An Introduction to Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies
H.E.R., a Grammy-winning artist, embraces her Black & Filipina identity, showcasing the power of Black & Asian American solidarity.
Daniel Caesar, a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter, gained fame with his soulful voice & introspective lyrics and won a Grammy for this song Best Part (2017).
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
SOURCE
Danny Blas (he/him)
Brian Batugo (he/him)
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
November 7, 2015 - Spanish Landing Park, San Diego, CA
Ceremony CHE’LU & Kumeyaay
Chamorro Sakman sought permission from the Kumeyaay to dock
CULTURAL ENERGIZER
Elbow Partner:
Name 10
well-known
Asian American or Pacific Islander celebrities.
Yuri Kochiyama
A lifelong activist who fought for civil rights, Asian American empowerment, and Black liberation, famously working alongside Malcolm X.
Grace Lee Boggs
Philosopher and activist who dedicated her life to revolutionary change, advocating for Black power, labor rights, and community transformation.
Richard Aoki
Japanese American activist and founding member of the Black Panther Party who provided key support in the fight for racial and social justice.
Larry Itliong
Filipino American labor leader who played a crucial role in the Delano Grape Strike, organizing farmworkers and paving the way for the United Farm Workers movement
ANCESTOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Angel “Anghet” Leon Guerrero Santos
(1959-2003)
“In 1993, Angel Leon Guerrero Santos, the spokesman for the Chamorro activist group Nasion Chamoru was invited to Hawaii to join a gathering of indigenous people who were putting the United States on trial. Native Hawaiians organized the proceedings on the 100-year anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Santos and other people were invited to provide testimony on how their communities had been affected by US policies. At the tribunal Santos shared stories of cultural and linguistic genocide and massive land-takings to build military bases. The Chamorro people who have existed for 4,000 years were close to non-existence because of US influences and policies.”
Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Chamorro scholar and activist
Overview
Isra Shaker
Art by Kate Deciccio
AAPI
APA
APIA
AANHPI
APIDA
APIMEDA
Who are we talking about when we say “AAPI”?
Terms
Geography
ASIA: Borders don’t always define belonging
PASIFIKA: Land is as significant as water
An Asian American Timeline
API Population
in the U.S. (US Census)
What do you notice?
AAPI Poverty Rate (US Census)
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
Disaggregating AAPI data is IMPORTANT.
AAPI community is not a monolith.
Racism is a shared reality for all Communities of Color.
Teaching about resistance and cross-racial solidarity & allyship is important.
Anti-immigrant policies impact Asian American communities too.
Language diversity exists within the AAPI community.
AAPI Population
in California
What are the largest AAPI ethnic groups in California?
What counties have the highest AAPI populations?
Ethnic Studies is local!
What do you know about the AAPI community around your school?
How can you integrate that knowledge into your classroom?
Asian American Issues
Amanda Ngoc Nguyen
Art by Shepard Fairey
Post It Reflection
2) What else are you wondering about?
WANCE SESSION
Walk + Dance = Wance!!!
AAPI Spotify Playlist
Pasifika Issues
Decolonizing Pasifika
by Eunice Ho & Danny Blas
The Land and the People of the Pacific Islands
Lesson Flow
Suggested Days: 5-6 days
with Community Dialogues
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Activity 6
Activity 5
Mapping, Matching (or Kahoot)
Vocab Frontloading
Home and Expert Groups: Colonization videos
7 Pillars of Colonization
Social Media Project: Celebrating Indigenous resistance
Effects of Colonization and Infographic
7 Cs Connection
CULTIVATE
CELEBRATE
CENTER
CRITIQUE
CHALLENGE
CONNECT
CONCEPTUALIZE
7 Cs Connection
CELEBRATE
CRITIQUE
CHALLENGE
and honor Native Peoples of the land and communities of color by providing a space to share their stories of struggle and resistance, along with their intellectual and cultural wealth
empire and its relationship to white supremacy, racism, patriarchy, cis heteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, anthropocentrism, and other forms of power and oppression at the intersections of our society;
imperialist/colonial hegemonic beliefs and practices on the ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized levels
Activity 1
Kahoot Background Knowledge & Mapping of the Pacific Region
Did you know?
The terms Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia were arbitrarily coined by Jules Dumont d'Urville (1790-1842), a French explorer and naval officer, to designate what he viewed as the three main ethnic and geographical regions forming the Pacific.
Did you know?
The term Pasifika/Pasefika has its roots in New Zealand. Pasifika means "Pacific" in many Polynesian languages. Today it refers to the Pacific Islands and Islanders. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas
Did you know?
The name Easter Island was given to the island of Rapa Nui because Dutch explorers landed on the island on Easter Sunday in 1722
Did you know?
According to Wikipedia, the Pacific Ocean encompasses a large assortment of islands with diverse populations. As of recent estimates, the combined population of these islands is approximately 40 million.
© 2012 Nicholas Tomasello
Did you know?
Not all Pacific Islands have warm/tropical climates. The Hawaiian Islands has five climate zones: (1) tropical, (2) dry, (3) temperate, (4) continental, (5) polar according to the Köppen climate classification system.
Did you know?
Sweet potatoes were grown by Native Americans and Polynesians, who were separated by thousands of miles. A 2020 genetic study by Stanford researchers confirmed that these two groups had contact with each other around 1200 CE, way before Europeans arrived almost 300 years later.
