Filipinos in Alaska: 1788-1958: 07/02/11

A year ago I began a concerted effort to read books off my wishlist. Being a list oriented person, I decided to start with the oldest wishes. Many of these early wishes go well beyond my memory as to why I had wanted to read them.

One of those mystery books is a bound book of mimeographed text and photocopied photographs called Filipinos in Alaska: 1788-1958 by Thelma Buchhold. Now I do have an interest in Alaska history and I did once write a paper on Filipino culture in college but I can't for the life of me remember either hearing about this book or wanting to read it.

That's not to say I didn't get anything out of reading it. It was actually fascinating in its own way. The earliest chapters track any potential Filipino shipmate who might have made a port of call in Alaska. Later it tracks known Filipino families as they settled. The final chapters read more like a phone book of Filipinos who were living in Alaska in the 1950s.

As a census (small c as it's not done by the Census) of a specific minority in Alaska it's an interesting and focused document. What's missing though is a secondary analysis of the data. What do the numbers mean? Why did they settle where they did? How did they contribute to Alaska culture? What is their legacy.

Three stars.

Comments (0)

Comment #1: Sunday, July, 3, 2011 at 11:49:38

aloi

it's pretty amazing how far filipinos have scattered across the world! i now for a fact that there is a filipino community in yellowknife!

Comment #2: Sunday, July 3, 2011 at 22:44:14

Pussreboots

It was an interesting book but I wanted something a little more.