Asian American and Pacific Islander National Archives

Asian American and Pacific Islander National Archives
Name	Asian American and Pacific Islander National Archives
Established	2026
Location	Washington, D.C.
Type	National archive
Director	Mei-Ling Takahashi

Asian American and Pacific Islander National Archives

The Asian American and Pacific Islander National Archives serves as a central repository for records, artifacts, and multimedia documenting the histories of Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Indian Americans, Pakistani Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, Nepalese Americans, Sri Lankan Americans, Hmong Americans, Laotian Americans, Cambodian Americans, Thai Americans, Indonesian Americans, Malaysian Americans, Singaporean Americans, Burmese Americans, Tongan Americans, Samoan Americans, Fijian Americans, Guamanian people, Chamorro people, Palauan people, Marshallese people, Micronesian people, Native Hawaiian people, Kanaka Maoli, Māori people, Filipino American veterans, and other communities across the United States. The Archives documents migration, labor, civil rights, wartime experiences, cultural production, religious communities, and transpacific connections involving institutions like the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Japanese American Citizens League, Korean American Coalition, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the National Pacific Islander Education Network.

History

Founded after advocacy by coalitions including the Japanese American Citizens League, Chinese Historical Society of America, Filipino Veterans of World War II U.S.A., Korean American Museum, Sikh Coalition, Asian Law Caucus, Association of Asian American Studies, and leaders such as Fred Korematsu, Grace Lee Boggs, Yuri Kochiyama, Dalip Singh Saund, Eddie Huang, the Archives was chartered by legislative action paralleling institutions like the National Archives and Records Administration and modeled with input from the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Park Service. Early collections came from donations by organizations such as the Asian American Resource Workshop, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Korean American Historical Society, Filipino American National Historical Society, Hmong Cultural Center, and private papers from figures including Iva Toguri D'Aquino, Daniel Inouye, Patsy Mink, Norman Mineta, Mazie Hirono, Ted Lieu, Pramila Jayapal, and Kamala Harris.

Collections and Holdings

Holdings range from personal papers and oral histories to photographs, films, posters, maps, and artifacts related to events like the Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen's Agreement (1907) era, the World War II internment of Japanese Americans, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vincent Chin case, the Maguindanao conflict connections, and the Vietnam War diaspora. Collections include the archives of organizations such as the Chinese American Museum, Japanese American National Museum, Filipino American Historical Society, Korean American Museum of Art, Tibetan American Foundation, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and personal archives of artists and authors like Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ruth Asawa, Isamu Noguchi, Yoko Ono, Naomi Shihab Nye, Carlos Bulosan, Lillian Lee, and activists such as Grace Lee Boggs, Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Cesar Chavez, Jose Rizal collections, and veterans' records including those tied to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Philippine Scouts. The Archives preserves audiovisual materials related to films like The Joy Luck Club, Gohatto, Maborosi, and broadcasts from networks including KTSF, NHK World, and ABS-CBN.

Programs and Exhibitions

Curated exhibitions feature subjects such as transnational migration, labor movements, wartime incarceration, religious practice, diasporic literature, and contemporary art. Rotating exhibits have highlighted figures like Fred Korematsu, Yuri Kochiyama, Patsy Mink, Daniel Inouye, Grace Lee Boggs, Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Amy Tan, Isamu Noguchi, and themes linked to events including the Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen's Agreement (1907), the Vincent Chin case, and the Civil Rights Movement. Educational programs partner with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Arts, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and university programs at University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University.

Community Engagement and Partnerships

The Archives maintains partnerships with community organizations like the Chinese Historical Society of America, Japanese American Citizens League, Filipino American National Historical Society, Korean American Grocers Association, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute, Sikh Coalition, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Hmong Cultural Center, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Polynesian Cultural Center, and museums such as the Japanese American National Museum and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Collaborative projects include oral history initiatives with the Veterans History Project, youth internships with Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, and genealogy workshops referencing materials from the National Archives and Records Administration, regional repositories like the California State Archives, and university special collections at Yale University and University of Michigan.

Access, Digitization, and Preservation

Access policies balance public research needs with privacy and tribal protocols associated with Native Hawaiian people and Pacific Islander communities. Digitization projects mirror federated efforts by the National Digital Newspaper Program, Digital Public Library of America, HathiTrust, and grant-funded programs by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Preservation practice draws on standards from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, and conservation approaches used by the Smithsonian Institution and university archives at University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles.

Governance and Funding

Governance includes a board with representatives from organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League, Chinese Historical Society of America, Filipino American National Historical Society, Korean American Coalition, Association of Asian American Studies, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and tribal representatives from Hawaii and Pacific jurisdictions like Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Funding streams combine federal appropriations analogous to those for the National Endowment for the Humanities, private philanthropy from foundations like the Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, corporate partners, and community fundraising from cultural organizations including the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Pacific Islander Education Network.

Category:Archives in the United States Category:Asian American history Category:Pacific Islands history