Commemorative month in the United States
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
|
---|
Official name
| Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
|
---|
Observed by
| United States
|
---|
Date
| May
|
---|
Frequency
| Annual
|
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First time
| 1991
; 33 years ago
(
1991
)
|
---|
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
(as of 2021
[update]
, officially changed from
Asian American Pacific Islander Month
)
[1]
is observed in the
United States
during the month of
May
, and recognizes the contributions and influence of
Asian Americans
,
Native Hawaiians
and other
Pacific Islander Americans
to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.
[2]
[3]
Background
[
edit
]
The first Asians documented in the Americas arrived in 1587, when Filipinos
landed in California
;
[4]
[5]
from
1898 to 1946, the Philippines was an American possession
.
[6]
The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Indians in
Jamestown
, documented as early as 1635.
[7]
In 1778, the first Chinese to reach what would be the United States,
arrived in Hawaii
.
[8]
In 1788, the first Native Hawaiian arrived on the continental United States, in Oregon;
[9]
in 1900, Hawaii was
annexed by the United States
.
[10]
[a]
The next group of Asians documented in what would be the United States were Japanese, who
arrived in Hawaii
in 1806.
[12]
In 1884, the first Koreans arrived in the United States.
[13]
In 1898, Guam was
ceded to the United States
;
[14]
beginning in the 1900s,
Chamorros
began to migrate to California and Hawaii.
[15]
[b]
In 1904, what is now American Samoa was
ceded to the United States
;
[17]
beginning in the 1920s, Samoans began to migrate to Hawaii and the continental United States, with the first Samoans documented in Hawaii in 1920.
[18]
In 1912, the first Vietnamese was documented in the United States.
[19]
History
[
edit
]
A former congressional staffer in the 1970s,
Jeanie Jew
, first approached Representative
Frank Horton
with the idea of designating a month to recognize
Asian Pacific Americans
, following the
bicentennial
celebrations.
[20]
In June 1977, Representatives Horton, and
Norman Y. Mineta
, introduced a
United States House of Representatives
resolution to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week.
[21]
[22]
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate a month later by
Daniel Inouye
and
Spark Matsunaga
.
[21]
[23]
The proposed resolutions sought that May be designated for two reasons. First, on May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant, Nakahama Manjir?, arrived in the United States.
[24]
[25]
[26]
More than two decades later, on May 10, 1869, the
golden spike
was driven into the
first transcontinental railroad
, which was completed using Chinese labor.
[24]
[25]
[27]
President
Jimmy Carter
signed a joint resolution for the celebration on October 5, 1978.
[21]
On May 1, 2009, President
Barack Obama
signed
Proclamation
8369, recognizing the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
[1]
[28]
On April 30, 2021, President
Joe Biden
signed
Proclamation
10189, recognizing the month of May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
[1]
[3]
Federal legislation
[
edit
]
"A joint resolution authorizing the President to proclaim annually a week during the first 10 days in May as
Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week
." was text in House Joint Resolution 540; this resolution as well as Senate Joint Resolution 72 did not pass.
[29]
Ultimately, though, Rep. Horton's House Joint Resolution 1007 was passed by both the House and the Senate, and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978, to become Public Law 95-419.
[29]
In 1990,
George H. W. Bush
signed a bill passed by Congress to extend Asian-American Heritage Week to a month;
[30]
May was officially designated as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month two years later.
[24]
[29]
[31]
Observances
[
edit
]
During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, communities celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans with community festivals, government-sponsored activities and educational activities for students.
[32]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Tiangco, Arielle (April 25, 2022).
"APA, AAPI, APIDA or AANHPI? The history and significance of the "Asian American" identity crisis"
.
The Optimist Daily
. Retrieved
March 25,
2024
.
Formerly known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the name officially changed to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April 2021, with President Joe Biden's signing of Proclamation 10189.
- ^
"Asian Pacific American Heritage Month"
.
APAICS
. Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
. Retrieved
May 28,
2020
.
Trump, Donald.
"Proclamation on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2020"
.
whitehouse.gov
. Retrieved
May 28,
2020
– via
National Archives
.
"Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - NPS Celebrates! (U.S. National Park Service)"
.
www.nps.gov
. U.S. Department of the Interior
. Retrieved
May 28,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Proclamation 10189?Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2021 | The American Presidency Project"
.
www.presidency.ucsb.edu
. Retrieved
March 26,
2024
.
- ^
Lee, Antionette J.; Moresi, Michele Gates; Dador, Daphne; Paz, Janet; Borah, Eloisa; Cohen, Lucy; Foster, Kevin; Feller, Laura; Harper, Marilyn; Muir, John; Odo, Franklin; Perschler, Martin; Pfeifer, Mark; Shull, Carol; Seibert, Erika Martin; Sprinkle, John; Vivian, Dan; Wegars, Priscilla; Wu, Frank; Kingsbury, Lawrence; Pitcaithley, Dwight (2005).
