Search the Media Repository
Discover the curated images, videos, and primary sources featured throughout Foundations and Futures
History is more than just text on a page; it is the photographs, voices, and artifacts of the people who lived it. The images and recordings featured across Foundations and Futures are part of a meticulously curated media repository. Whether you are building a lesson plan or investigating an artifact, you can use this database to trace the provenance of our media: discover who created an asset, the historical context behind it, and how it can be used to bring Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences into your classroom.
Multimedia
Chapters
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Image
Woman Makes Papaya Salad
Woman making papaya salad in Fresno, California. Making papaya salad, or tam mak hoong, is common at Lao events.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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Video
Ova Saopeng Oral History
This video shows Saopeng’s reflection on the Refugee Nation play and the importance of transmitting knowledge and history from the first to the 1.5 and second generations.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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Image
Refugee Nation
A flyer for the play Refugee Nation (2007) by Leilana Chan and Ova Saopeng, based on the stories of Laotian refugees, at Abingdon Theatre in New York City as part of National Asian American Theater Festival.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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Text
Stories from Little Laos on the Prairie
With over a thousand published stories, Little Laos on the Prairie has been “amplifying Lao’d voices” since 2011. Students can browse their website and explore a variety of stories, poetry, and reviews.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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Image
Mommy Eats Fried Grasshoppers
Mommy Eats Fried Grasshoppers (2018), one of several books published by Sahtu Press, tells a story of generational and cultural differences between mother and daughter.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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SatJaDham Collected Writings
SatJaDham Collected Writings (1998) is one of five small anthologies produced by the members of SatJaDham Lao Literary Project.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 5
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Entrance of Wat Thammarattanaram
In an image from the audio-visual series Finding American: Stories of Immigration from All 50 States, Phanat Xanamane stands before Wat Thammarattanaram Buddhist Temple, which Lao refugees built through community donations and mutual-aid relationships.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Louisiana Lao New Year Festival
The Louisiana Lao New Year Festival is held annually at Wat Thammarattanaram on Champa Avenue in Broussard, Louisiana.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Image
Khmu New Year Celebration
This flyer for the Khmu New Year on November 25, 1983, demonstrates the importance of continuing their cultural heritage and traditions with the sword dance.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Lao New Year Party
Despite the small numbers of Lao refugees in 1981, the community still found ways to continue their culture and celebrate the new year in San Rafael, California.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Video
Lao New Year Festival
Scenes from the 2019 Louisiana Lao New Year Festival, featuring live performances, cultural traditions, and street food vendors.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Image
Baci Ceremony
The baci ceremony, also known as su kwan (“calling of the spirit”) is held to commemorate special occasions like marriage, giving birth, a wedding, the Lao New Year and more to maintain balance and promote harmony.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Khamchanh Louanphixay in His Store
Lao stores provided goods and food products familiar to Lao refugees, such as rice from Thailand. Pictured: Khamchanh Louanphixay inside his Lao store Nam San Market.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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San Francisco Street Fair Performance
Many Lao refugees engaged in events highlighting their identities and culture, such as this street fair in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 4
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Audio
Healing Out Lao’d
This is the first podcast by Healing Out Lao’d, created and hosted by Rita Phetmixay. Here, Rita shares the moment that inspired her to start this podcast, and reflects on how healing and joy can be an option for children of refugees.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
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Rita Phetmixay
Rita Phetmixay is the host of the podcast Healing Out Lao’d, which explores themes of intergenerational trauma and healing within the Lao diaspora.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
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Audio
Pida Kongphoutone Oral History
Pida Kongphoutone, a community member of LAOSD, talks about his involvement with different local and national organizations, helping the Lao American community through AB-1393, and how different generations can learn from one another.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
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Text
Governor Newsom Vetos AB-1393
Despite receiving bipartisan support across the California State Legislature, Governor Newsom vetoed AB-1393 on October 12th, 2019.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
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Text
AB-1393 Hearing
The Southeast Asian Resource Action Center (SEARAC), the Laotian American National Alliance (LANA), and the Lao Americans Organization of San Diego (LAOSD) worked with Shirley Weber (a State Assembly member at the time) in a statewide movement to include Lao history and the Laotian American experience as part of AB-1393.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
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Text
LANA Voting Plan
These graphics created by the Laotian American National Alliance (LANA) feature text in both English and Laotian, encouraging members of the Laotian American community to participate in civic engagement and stay informed about ballot measures.
Featured in:
Laotian Americans, Module 3
