Chinese Heritage Tour of the American West

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle collaborated with the USDA Forest Service for this second Chinese Heritage Tour of the American West. Beth Takekawa, the museum’s executive director, and Dale Hom, a Forest Service supervisor, take a moment to offer their greetings for this week’s tour.

Hom was instrumental in organizing the first Heritage Tour in 1994 – and this one. Takekawa and staff members at The Wing worked tirelessly to coordinate the logistics – including contacting historians, arranging lodging and putting all the sites in four Western states into historic context.

The International Examiner, a Seattle newspaper, offered a trip preview, written by Paul Kim.

In it, Cassie Chinn, the museum’s deputy executive director, talked about one reason why she participated in organizing this week’s tour. She traveled on the first Heritage Tour in 1994.

She walked away inspired.

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle strives to accomplish one goal in all of its endeavors - connect people with Asian Pacific American history.

The lessons and stories of the past have always mattered in the United States. Sometimes, they are overlooked. Still, they are important and relevant.

The Wing – as it’s known – is undertaking a rolling history project, of sorts, with this summer’s Chinese Heritage Tour of the American West. It includes stops at historic sites in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. The last trip of its kind was in 1994.

The trip kicks off this evening in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District with an exploration of food once eaten by Chinese American pioneers. On Tuesday, participants board a bus.

We invite you to visit this blog and our Twitter feed throughout the week to get glimpses into the trip and see what participants are experiencing as history appears before their eyes.

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