Asians (Desi) as part of the community along with those in the community of East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander heritage. APIDA represents a diverse community of more than 50 ethnic groups and includes all people of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander ancestry who trace their origins to the countries, states, jurisdictions and/or the diasporic communities of these geographic regions.
APIDA history is an important part of the American experience, and we encourage our community to celebrate and learn about the achievements, hardships and sacrifices of APIDA people that deserve to be explored.
About the Artist
Pua
Susan Puailiau Lindsey
She/Her - Entrepreneur. Graphic Designer. Tattooist. Upcyclist.
Thank you to Susan Puailiau Lindsey (Pua), for bringing life to the beautiful design for our APIDA Heritage Month graphics.
Artist's Statement
Aloha!
Mahalo nui to all involved in this event. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a Graphic Designer in The Community Consortium for Cultural Recognition. The artwork for this event depicts the unity throughout the recognized cultures and throughout the planet. Our connected roots and collective futures; our ripple effect that spreads across our lands, our seas, and ourselves.
I was born in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i and am blessed to live in the Pacific Northwest in Bellingham, Washington. My mom moved from Seattle to the Big Island for college and met my dad, and raised my brother and I in both places. We have been a bridge between the mainland and the Big Island all my life, traveling back and forth as often as possible.
I share the aloha spirit in everything I create and I embrace the entrepreneurial spirit in a variety of business endeavors with the support of my ohana. One of those being Ink Drop Tattoo Shop; a creative space that my business partner, Zim, and I opened in 2016. I have been tattooing since 2011 and have been an artist all my life. I graduated from Whatcom Community College in 2012 with my Associates Degree in Visual Communications. Owning a Tattoo Shop right across the street from the community college was both unexpected and destined. It is so important to myself and the Ink Drop team to further our art and education to artists and entrepreneurs; creating a more beautiful future for everyone. Ho’oponopono; do right within yourself and to others.
Let’s create together,
Pua
Follow Pua
@artbypuailiau
@inkdroptattooshop
Reading & Resources
- Ignite Young Asian People Power: A Conversation on Mixed-Race Asian Identity
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Right to Be (Formerly known as Hollaback) Bystander Training
- The Sikh Coalition: Sikhism: An Educators Guide
- Decolonize Yoga
- Pew Research Center Documentary: Being Asian in America
- What it Means To Be Asian In America
- The inadequacy of the term “Asian American”
- AAPI representation isn’t just a Hollywood issue
- An Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Reading List
- Engaging with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A reading list
- Four U.S. Supreme Court Cases Where Asian Americans Fought For Civil Rights
- Undocumented guide and resources
Acknowledgements
These events were organized by a loving and caring community. Our gratitude goes to the Community Consortium for Cultural Recognitions for coordinating the APIDA Heritage Month Festival. Much appreciation to the Western Washington University’s APIDA Heritage Month Planning Committee.
A Special Thank You to our Community Sponsors
Photo Gallery
WWU’s Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) performance