Creator: Ted Aljibe|Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Did you know?
Hōkūle‘a
A group of Hawaiian seafarers re-built an ancestral outrigger sailing vessel called the Hokule’a. To prove a theory in 1975, they sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti using indigenous methods of navigation—the stars, winds, and ocean currents as their only tools—to arrive at Tahiti. 2,626 miles
Important to note…
In 1795, European taxonomer, Johann Blumenbach, created arbitrary racial classifications including “Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, Ethiopian, and American.” His ideas influenced the development of scientific racism in the 19th century.
In the same vein, “in the 1830s, a French traveler, Jules Dumont d’Urville, created the arbitrary divisions and groupings of Pacific Islanders as Melanesians, Micronesians, and Polynesians, based on alleged skin color (Melanesians) and the size and numbers of islands (Micronesians and Polynesians). Although we retain these categories, the truth about those islanders, like that of the waters they inhabit, is far more complex, varied, and nuanced than those externally imposed classifications.”
American History Unbound, Gary Okihiro
Activity 2
Vocabulary Jam Session
Vocab Jam Session
Melanesia
Micronesia
Polynesia
Pasefika/Pasifika
colonization
decolonization
unincorporated territory
Instructions:
Fill out the 4 squares for the 6 vocab words
bit.ly/pacVocb
Activity 3
Mapping Activity
What do you think of when when you hear the phrase, “Pacific Islands”?
THINK, PAIR, SHARE
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands are part of a geographic region in the Pacific Ocean consisting of three geographic groups. It is a mix of independent states, unincorporated territories, and dependent states.
Pasifika, Oceania
Scavenger Hunt
bit.ly/pacFacts
Extension activity:
Read more about the three region and find 3-to-5 new facts you didn’t know (at least one for each of the three regions), and record it on your map.
Activity 4
Reading & Responding
Epeli Hauʻofa
bit.ly/PacRead
“Our Sea of Islands”
Selected excerpts by�Epeli Hauʻofa
Reflection Questions
Activity 5
7 Pillars of Colonization
with Image Analyses & Reflections
[SOURCE: Gage, S. 1991 Colonialism. in the Americas. Canada: VIDEA.]
Colonization
The action or process of settling among—and establishing control over—the indigenous people of an area
What does colonization look like? What actions are involved?
Grabbing the Land
When colonists...
dis-possession
1
REFLECTION QUESTION:
The creation of huge plantations owned by a few people might have some effect later on. Can you think of what the effect could be?
Growing for the colonizer
2
REFLECTION QUESTION:
What are the drawbacks of relying on a single crop? What are the drawbacks to growing crops for export?
Developing the colonizer country
The riches of colonized territories are used to develop/improve Europe or other colonizing countries, including the U.S.
3
REFLECTION QUESTION:
How might things be different today if these resources had been used to develop colonized territories instead?
Consuming colonially
Colonies (colonized territories) are forced to buy overpriced products from the “mother country.” Local industries weren’t encouraged.
4
REFLECTION QUESTION:
How might the lack of industries affect colonized territories today?
Hatching hierarchies
Colonizers established a system to keep them rich and powerful (at the top) and the natives poor, at the bottom. These systems are kept in place through unjust laws and violence.
Hierarchy: a system in which people or groups are ranked one above the other
5
REFLECTION QUESTION:
How would the rich and powerful elite affect the distribution of power in the future?
Killing cultures
Colonizers force Natives to:
*Colonizers made Native traditions illegal.
6
REFLECTION QUESTION:
What effect might the policy of “ethnocide” have on the way Native People feel about themselves and their culture?
Exploiting (abusing) the land
Indigenous people felt connected to the land.
Colonists viewed the land as property to own, buy, sell destroy and exploit.
7
REFLECTION QUESTION:
How might this grab and exploit attitude towards land have an effect today?
TURN & TALK TO A NEIGHBOR
Xiuhtezcatl (Shoe TEZ cat) Martinez, the activist in the video, speaks about protecting the Earth and the impacts of climate change. He is an indigenous person, and indigenous people have a deep connection to the land and often suffer the most from its exploitation.
Activity 6
Colonization Videos
Activity 6
Colonization Videos
bit.ly/7pVidPac
What is Colonization?
Use the provided graphic organizer to take notes on the video you are assigned to be an expert on.
Video 1
Colonization of Guam
Video 2
Colonization of Hawaii
Video 3
Colonization of Fiji (Part 1)
Video 4
Colonization of Fiji (Part 2)
Conduct a brief community circle and have students reflect on the videos that they watched.
Add more information to your graphic organizer as you listen to your classmates.
Activity 7
Effects of Colonization
Create an InfoGraphic
INFOGRAPHIC DIRECTIONS
RUBRIC
Activity 8 Community Collaboration
Instagram Project:�Celebration of Organizations
Decolonization Movements in the Pacific
Instructions:
PROFILE TEMPLATE
bit.ly/IGtempl
Closing Circle
Reflection question options:
LESMC AAPI Lessons
Including Decolonizing Pasifika
bit.ly/PacIslands
Reflection
1) What new ideas or strategies are you most excited to implement in your classroom?
2) What topics or concepts do you need to learn more about before teaching them to your students?
Stay Connected
Danny Blas
danny@dannyblas.com
Brian Batugo
bbatugo@gmail.com
More Resources
Danny Blas
danny@dannyblas.com
Brian Batugo
bbatugo@gmail.com