Celebrate Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage
Everyone is contributing in their own way to make our lives better. Even just by being themselves. Honoring the Asians, Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) in our communities showcases our respect and appreciation for their roles in advancing industries, sharing their culture, and progressing movements on racial, educational, political and social representation. AANHPI’s roles in our society have substantial meaning and they remain essential in human development and progress.
Are you AAPI or Asian American?
A shortcut glossary to Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander-related terms. Just keep in mind that cultural identities can overlap in this larger classification of AANHPI people.
AANHPI: Asian American and Pacific Islander. This term generally includes all people of Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander descent.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent.
East Asian: A person of Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean and Mongolian descent.
South Asian: A person of Indian, Bangladesh, Sri Lankan, Nepal and Pakistani backgrounds.
Southeast Asian: A person of Filipino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Lao, Indonesian, Thai or Singaporean descent.
Central Asian: A person with origins in the original peoples of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Pacific Islander: A person with origins in the original peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.
West Asian: A person with origins in the original peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Glossary.
Kwentuhan/Storytelling.
Kwentuhan in Tagalog means ‘storytelling’, ‘to tell a story to someone’ and to have a ‘back and forth conversation’. We use the idea of kwentuhan to impart on one another our experiences of being human.
What’s Your Story?
Our cultural identity is an integral part of who we are. It can include ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender, religion, and nationality to name a few. Our cultural influences shape our worldviews, how we relate to others, and how we include ourselves in society. Tell us about your cultural identity:
How do you identify culturally? What is a cultural value, ritual or belief you’ve inherited, and how do you interweave this in your life today?
Send us your story by Wednesday, May 24, 2023 and you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win our Wellness Workbook: Baking a Balanced Wellness Pie as our gratitude for sharing your story with us!
The winner will be announced on Friday, May 26, 2023 by email.
Artists’ Story
AANHPIs artists are painters, actors, dancers, singers, and much more. They create art pieces for entertainment, to record history, to preserve their culture, and to represent AANHPI heritage worldwide.
We invite you to get cozy where you are and watch this star-studded video celebrating global Asian and Pacific Islander culture through storytelling.
Current Events.
AsAm News
Visit AsAm News for further reading and learning on news, events, people & issues in the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander communities.
Cold Tea Collective
Cold Tea Collective is a media platform, sharing the real stories, perspectives, and experiences of the next generation of the Asian diaspora.
21 Ideas to Celebrate AANHPI Heritage
This article features resources and activities focused on ways to uplift the AANHPI community.
Model Minority Myth.
AANHPIs are often labeled as a “model minority” - a myth based on stereotypes that dismisses the diversity among AANHPI individuals. This pervasive stereotype of Asian Americans in the United States continues to have a harmful effect on both individuals and Asian American communities as a whole.
Learning for Justice
An article from Learning for Justice to understand the harmful effects of the model minority myth.
Why do we call Asian Americans The Model Minority?
