Whether it is learning about the historical significance of cherry blossoms, making origami, or watching a Hawaiian tattoo artist at work, Washington State University’s Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Celebration has something for everyone.
Over 25 events and activities have been planned this month on the Pullman, Vancouver, and Tri-Cities campuses.
Dominique Faga’autau, assistant director of Multicultural Student Services and retention counselor in the AAPI Student Center, said this is the first time the entire WSU community will celebrate AAPI Heritage Month together.
In the past, many WSU faculty and staff recognized AAPI Heritage Month in May, when it is celebrated nationally, while students preferred to celebrate it in April. This winter, the WSU AAPI Faculty & Staff Association worked with WSU leaders to officially designate the month of April as WSU’s AAPI Heritage Month.
“Now students, faculty, staff, and even community members can celebrate it together,” Faga’autau said. “It is especially meaningful for students to see faculty and staff at these events.”
Showcasing AAPI diversity
Faga’autau said the AAPI Month activities are designed to educate the community about the diversity within the AAPI community, where over 48 different ethnic groups are represented and over 300 dialects and languages are spoken throughout the country.
WSU senior Constence Bottoms and her Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority sisters will conduct an event on Friday, April 15, that celebrates Thai, Lao, and Cambodian New Year. They will start off teaching people about the traditions associated with the Thai, Lao, and Cambodian festivities that take place April, then teach the audience how to do some “simple and elegant moves associated with Cambodian Social Dancing,” Bottoms said.
On Monday, April 18 at noon, one of Hawaii’s most respected traditional tattoo artists, Keli’i Makua, will talk about his craft in the CUB Senior Ballroom, then give a live tattooing demonstration in the Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center.
Receiving the tattoo will be WSU junior Lee-Joseph Franco, who already has a Makua tattoo that represents his Hawaiian ancestry.
“My family are descendants of warriors who fought battles in ancient times,” he said of his tattoo, which runs from an ankle up to his hip. “The triangles in the design represent spear tips and this other triangle at the bottom represents the island of Maui, where I was raised.”
Franco said the designs of traditional Polynesian tattoos like his have a lot of meaning and Makua will talk about the stories his tattoos tell at the event.
“No one has seen this type of presentation before, not even at the University of Hawaii,” he said. “This is something that will be original to Pullman.”
Obie Ford III, associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at WSU Vancouver, said there are several events planned this month on the Vancouver campus to build community, including a Tahitian cultural performance and a lecture by Xiuyu Wang, associate professor of history, on the contributions Chinese immigrants made to community life in Vancouver.
The MOSAIC Center at WSU Tri-Cities is planning a “Cooking with Emerald Siam” event the week of April 25. Participants will learn how to cook traditional Thai dishes and feast on their creations. The center will share details on Instagram (@wsutc_mosaiccenter) when confirmed.
Building inclusive excellence
Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month is particularly important this year, since hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders have been rising amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month is particularly important this year, since hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders have been rising amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During a 21-month span between 2020 and 2021, 10,905 people reported hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, according to a national report released last month by the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition. Washington ranks among the top five states in which the incidents occurred.
WSU Vancouver released a statement for AAPI Heritage Month acknowledging the violence that has been directed at Asian and Asian American people, and encourages faculty, staff, and students to hold space for critical reflection, conversation, advocacy and change agency.
“We are in this together,” the statement reads. “Throughout Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and every day beyond, let’s continue building an empowered campus community of equity-mindedness, cultural responsiveness and inclusive excellence where every student, staff and faculty member feels a strong sense of agency, belonging, safety and opportunity to thrive.”
“As part of AAPI Heritage Month, the community is invited to watch WSU Pullman student Lee-Joseph Franco (pictured) receive a tattoo from one of Hawaii’s most respected traditional tattoo artists.”
