Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders Still See Voids in American Narrative - Higher Education

Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders Still See Voids in American Narrative - Higher Education: A group of Asian-American and Pacific Islander scholars are praising the Obama administration for trying to more fully integrate places and histories of AAPI significance into National Park Service initiatives, but they caution that because of long-running underrepresentation, the work has barely begun.

As an example, among the National Historic Landmarks in the state of Hawaii, about a dozen have U.S. military significance, said Dr. Franklin Odo, a former professor of ethnic studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

However, only one sugar plantation has been designated such a landmark, Odo said, despite the many decades in which the plantations impacted Hawaii’s socioeconomic landscape and natural resources. “To look at this list of landmarks,” he said, shaking his head, “you would not have a clue about how important the plantations have been. This is an extraordinary problem and an example of just one state. We have a lot of work to do.”