Asian Reflections On The American Landscape: Identifying and Interpreting Asian Heritage
(PDF)
(Report). National Center for Cultural Resources. National Park Service
. Retrieved
May 30,
2020
.
- ^
Howe, William A.; Lisi, Penelope L. (December 28, 2018).
Becoming a Multicultural Educator
. SAGE Publications. p. 169.
ISBN
978-1-5063-9382-7
.
- ^
McFerson, Hazel M. (2002).
Mixed Blessing: The Impact of the American Colonial Experience on Politics and Society in the Philippines
. Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN
978-0-313-30791-1
.
Brands, H. W. (September 17, 1992).
Bound to Empire : The United States and the Philippines: The United States and the Philippines
. Oxford University Press, USA.
ISBN
978-0-19-987437-8
.
Filipino Heritage: The American colonial period (1900-1941)
. Manila: Lahing Pilipino Pub. 1978.
Linn, Brian McAllister (February 1, 1999).
Guardians of Empire: The U. S. Army and the Pacific, 1902-1940
. Univ of North Carolina Press.
ISBN
978-0-8078-4815-9
.
- ^
McCartney, Martha W.; Walsh, Lorena S.; Edwards-Ingram, Ywone; Butts, Andrew J.; Callum, Beresford (2003).
A Study of the Africans and African Americans on Jamestown Island and at Green Spring, 1619-1803
(PDF)
(Report). Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. National Park Service. p. 237
. Retrieved
May 30,
2020
.
- ^
Chang, Toy Len (1988).
Sailing for the Sun: The Chinese in Hawaii, 1789-1989
. University of Hawaii Press. p. 74.
ISBN
978-0-8248-1313-0
.
Carrier, Jerry (August 1, 2014).
Tapestry: The History and Consequences of America's Complex Culture
. Algora Publishing. p. 50.
ISBN
978-1-62894-048-0
.
Center for Chinese Studies (2011).
Chinese in Hawai'i
(PDF)
. 2011 APEC Summit. University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
- ^
Clark, Robert Carlton (March 1934). "Hawaiians in Early Oregon".
Oregon Historical Quarterly
.
35
(1): 22?31.
JSTOR
20610848
.
Rabun, Sheila (June 1, 2011).
"Aloha, Oregon! Hawaiians In Northwest History"
.
Oregon Digital Newspaper Program
. University of Oregon
. Retrieved
May 30,
2020
.
- ^
"Annexation of Hawaii: Topics in Chronicling America"
.
Research Guides
. Library of Congress
. Retrieved
May 31,
2020
.
William Michael Morgan (2011).
Pacific Gibraltar: U.S.-Japanese Rivalry Over the Annexation of Hawai'i, 1885-1898
. Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
978-1-59114-529-5
.
- ^
Bell, Roger (March 31, 2019).
Last Among Equals: Hawaiian Statehood and American Politics
. University of Hawaii Press.
ISBN
978-0-8248-7904-4
.
Schweikart, Larry; Allen, Michael (November 25, 2014).
A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to America's Age of Entitlement, Revised Edition
. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 432.
ISBN
978-0-698-17363-7
.
- ^
Pacific Northwest Quarterly
. Washington State Historical Society. 1933. p. 245.
Kono, Hideto; Sinoto, Kazuko (2000).
"Observations of the First Japanese to Land in Hawai'i"
(PDF)
.
The Hawaiian Journal of History
.
34
: 49?62. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on May 9, 2021
. Retrieved
May 30,
2020
.
- ^
Min, Pyong Gap (July 14, 2005).
Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues
. SAGE Publications. p. 230.
ISBN
978-1-4522-6447-9
.
Chung, Soojin.
"History of Korean Immigration to America, from 1903 to Present"
.
Boston Korean Diaspora Project
. Boston University
. Retrieved
May 30,
2020
.
- ^
Office of the Historian (2016).
"The Spanish-American War, 1898"
.
Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations
. United States Department of State
. Retrieved
May 31,
2020
.
Leonard, Thomas; Buchenau, Jurgen; Longley, Kyle; Mount, Graeme (January 31, 2012).
Encyclopedia of U.S. - Latin American Relations
. SAGE Publications. p. 732.
ISBN
978-1-60871-792-7
.
- ^
Long, Lucy M. (July 17, 2015).
Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia
. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 420.
ISBN
978-1-4422-2731-6
.
Danico, Mary Yu (August 19, 2014).
Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia
. SAGE Publications. p. 1319.
ISBN
978-1-4833-6560-2
.
- ^
"Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam"
.
Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center
. University of Hawaii. 2020
. Retrieved
May 31,
2020
.
