Southeast Asian Digital Archive
UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies
Language Arts And English, Social Studies, Arts
:
The Southeast Asian Digital Archive at UMass Lowell is a community-based archive of cultural heritage materials from Southeast Asian American communities in the Lowell, MA, region. The project is a collaboration between the UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies, the UMass Lowell Libraries, and community partners.
The SEADA seeks to document the diverse experiences of Southeast Asian Americans in the region for over four decades and to create a sustainable, user-friendly resource for community members, scholars, teachers, and students.
For more information about the SEADA, please visit us at www.uml.edu/seada or contact us at seada@uml.edu.
Southeast Asian Digital Archive's collections
Southeast Asian Americans in Lowell, MA
<p>Lowell, Massachusetts is home to the second-largest Cambodian American population in the United States, with significant numbers of Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong, and more recent Burmese refugees (of varying ethnicities). The materials in this collection, compiled by the UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies and Southeast Asian Digital Archive, provide an overview of this diverse population.</p>
<p>BACKGROUND: The wars in Southeast Asia (SEA), stretching from the last 1950s to the late 1970s, involved Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, as well as other countries embroiled in the Cold War, including the United States and China. The conflicts resulted in over 1.2 million Southeast Asian refugees to the U.S. since 1975. </p>
<p>In the late 1970s, Lowell, Massachusetts, served as a relocation center and secondary migration hub for SEA refugees. The <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/southeast-asian-americans-in-lowell-ma/bUrVhWkXRbJX9NAV/edit" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/" target="_blank">1980 U.S. Refugee Act</a> amended the earlier <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965" target="_blank">Immigration and Nationality Act</a> and the <a href="http://library.uwb.edu/Static/USimmigration/1970s_indochina.html" target="_blank">Migration and Refugee Assistance Act</a>. It raised the annual ceiling for refugees from 17,400 to 50,000, created a process for reviewing and adjusting the refugee ceiling to meet emergencies, and required annual consultation between Congress and the President. </p>
<p>According to the US Census Bureau, Lowell's population of 106,519 residents is over 20% Asian American, with approximately 14,470 Cambodian Americans, ~2,057 Vietnamese American, and ~1,500 Lao Americans. (The Census also records 2,472 South Asian Americans and 322 Filipino Americans in Lowell). Community estimates are that approximately 300 Burmese refugees (including Karen, Karenni, Kachin, and other ethnic groups) reside in Lowell.</p>
<p>But community leaders actually believe that greater numbers live in this city; some immigrants and refugees do not report their numbers due to fears of deportation or fears of governmental officials. So the estimates of the Asian American population in Lowell range from 25,000-35,000.</p>
<p>Nearby Lynn, MA, is home to the third-largest Cambodian American population in the US, while Boston, MA, is home to a significant number of Vietnamese Americans, particularly in the Dorchester neighborhood. Providence, RI, is home to a large Lao Amerian population.</p>
<p>For a 2012 overview of Asian American communities in Massachusetts, please visit "<a href="https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1030&context=iaas_pubs" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(63,63,63);">Asian Americans in Massachusetts: A Census Profile</a>." <br /></p>
<p>Keywords: Asia* America*, Cambodia* America*, Lao* America*, Laotian, Vietnam* America*, Burm* America*, Chin* America*, Bhutan* America*, Bhutanese, Southeast Asia*, politic*, cultur*, oral histor*, newspaper*, Khmer Post</p>
<p><strong>#APA2018 #TCSLowell </strong><br /></p>
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Southeast Asian American Films
<p>This collection includes links to documentaries by & about Southeast Asian Americans. The videos are of varying lengths and cover a range of topics.</p><p>Keywords: Asia* America*, Southeast Asia*, Southeast Asian America*</p>
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Lowell's Cambodian American Performing Arts: Tradition & Innovation
<p>This collection includes materials about <a href="https://www.angkordance.org/" target="_blank">Angkor Dance Troupe</a> (classical and folk dance) and <a href="http://www.flyingorb.com/" target="_blank">Flying Orb Productions</a> (contemporary, hybrid performance and film), both located in Lowell, MA. </p>
