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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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584 results for: Asian American

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Image of Woman drumming at Chinatown - International District's Summer Festival, Seattle, July 15, 1990
Photograph

Woman drumming at Chinatown - International District's Summer Festival, Seattle, July 15, 1990

The Chinatown - International District's Summer Festival, the "largest pan-Asian celebration in the Northwest," was begun in 1975 and features cultural performances, music, dancing, martial arts, and a wide array of international bites at the beloved $3 Food Walk. The event was renamed Dragon Fest when it became one of the official events of Seafair, Seattle's ten-week-long summer festival. In…
ID Number:2000.107.176.19.20
Date:1990
Image of Youth performing Chinese lion dance, Seattle, January 1, 1959
Photograph

Youth performing Chinese lion dance, Seattle, January 1, 1959

Seattle's vibrant Chinatown - International District neighborhood hosts an annual celebration of the Chinese, or Lunar, New Year, featuring traditional dragon and lion dances, Japanese Taiko Drumming, martial arts, and other cultural performances. The Chinese lion dance is performed in costume on big occasions to bring good luck, and is accompanied by beating drums, clashing cymbals, and resounding gongs.In this…
ID Number:2000.107.176.19.21
Date:1959
Image of Crowd at dedication of Chinatown - International District Community Garden, Seattle, May 8, 1977
Photograph

Crowd at dedication of Chinatown - International District Community Garden, Seattle, May 8, 1977

In 1975, restaurateur and community leader Dan “Danny” G. Woo (1914-1987) donated 1.5 acres located on the hillside between Washington Street and Main Street for development of the International District Community Garden. The garden contains nearly 100 plots that are cultivated and cared for by elderly and low-income residents of the neighborhood. The garden is also home to a children's…
ID Number:2000.107.176.19.22
Date:1977
Image of Plumbing student at SOIC, January 15, 1979
Photograph

Plumbing student at SOIC, January 15, 1979

The Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, or SOIC (pronounced "So I see"), was established in 1966, largely through a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal agency funding "war on poverty" programs. Modeled after the original OIC started by a Philadelphia minister two years earlier, the community-based program recruited, trained and placed unemployed people in the labor market. The…
ID Number:2000.107.177.26.04
Date:1979
Image of Japanese Baby Drill Team marching at Pow Wow, Seattle, August 12, 1951
Photograph

Japanese Baby Drill Team marching at Pow Wow, Seattle, August 12, 1951

The Rainier District Pow Wow began in the midst of the Great Depression as a day-long community picnic at Seward Park. Between 1934 and 1992, when it ended, pow wow events paralleled what was going on in the rest of the country, celebrating neighborhood commerce in the 1930s, patriotism during World War II, the Baby Boom of the late 1940s…
ID Number:2000.107.185.02.02
Date:1951
Image of Funeral procession for Yee Wai Yee, July 14, 1953
Photograph

Funeral procession for Yee Wai Yee, July 14, 1953

Yee Wai Yee was a Chinese-American businessman who owned the Golden Dragon Café in Tacoma. He was also involved and well-liked in the Chinese communities of both Seattle and Tacoma. Yee was an active member of the Chinese Nationalist Party and was president of the Hop Sing Tong, a social organization among Chinese-Americans. Yee died in Sacramento on July 3,…
ID Number:2000.107.188.37.01
Date:1953
Image of View of Rainier Avenue and Lake Way looking east, March 1954
Photograph

View of Rainier Avenue and Lake Way looking east, March 1954

Seattle's Atlantic neighborhood (which has also been referred to as Yesler/Atlantic and Judkins Park) is a triangular community in the Central District area, between Mount Baker Ridge and Beacon Hill. One of oldest residential neighborhoods, it was home to Seattle's largest Italian enclaves during the early years of the twentieth century. Like other neighborhoods in central and southeast Seattle, Black…
ID Number:2000.107.189.16.01
Date:1954
Image of Dolores Sibonga and Bill Hilliard talking at Washington State Human Rights Commission offices, Seattle, December 19, 1978
Photograph

Dolores Sibonga and Bill Hilliard talking at Washington State Human Rights Commission offices, Seattle, December 19, 1978

Dolores Sibonga (1931-) was the first Filipina-American lawyer admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1973 and the first minority woman on the Seattle City Council, appointed to replace a retiring Phyllis Lamphere for three months in 1978. She was elected the following year and served on the council until 1992. Prior to law school, she worked as a journalist…
ID Number:2000.107.197.23.01
Date:1978
Image of Dolores Sibonga campaigning for City Council, Seattle, October 4, 1979
Photograph

Dolores Sibonga campaigning for City Council, Seattle, October 4, 1979

Dolores Sibonga (1931-) was the first Filipina-American lawyer admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1973 and the first minority woman on the Seattle City Council, appointed to replace a retiring Phyllis Lamphere for three months in 1978. She was elected the following year and served on the council until 1992. Prior to law school, she worked as a journalist…
ID Number:2000.107.197.23.02
Date:1979
Image of Portrait of Dolores Sibonga, Seattle, June 12, 1984
Photograph

Portrait of Dolores Sibonga, Seattle, June 12, 1984

Dolores Sibonga (1931-) was the first Filipina-American lawyer admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1973 and the first minority woman on the Seattle City Council, appointed to replace a retiring Phyllis Lamphere for three months in 1978. She was elected the following year and served on the council until 1992. Prior to law school, she worked as a journalist…
ID Number:2000.107.197.23.03
Date:1984
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