Maddex, Robert (September 23, 2005).
State Constitutions of the United States
. SAGE Publications. p. 461.
ISBN
978-1-4522-6737-1
.
- ^
"History of American Samoa"
. American Samoa Government. 2020. Archived from
the original
on April 18, 2020
. Retrieved
May 31,
2020
.
Schaefer, Richard T. (March 20, 2008).
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
. SAGE. p. 1315.
ISBN
978-1-4129-2694-2
.
- ^
Mishra, Shiraz I.; Luce-Aoelua, Pat; Wilkens, Lynne R.; Bernstein, Leslie (August 1996).
"Cancer Among American-Samoans: Site-Specific Incidence in California and Hawaii"
.
International Journal of Epidemiology
.
25
(5): 713?721.
doi
:
10.1093/ije/25.4.713
.
PMID
8921447
.
Daniels, Roger (2001).
American Immigration: A Student Companion
. Oxford University Press. p. 236.
ISBN
978-0-19-511316-7
.
Lewthwaite, Gordon R.; Mainzer, Christiane; Holland, Patrick J. (1973). "From Polynesia to California: Samoan Migration and Its Sequel".
The Journal of Pacific History
.
8
: 133?157.
doi
:
10.1080/00223347308572228
.
JSTOR
25168141
.
- ^
Keith, Charles (March 2019). "The First Vietnamese in America".
Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia
.
34
(1): 48?75.
doi
:
10.1355/sj34-1b
.
JSTOR
26594524
.
S2CID
195578702
.
- ^
Moon, Kat (May 23, 2019).
"How One Woman's Story Led to the Creation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month"
.
Time
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
Carr, Janis (April 16, 2019).
"Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Highlights Traditions"
.
News
. California State University, Long Beach
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"About ? Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month"
.
asianpacificheritage.gov
. Retrieved
February 2,
2016
.
- ^
"Joint Resolution: Authorizing and requesting the President to proclaim the 7-day period beginning on May 4, 1979 as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week"
"
(PDF)
.
Library of Congress
. October 5, 1978
. Retrieved
July 18,
2012
.
2009
Congressional Record
,
Vol. 155, Page
H14139
(June 8, 2009)
Pub. L.
Tooltip Public Law (United States)
95?419
- ^
Rebar, Lauri (2015).
"Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month: Home"
.
Libraries
. Florida Atlantic University
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
Knoedler, Matt (May 29, 2019).
"Hawaii lawmakers reflect on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month"
. Hawaii: KITV
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
"IEE 'Bulletin Board in a Bag': Asian Pacific Heritage Month"
(PDF)
.
Inclusion and Equity Education
. University of Denver. 2019
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Pub. L.
Tooltip Public Law (United States)
102?450
- ^
a
b
Henderson Daniel, Jessica; Luna, Kaitlin (May 1, 2018).
"APA President's Statement on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month"
. American Psychological Association
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
- ^
Masako Herman (1974).
The Japanese in America, 1843?1973: a chronology & fact book
. Oceana Publications. p.
1
.
ISBN
978-0-379-00512-7
.
- ^
Chang, Gordon H.; Fiskin, Shelly Fisher; Obenzinger, Hilton; Gabriel, Wolfesntein; Niu, Stephanie; Stiener, Erik; Barleta, Leo; Li, Yue (2018).
"Geography of Chinese Workers Building the Transcontinental Railroad"
.
Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project
. Stanford University
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
Katz, Jesse (May 2019).
"The Transcontinental Railroad Wouldn't Have Been Built Without the Hard Work of Chinese Laborers"
.
Smithsonian Magazine
. Smithsonian Institution
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
- ^
"Proclamation 8369?Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2009"
.
The American Presidency Project
. UC Santa Barbara. May 1, 2009
. Retrieved
March 10,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month | Law Library of Congress"
.
www.loc.gov
. April 1, 2012
. Retrieved
February 2,
2016
.
"Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month"
. Law Library of Congress.
Archived
from the original on October 6, 2010
. Retrieved
September 7,
2010
.
- ^
"About Asian/Pacific Heritage Month"
.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
. The Library of Congress
. Retrieved
March 10,
2020
.
Pub. L.
Tooltip Public Law (United States)
101?283
"Joint Resolution: To designate May 1991 and May 1992 as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month"
"
(PDF)
.
Library of Congress
. May 14, 1991
. Retrieved
July 18,
2012
.
- ^
"An Act: To designate May of each year as "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month"
"
(PDF)
.
Library of Congress
. October 23, 1992
. Retrieved
July 18,
2012
.