<p>Although the two organizations have different aesthetic styles, they both provide channels for Cambodian American youth and young people of other ethnicities to connect with cultural traditions as well as to express themselves in new ways. </p>
<p>Keywords: Asia* America*, Cambodia* America*, Khmer, dance, film, drama, performance, Angkor Dance Troupe, Flying Orb Productions, Southeast Asia*, Khmerica*, Southeast Asian America*</p>
<p><strong>#APA2018 #TCSLowell </strong><br /></p>
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Kon Lao, Kon Lowell: Lao Americans in Lowell
<p>This collection includes photos and life narratives from the <strong>2008 "Kon Lao, Kon Lowell" </strong>exhibit, which was part of Legacies of War Exhibit at Lowell's Patrick Mogan Cultural Center. Members of the local Laotian American community donated their photos and life stories to this exhibit.</p>
<p><a href="http://legaciesofwar.org/" target="_blank">Legacies of War</a> seeks to raise awareness about the <strong><em>history</em></strong> of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs, to provide space for <strong><em>healing </em></strong>the wounds of war, and to create greater <strong><em>hope </em></strong>for a future of peace. The organization uses art, culture, education, community organizing and dialogue to bring people together and create healing and transformation out of the wreckage of war.</p>
<p>Their <a href="http://legaciesofwar.org/programs/national-traveling-exhibition/" target="_blank">national traveling exhibition</a> features illustrations drawn in 1971 in Laos by the survivors of the U.S. bombing, archival and contemporary photographs, original recorded interviews and documentary films depicting the lives of those affected by the bombing and their impact on the Laotian diaspora. </p>
<p>#TCSLowell <strong>#APA2018</strong><br /></p>
<p>Keywords: Laos, Lao America*, Laotian, Hmong, Hmong America*, Southeast Asia*, Southeast Asian America*, Legacies of War, Asian American</p>
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Cambodian Traditional Crafts and Religious Ceremonies
<p>This collection was created in 1987. It explores the traditional crafts and religious ceremonies of the Cambodian refugees who settled in Lowell in the aftermath of the Cambodian Genocide. <br /></p>
<p>Below is the list of links to the accompanying photographs also found in this collection. Please note that the chapters on the Rain Retreat Ceremony, and the Money Tree Fundraising Celebration are comprised entirely of photographs and have no accompanying text.</p>
<ul><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/CambodianKiteMaking" target="_blank">Kite Making</a>
</li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/CambodianBasketMaking" target="_blank">Basket Making</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/CambodianWoodworking" target="_blank">Woodworking</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/CambodianNeedlework" target="_blank">Needlework</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/OrdinationNoviceMonk" target="_blank">Ordination of Novice Monk</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/BuddhaConcecration" target="_blank">Consecration of the Buddha Statue</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/ChigasRainRetreat" target="_blank">Ceremony of the Rain Retreat</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/details/MoneyTreeCelebration" target="_blank">Money Tree Fundraising Celebration</a></li></ul><p>Keywords: Asia* America*, Cambodia*, Khmer, kite, crafts, religion, Southeast Asia*, Southeast Asian America*<br /></p>
<p><strong>#APA2018 #TCSLowell </strong></p>
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Burmese Refugees in Lowell
<p>This collection includes materials about Burmese Americans, the newest Southeast Asian community in Lowell.</p>
<p>Most of these images were donated by members of the Burmese community at the <a href="http://saydanarlowell.org/" target="_blank">Saydanar Community Development Center in Lowell, MA</a>, on January 14, 2017. Students and faculty from <a href="http://www.uml.edu/research/caas" target="_blank">UMass Lowell Center for Asian American Studies</a> visited the community organization to explain the purpose of the Southeast Asian Digital Archive and collect donations and permissions.</p>
<p>Keywords: Asia* America*, Burma, Burmese, Burm* American, Karen, Karenni, Kachin, Thailand, Malaysia, religion, Christian*, Islam, Southeast Asia* America*<br /></p>
<p><strong>#APA2018 #TCSLowell </strong><br /></p>
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