Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American Heritage Month

bright orange hibiscus flower over dark leaves

Welcome!

Honoring and celebrating APIDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American) Heritage Month is essential for recognizing the rich cultural diversity and resilience of more than 50 ethnic groups that make up this vibrant community. At Western Washington University, this celebration fosters greater awareness and appreciation for the histories, contributions, and unique challenges faced by APIDA individuals. The goal of the APIDA Heritage Month planning committee is to create programming and events that both educate and celebrate this community, offering a space for reflection, learning, and connection. We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our APIDA clubs for their continued dedication to building community and amplifying the importance of this vibrant community on our campus. Their ongoing efforts help create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, and we honor their role in making our campus a place of shared strength and solidarity.

- from the APIDA Heritage Month Planning Committee

WWU APIDA Heritage Month Events

vibrant purple lotus flowers over colored circles

Viking Union 735 – Multicultural Center multi-purpose room
12:00 – 1:00 pm, lunch with students
This program is open to all, and centers students
2:00 – 3:00 pm, presentation
This program is open to all

Dr. JaeRan Kim will join us for a talk centering transracial adoptees. Lunch will be provided!

For Asian adoptees, the rise in national and international events over the past few years have led to concerns about safety and sense of belonging. In this presentation, Dr. JaeRan Kim will discuss the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, policies related to immigration, the closure of adoptions from China, investigations into adoption corruptions in South Korea, and anti-Asian hate crimes and facilitate a conversation on how we can support Asian adoptees.

Viking Union 735 – Multicultural Center multi-purpose room
12:00 – 1:00 pm
This program is open to all

In honor of Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Desi American Heritage Month, we invite the WWU community to join us in unpacking the umbrella term "APIDA" and exploring the ways in which the model minority myth has been used as a tool for maintaining oppressive systems.

Viking Union 565 – Viking Union large conference room
12:00 – 1:00 pm
This program is open to all

The Department of Ethnic Studies will host Dr. Scott Kurashige, Director of the AANAPISI (Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions) Center at Shoreline Community College and co-author of The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century with Grace Lee Boggs. Join us as we hear from Dr. Kurashige on how we can promote democracy and create a world sustained by collective care.

Whatcom Community College – Syre Student Center
5:30 – 8:30 pm
This program is open to all

Every May, the Community Consortium for Cultural Recognition (3CR) honors the rich heritage of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) cultures. Join us for a vibrant evening of culture, community, and giving back! This year's celebration is a FREE and our theme is Legacy of Resistance: Justice, Healing, and Joy. Our event features food, an intergenerational discussion, performances, local vendors, art, and dance. Please contact Chris.Roselli@wwu.edu no later than three days prior to the event to request specific accommodations.

Viking Union 735 & 736 - Multicultural Center multi-purpose room and kitchen/social space
5:00 – 7:00 pm
This program is open to all, and centers students

We are celebrating APIDA joy with karaoke and dinner! Bring a friend, sing a song in any language, and honor the many identities and cultures represented within the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American community.

Viking Union 735 – Multicultural Center multi-purpose room
12:00 – 1:00 pm
This program is open to all

Join us in breaking the stigma of mental health, empowering folks to ask for support, queering APIDA, and sharing other valuable perspectives from students and mental health professionals.

illustration of two bamboo stalks with the text "APIDA 2025 Festival, Legacy of Resistance: Justice, Healing, and Joy"

Time & Location

Wednesday, May 14, 2025
6:00 - 8:30 PM
Whatcom Community College
Syre Student Center

Festival Schedule

5:30 Doors open, food open, vendors and activities open
6:00 Program begins: Performances, student panel, keynote speaker
8:30 Vendors and activities close, doors close

Accessibility

Syre Student Center is wheelchair accessible. ASL is available upon request. Please contact Tanya at tzaragoza@whatcom.edu by May 7 for more information.

Every May, we honor the rich tapestry of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) cultures, embracing our past, celebrating our present, and shaping our future. APIDA encompasses a vibrant community of over 50 ethnic groups, representing people of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi ancestry who trace their origins to diverse geographic regions.

Our heritage spans more than 20 countries, each with its unique traditions, languages, and customs. APIDA communities share strong connections to family heritage and histories that emphasize community, resilience, and celebration. While our experiences in the United States often include shared challenges of racial injustice, xenophobia, and the lasting impacts of colonialism, these struggles have forged a powerful bond among us.

This year’s theme, Legacy of Resistance: Justice, Healing, and Joy, recognizes that our collective journey is not only about confronting oppression, but also about nurturing our communities through holistic healing and the celebration of our humanity. Justice and healing are inseparable; as we seek justice for our communities, we also honor the need for healing from intergenerational trauma and violence. Healing justice calls us to respond to these wounds collectively, drawing on ancestral wisdom, storytelling, art, and community care to transform pain into resilience and hope.

Joy, too, is a powerful act of resistance. In the face of adversity, our celebrations, traditions, and moments of happiness affirm our humanity and sustain our activism. By centering joy, we reclaim our right to thrive, build bridges of understanding, and imagine a future where all can flourish. Being in community is an act of collective liberation, where justice, healing, and joy are woven together to strengthen our bonds and inspire change.

Together, let us honor our legacy of resistance by advancing justice, nurturing healing, and celebrating the joy that sustains our communities.

APIDA Heritage Month Featured Speaker

JaeRan Kim in a gray blazer and floral blouse, in front of a brick building and green foliage

Dr. JaeRan Kim

Supporting Asian adoptees in these uncertain times

Monday, May 5th
Lunch at 12:00 pm
Presentation at 2:00 pm
Multicultural Center, VU735

For Asian adoptees, the rise in national and international events over the past few years have led to concerns about safety and sense of belonging. In this presentation, Dr. JaeRan Kim will discuss the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, policies related to immigration, the closure of adoptions from China, investigations into adoption corruptions in South Korea, and anti-Asian hate crimes and facilitate a conversation on how we can support Asian adoptees.

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.

White Sampaguita (ginger lily) flowers over colorful circles

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.

Reading & 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.

Thank you to Susan Puailiau Lindsey, for bringing life to the beautiful design for our APIDA Heritage Month graphics.

About the Artist

Susan Puailiau Lindsey

She/Her - Entrepreneur. Graphic Designer. Tattooist. Upcyclist.

Download a coloring page of Susan's artwork

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,

Susan