DAHP Awarded Grant for Filipino American Historic Survey

The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) is pleased to announce a new effort to identify, document, and commemorate the rich contributions of Filipino Americans to Washington State’s built history. This project is supported through a grant from the Underrepresented Communities Grant Program funded through the Historic Preservation Fund as administered by the National Park Service (NPS), Department of Interior.

This project builds on a previous context statement prepared for the agency regarding the protection of Asian/Pacific American resources in Washington State, as well as the recently published NPS Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study. Washington has one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans, who have played a significant role in the state’s history.  Not only does the history of Filipinos in the state align itself with nationwide contexts of social history and immigration, but it also outlines the leadership of notable Filipino Americans living in Washington State from the late nineteenth century to present day.

Working with Filipino American historians and community members and their partners, DAHP will gain a significantly expanded understanding of the themes and property types that are associated with the settlement and growth of Filipino Americans.  This is part of DAHP’s long-term strategy to understand, document, commemorate, and collaborate with all underrepresented communities within Washington State.

The project will include ample outreach opportunities, and ultimately result in recorded oral histories, a context statement, Historic Property Inventory forms for significant sites and buildings that tell the story of Filipino Americans, and completion of two National Register of Historic Places nomination forms.

The National Park Service announced in June that it has awarded $750,000 in Underrepresented Community Grants to support the identification and nomination of sites to the National Register of Historic Places. The Underrepresented Community grant program focuses on documenting the homes, lives, landscapes, and experiences of underrepresented peoples who played a significant role in national history. FY 2019 grants will help fund 18 projects to eight states, six tribes, two local governments, the District of Columbia, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

For more information about the grants and the Underrepresented Community Grant Program, please visit https://www.nps.gov/preservation-grants/community-grants.html.

To stay up-to-date on this project and previous efforts to commemorate underrepresented communities in Washington State, please visit https://dahp.wa.gov/historic-preservation/preservation-topics/under-represented-communities.