- ^
"Celebrate APA Heritage Month : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues"
.
asian-nation.org
. Retrieved
February 2,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States
|
---|
January
| |
---|
January?February
| |
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February
American Heart Month
Black History Month
|
- Birthday of Luis Munoz Marin
(PR)
- Candlemas
(religious)
- Charles Darwin Day / Darwin Day
(CA, DE)
- Day of Remembrance
(CA, OR, WA, cultural)
- Georgia Day
(GA)
- Groundhog Day
- Imbolc
(religious)
- Lincoln's Birthday
(CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NY, WV)
- National Girls and Women in Sports Day
- National Freedom Day
(36)
- Nirvana Day
(religious)
- Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple
(religious)
- Promised Reformer Day
(religious)
- Ronald Reagan Day
(CA)
- Rosa Parks Day
(CA, MO)
- Saviours' Day
(religious)
- Susan B. Anthony Day
(CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal)
- Tu B’shvat
(religious)
|
---|
February?March
| |
---|
March
Irish-American Heritage Month
Colon Cancer Awareness Month
Women's History Month
|
- Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos
(religious)
- Casimir Pulaski Day
(IL)
- Cesar Chavez Day
(CA, CO, TX, proposed federal)
- Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico
(PR, cultural)
- Evacuation Day
(Suffolk County, MA)
- Harriet Tubman Day
(NY)
- Hola Mohalla
(religious)
- Holi
(NY, religious)
- L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday
(religious)
- Lailat al-Mi'raj
(religious)
- Liberation and Freedom Day
(Charlottesville, VA, cultural)
- Mardi Gras
(AL (in two counties), LA)
- Maryland Day
(MD)
- Medal of Honor Day
- National Poison Prevention Week
(week)
- Nowruz
(cultural, religious)
- Ostara
(religious)
- Pi Day
- Prince Jonah K?hi? Kalaniana?ole Day
(HI)
- Promised Messiah Day
(religious)
- Saint Joseph's Day
(religious)
- Seward's Day
(AK)
- Texas Independence Day
(TX)
- Town Meeting Day
(VT)
- Transfer Day
(VI)
- Trans Day of Visibility
(cultural)
|
---|
March?April
|
- Good Friday
(CT, NC, PR, NJ, VI, religious)
- Hanuman Jayanti
(religious)
- Holy Thursday
(PR, VI, religious)
- Holy Week
(PR, religious, week)
- Lazarus Saturday
(religious)
- Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
(religious)
- Mesha Sankranti / Hindu New Year
(religious)
- Palm Sunday
(PR, religious)
- Passover
(religious, week)
- Easter Monday / Bright Monday
(VI, religious)
- Ramnavami
(religious)
- Chandramana Uugadi / Souramana Uugadi
(religious)
|
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April
Arab American Heritage Month
Confederate History Month
| |
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May
Asian American and
Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Military Appreciation Month
| |
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June
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Pride Month
| |
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July
| |
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July?August
| |
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August
| |
---|
September
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
| |
---|
September?October
Hispanic Heritage Month
| |
---|
October
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Disability Employment Awareness Month
Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month
Filipino American History Month
LGBT History Month
| |
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October?November
| |
---|
November
Native American Indian Heritage Month
|
- Ascension of ‘Abdu’l Baha
(religious)
- All Saints' Day
(religious)
- Beginning of the Nativity Fast
(religious)
- Beltane
/
Samhain
(religious)
- Barack Obama Day in Alabama
(Perry County, AL)
- D. Hamilton Jackson Day
(VI)
- Day after Thanksgiving
(24)
- Day of the Covenant
(religious)
- Discovery of Puerto Rico Day
(PR)
- Election Day
(CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, VA, WV, proposed federal)
- Family Day
(NV)
- Guru Nanak Gurpurab
(religious)
- Hanukkah
(religious)
- L? K??oko?a
(HI, unofficial, cultural)
- Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur
(religious)
- Native American Heritage Day
(MD, WA, cultural)
- Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple
(religious)
- Trans Day of Remembrance
(cultural)
- Unthanksgiving Day
(cultural)
|
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December
|
- Advent Sunday
(religious)
- Alabama Day
(AL)
- Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
(religious)
- Bodhi Day
(religious)
- Chalica
(religious)
- Christmas Eve
(KY, NC, SC, PR, VI)
- Day after Christmas
(KY, NC, SC, TX, VI)
- Festivus
- HumanLight
- Hanukkah
(religious, week)
- Immaculate Conception
(religious)
- Indiana Day
(IN)
- Kwanzaa
(cultural, week)
- Milad Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin
(religious)
- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
(36)
- Nativity of Jesus
(religious)
- Old Year's Night
(VI)
- Pan American Aviation Day
(36)
- Pancha Ganapati
(religious, week)
- Rosa Parks Day
(OH, OR)
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
(religious)
- Wright Brothers Day
(36)
- Yule
(religious)
- Zartosht No-Diso
(religious)
|
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Varies (year round)
| |
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|