Join us this May in celebrating Pacific Islanders at UVU and recognizing the diverse achievements of our Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month originated in 1977 when Asian-Pacific Heritage Week was proposed in the House of Representatives. The first 10 days of May were chosen to commemorate two key moments in Asian American history: May 7, 1843, when the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the U.S., and May 10, 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad was completed, mainly by Chinese laborers. The week was extended into the full month of May in 1992.
Historically, the U.S. government used the term “Asian American” as a racial category that included both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This broad categorization is why Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are both celebrated in May. It wasn’t until 1997 that the White House Office of Management and Budget first split the two into separate racial categories for institutional purposes. Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians have always had different cultures separate from Asian identities long before the distinction was created.
Every year, the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) sets a theme for AAPI Heritage Month. The 2023 theme is “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.” Utah Valley University (UVU) has a rich community of Pacific Islander Wolverines, and we are dedicated to fostering student success and creating opportunities for our Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students to grow academically, professionally, and individually. Join us this May in celebrating Pacific Islanders at UVU and recognizing the diverse achievements of our Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff.
The Pacific Islander Initiative launched in the summer of 2015 as a “home away from home” for UVU’s Pacific Islander students, faculty, staff, and community. We advocate for the academic and cultural success of our Pacific Islander students and believe that engaging with current and prospective students is vital to creating opportunities for Pacific Islanders in higher education.
At UVU, we understand the importance of recognizing the contributions minority groups have made to our history and culture. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have impacted the U.S. since the 19th century, and their individual histories existed long before that. We invite you to learn more about Pacific Islanders in the U.S. as you observe and celebrate AAPI Heritage Month.
The Pacific Fur Company hired two dozen Native Hawaiians to develop the Astoria colony in present-day Oregon. More Native Hawaiians migrated to the Pacific Northwest throughout the 1810s.
Many Pacific Islanders migrated to the U.S. after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On August 28, 1889, the Iosepa colony was founded in Tooele County and consisted of Native Hawaiians, Samoans, Māori, and other Pacific Islanders.
After the collapse of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, Hawaii operated as an independent republic until the U.S. annexed the islands as the Territory of Hawaii in 1898.
Following the increase of American Samoan, Guamanian, and Tongan emigration in the early 20th century, American Samoa natives became American nationals under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
1986: Compact of Free Association
The U.S. acquired the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986 and signed an agreement with the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), which also included the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Under the Compact of Free Association, citizens of these countries can travel and work in the U.S. without visas.
To recognize the founders of Iosepa in 1889, Governor Gary Herbert declared the month of August to be Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Utah.
