Nearly 400 Asian American and Pacific Islanders from all walks of life gathered at the Department of the Interior for the White House Forum on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, where we discussed ways the Department, especially the National Park Service, can better tell the story of the APA experience in America and the contributions this vibrant community has made to our country and its culture. During the forum, new Interior Secretary Sally Jewell pledged her support for the APA Theme Study. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have long been leaders in every aspect of our social fabric – in government, business, science, medicine, the arts, education and our armed forces,” Secretary Jewell said. “From Angel Island where more than one million Asian immigrants arrived on these shores, to the Chinese immigrants who helped build the railroads across the country, to the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, these stories are all important threads in the great American tapestry.”

APA leaders from across the country discussed our community’s progress, and how our stories really constitute the fabric of the larger American story. They also discussed National Park Service’s efforts, over the coming months, to guide the theme study scholars in developing narratives that will connect tangible places to so many intangible stories. The Service’s National Historic Landmark program will use the theme study to guide future nominations of National Historic Landmarks and National Register properties.

2013 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Forum