Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated each May to pay tribute to the achievements and contributions generations of Asian, Desi and Pacific Island Americans have made in the United States. According to a Pew Research Center study, between 2000 and 2015, "The U.S. Asian population had the fastest growth rate of any major racial or ethnic group."
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month was first designated as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week by Representatives Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California. It was celebrated the first ten days of May. In 1978, a bill was passed and signed by President Jimmy Carter to designate the annual celebration. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed a bill to extend the week-long celebration into the full month of May.
May was chosen to commemorate the date, May 7, 1843, which marked the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States. The month also marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, May 10,1869, in which the majority of the workers were Chinese immigrants.
The University of Oregon celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month each year with a wide variety of events that celebrate, honor and highlight the work and culture of Asian, Desi, & Pacific Islander communities.
Read a message from Vice President Yvette Alex-Assensoh, Asian Desi Pacific Island American Heritage Month 2025: Honoring UO Law alumnus, civil rights leader, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Minoru Yasui and the ADPI Community.
Past Events and Activities
2024 Events
Read Bridging Histories and Shaping our Future: In Celebration of Asian, Desi, Pacific Islander American Heritage Month by Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Yvette Alex-Assensoh.
May 1 | Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU) Speaker Series: UMI, 7:00pm
May 2 | Ducks After Dark: "Ponyo" film screening, 8:00pm
May 3 | Taiwanese Student Association (TWSA) Plum Blossom Night Market, 5:00pm
May 4 | Hui 'O Hawai'i's 49th Annual Lū'au, 4:00pm
May 4 | Vietnamese Student Association (VSA)'s 33rd Annual Culture Show, 6:00pm
May 17 | (Community event) Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration, 5-8:00pm
May 21 | BE Series: "BE Unbound: Nasreen Alkhateeb" Dinner & Presentation, 5:00pm
May 23 | Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU) Night Market, EMU Green, 5-8:00pm
May 24 | (Community event) Asian Night Market by Asian American Council of Oregon (AACO), Lane County Farmers Market Pavilion, 5-10:00pm
May 24 | Kultura Pilipinas' 33rd Pilipino Culture Night, EMU Ballroom, 5:30-8:30pm
2022 Events
May 1 | Ascending to New Heights: VSA Cultural Night
May 5 | Ducks After Dark: Spirited Away
May 7 | Bayanihan: "Feels Like Home" Pilipino Culture Night
May 9 | Korean Cultural Night
May 12 | Ducks After Dark: Minari
May 13 | APASU Night Market
May 19 | Longevity: The Archaeology of a Chinese Business in Eugene's Market District
May 20 | Asian Night Market
May 21 | UO Hui'O Hawai'i Lu'au
May- August | Remember This: Hung Lui at Trillium
2020 Events
Minute Exhibits, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Online Webinar, hosted by the Graduate School Registration, Addressing Anti-Asian microaggressions and hatred during the pandemic
Lasting Impact of the Internment of Japanese AmericansCity Club of Eugene Facebook broadcast
Watch videos from Asian Desi Pacific Island Heritage Month here
Denouncement of Anti-Asian Discrimination & Covid 19
A statement by the UO Asian Desi Pacific Islander) Strategies Group (ADPI), UO Division of Equity & Inclusion, Black Strategies Group, Native American Strategies Group, Latinx Strategies Group and Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression (SOAGIE) Strategies Group
ADPI Heritage Month in the Midst of COVID-19 by Yvette Alex-Assensoh, VP for Equity and Inclusion. As the world continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing an emboldened anti-Asian sentiment sweep throughout the country, despite the fact that Asian Americans are overrepresented on the front lines fighting COVID-19. This story, unfortunately, isn’t new, but it’s a reminder of the importance of learning about and celebrating the historical contributions of ADPI communities, both this month and all throughout the year... Read More
2018 Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month
2018 Award Winners
Award Winners
Faculty/Staff – Kris Galago
Students – Kezia Setyawan; Yasi Milani-Baladi; Kristy Lu; Polani Mo’okini;
Community – Jason Mak
2017 Award Winners
Award Winners
Faculty/Staff – James Chang, Krista Chronister, Gordon Hall
Students – Undergraduates: Srushti Kamat, Coua Xiong, Elirissa Hui, Alex Tang, Jasmine Alik, Diana Nguyen
Graduates: Alexandra Lau, Keisha Janney
Community – Melissa ‘Mimi’ Nolledo - Photographer/Documentarian, Immigrant Stories of America, Ardyn Wolfe & David Tam (shared) - Co-Chairs, Asian Celebration
Story Teller Award – Kylie Juggert