Annual Training for Pacific Islander Heritage Month

1. Asian American and
Pacific Islander Heritage
Month
(AAPI) Observance
May 1, 2023

2. AAPI Heritage
Month
• Recognizes entire Asian continent—including
East, Southeast and South Asia—and the
Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and
Polynesia.
• AAPI is an umbrella term that includes over
100 languages in addition to English and
includes nearly 50 ethnic groups from East
and Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent
and the Pacific Islands and their diasporas.
Asia is the largest continent and consists of
around 50 countries with more than 4 billion
people, and the World Bank's Pacific Island
member countries have a combined
population of about 2.3 million people.

3. AAPI Heritage Month
• Filipinos fled from Spanish forced labor in 1763 to St. Malo, Louisiana
• First Asian settlement Filipino fishermen
• Filipino “Manilamen” in Louisiana fought under President Andrew Jackson and took
part in the Battle of New Orleans (Louisiana did not become a state until 1812,
Louisiana Purchased from French)
• The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act allowed for many refugees in the mid-1970s to
come to the US from places like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
• AAPI people have been labeled “perpetual foreigners”
• About 64% of Asian American respondents said they’ve been asked questions such as: “Where are you
from, assuming you’re not from the U.S.?”
• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in the United States

4. AAPI Heritage Month
• Society and culture
• Foods are commonly adopted parts of any culture, and the AAPI is no different
• Adobo, Musubi, Sushi, Thai, Curry
• Science and medicine
• 1940’s Chinese born Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu - Manhattan project
• 2014 Filipino American M.D. Dr. Luzuriaga first cured HIV positive infant
• Literature and art
• Born 1972 Dwayne “THE ROCK” Johnson in CA. Mother was Samoan
• Sports and recreation
• Tiger Woods is Thai and Chinese descent
• Government and politics
• 2021 Kamal Harris first Asian American Vice President
• Activism and law
• Larry Itliong 1930 fought for over 25 years to form Filipino Farm Labor Union

5. AAPI Heritage Month

6. AAPI Heritage Month
Pani Popo is a Samoan sweet roll baked in a delicious
coconut sauce. One of my favorite Pacific-Island dishes
from my bakery days in Hawaii.