are celebrating Asian Pacific Americans. I'm here with Phil…
[Phil:] Tajitsu Nash
[Arlene:] Phil Tajitsu Nash. He is the curator of today's celebration. Thank you so much
for meeting with us.
[Phil:] My pleasure. I love Kids.gov.
[Arlene:] Thank you. So for people who don't know about the Asian Pacific American Program
can you give us a little background about that?
[Phil:] Sure. Well this is the first time in 44 years that the Smithsonian is celebrating
Asian Pacific Americans. Asian Pacific Americans are about 14 million people; about 4% of the
population and we're spread all over the country. We are celebrating Asian Pacific Americans
in the DC area during the Folklife Festival here in DC. And what that means is that we're
bringing people in from 30 different countries – from 24 different Pacific Islander nations
and states. We've got people who are singing, dancing, doing crafts, food, telling us about
their lives; so it really has something for everything.
And I think people watching Kids.gov and gonna love the crafts and demonstrations that we
have here.
[Arlene:] So, now is there a difference between Asian American and an Asian Pacific American?
Or are they one and the same?
[Phil:] Well, traditionally people look at Asia and they think that all of us are from
Asia and yes, our ancestors came from Asia and many of us came from Asia. But what we're
trying to celebrate here is Asian Pacific Americans and what that means is Americans
who happen to be of an ancestry from Asia or from the Pacific Islands. Just as the way
we have people who are from France or from Nigeria or from Ecuador, these people are
Americans, but they happen to have their heritage from somewhere else.
There are people from all these other places who are here; many of them speak another language.
But frankly, that is what this festival is all about.
We're calling it "Local lives, Global ties." And for all the kids that are watching, it's
very important that you think about yourselves as GLOBAL citizens. Yes, we're proud to be
American citizens, but it's very important as this global economy to start to think about
"How can we speak another language?" "How can we use another currency?"
[Arlene:] What is your favorite exhibit coming up within the next few weeks?
[Phil:] Well, we've got 10 full days of programming and frankly, every day is going to be completely
different. Right now, there's somebody teaching how to make Korean kimchi; somebody's teaching
us how to de-bone a chicken.
And again, these are traditions that are being preserved and at the same time transformed.
And that's very important, because each of us, each kid watching this program has to
realize, we all came from somewhere. Our families came from somewhere and whether or not we
choose to acknowledge that, we have a heritage.
And that's very important. Frankly, everyone watching this program should go talk to your
parents and grandparents right now. Talk about where they came from, how they got to where
they are and what are some of the stories they feel like sharing? Because as you grow
older, you realize how important it is to understand who you are. And part of who you
are is who your parents are, who your grandparents are, who your great grandparents are. It's
really important to see that because a lot of times their stories and their struggles
are things that could inform your life.
And so you might as well start out young and get to know a little bit about that and it
will make you a happier and more fulfilled person later on.
[Arlene:] Now for kids who can't make it to the festival, is there a website that they
can go visit and find out more information about the festival and any type of folklife?
[Phil:] Yes, if you go to festival.si.edu, that's festival.si.edu, because we're an educational
group, you'll see not only stuff related to Asian Pacific Americans, but we also have
2 other very important programs.
One is focusing on Mexico and Mexico is just not one country, it's a country that focuses
on many different cultures that are there. There are people speaking a number of Native
American dialects and languages. It's fascinating to see all the different cultures. There are
18 different groups coming in, teaching us about their cooking styles, for example.
And then there's a program called Smithsonian Inside Out, where people from the various
Smithsonian Museums are there. And we have 19 museums where there are everything from
archeology, to weather, to astronomy, plant sciences. It's really a great opportunity
for you to learn about anything that interests you.
For more information on the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, or to check out hundreds of free
and safe websites for kids, go to Kids.gov.