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For many decades, Alaskans of Filipino descent have been deeply connected to the culture and economy of the state.

Unlike other states in the United States where, you know, the third largest racial group might be African Americans or Latino Americans for Alaska, third largest group after whites and after indigenous peoples, are Asian Americans.

The Filipino community of Anchorage is celebrating their 60th year as an organization.

We'll discuss the history, cross-cultural connections, and plans for the future.

Right now on Alaska in sight.

Filipino people immigrated to Alaska in the 1900s to work in the lucrative fisheries industry here.

But the history goes back much further.

Filipino Alaskans live in communities across the state and contribute daily to the cultural and economic vibrancy of our state.

Tonight, we'll hear a.. for one of the Filipino associations here and learn about the history of Filipino people coming to Alaska, making it their home, and looking forward to the future.

Before we get to that discussion, here are some of .. from Alaska Public Media's collabor.. statewide news network.

The federal government canceled millions of dollars in grants on Monday that would have gone to Alaska's Division of Public Health over .. A spokesperson for the state Department of Health, which oversees the division, declined an interview but confirmed by email that the grants were terminated on Monday.

The funds were meant to address the continued effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals and businesses.

The state did not give an estimate of the total amount of funding lost, but an individ.. within the division who did not want to be identified because they're not authorized to speak to the m.. provided documents showing the grants amounted to $25 million in funds already allocated by Congress.

An additional 18 million was already awarded to state organizations and contractors.

The future of those funds is now uncertain.

The board of the state run Alaska Gaso.. Development Corporation approved an agreement with Houston, a New York based pipeline developer.

Glenfarne Group, on Thursday to move the project closer to a final investment decision.

Under the agreement, Glenfarne would own three quarters of the $44 billion project, which seeks to build a liquid natural gas pipeline between the North Slope and South Central, along with multiple facilities to support it.

Glenfarne's first task as the new owner will be to update the project's existing cost estimate.

The agreement also says Glenfarne and will prioritize the pipeline piece of the project before moving to later phases that would let Alaska customers access the gas before exports start.

Though Thursday's announcement is a step forward, it's still unclear whether enough investors will sign on for the project to be built.

Three people were rescued Monday morning from the wings of a small plane after it broke through the ice, and customers in a lake near Soldotna.

The Alaska Army National Guard rescued an adult pilot and two passengers, both minors, at about 10:30 a.m., according to Alaska State Troopers.

The flight originated from Sol.. Airport and was reported missing about 12 hours before being found.

All three passengers were taken to Central Peninsula Hospital.. non-life-threatening injuries.

You can find the full version of these and many more stories on our website.

Alaska public.org or download the Alaska Public Media app on your phone.

Now onto our discussion for tonight about the rich history of Filipino people helping to build Alaska's early economy and what these vibrant communities want for the future.

A video profile of jeepneys, food truck and restaurant in Anchorage highlights blended Asian cuisine, bringing Hawaii and Philippine culture together to create unique food experiences.

We won't tempt you with a full food video, but you can watch it on Alaska Public Media's India Alaska YouTube channel.

For tonight's discussion, we're focusing on a short segment featuring UA professor E.J.

David reflecting on the history of Filipino people coming to Alaska.

You know, I remember when they were just a food truck.

So I'm like a long time, you know, client of jeepney and lover of jeepney.

Filipinos in the early 1900s were recruited to work in the sugar cane plantations and pineapple plantations in Hawaii.

And so many Filipinos started moving to Hawaii and to the West Coast, United States, following the crops, working in the in the farms and then eventually Alaska.

They learned that, hey, when they got to Washington, they're like, you ..

There's this place even further up north Alaska, and they have salmon season fishing season up there, and they pay a lot of money.

And so a lot of those Filipino workers that were following the crops from way to the West in the United States ended up also being contracted to work in Alaska.

And that was, again, like in the early 1900s, was when large scale migration of Filipinos, began to Alaska.

Asian Americans in Anchorage or in Alaska more generally composed the largest racial group outside of white folks and Alaska Native American Indians.

You know, unlike other states in the United States where, you know, the third largest racial group might be African Americans or Latino Americans or Alaska, third largest group after whites and after indigenous peoples are Asian Americans, you know, and Filipinos, you know, family is number one.

You prioritize your family's needs.

You prioritize your family's goals.

You know, we're we're a collectivist people, just like, you know, just like Hawaiians are.

And so I think that's another connection there culturally, between the two communities.

Joining me tonight to help us better understand the culture and connection within the Filipino community and within the larger Asian Alaskan community here is Aurora Hovland.

Aurora is a former president of the Filipino community of Anchorage and is the longest serving member of the organization.

And Mary Jo Skaggs is the current president of the Filipino American Society of Fairbanks.

Welcome, both of you.

Thanks so much for being here.

Well, thank you for asking us.

Wonderful to have you both before I start asking questions about professor DVDs, comments and some other things, I just wanted you to talk a little bit about the beautiful regalia that you're both wearing tonight.

And, is it from a particular part of Philippines?

Does it mean something in particular?

Please give us a little explanation.

Well, if I have to start, this is called a, eternal or in Spanish means matching stops at the top and the bottom.

Is that in most Filipinas when they go abr.. in particular, where this and in the Philippines, when there is a big celebration, there is this dancing and stuff.

Mrs. Marcos, the first lady before, never appeared without wearing eternal.

That is fascinating.

Yeah, it's just traditional meaning.

I don't know, maybe we got it from the Spanish people.

Yeah.

What do you think?

Yeah, I believe the Filipinos.

All of it is very beautiful.

And you see a lot of, modern Filipinos now that's coming into fashion.

And with the younger generation, they they'll take some of the key pieces and elements and incorporate it into some modern, twist, like this collar.

And be able to wear them on more occasions than just the celebrations, usually birthdays, weddings, funerals.

Then we have more opportunities to showcase and highlight our beautiful, culture.

And so you see sort of a blending of the older, more traditional styles with kind of a new interpretation with younger folks.

Yes.

Yeah, that seems great because then it keeps it vi.. Well, yeah, it might introduce like new, turn of the year.

This thing here came from the men's shirt.

Yeah.

And, but very, very important is the butterfly sleeve.

All Filipina dresses that are called turno has a butterfly.

Butterfly sleeve.

All right.

Beautiful.

Thank you so much for helping us understand t..

So in that clip, Professor David said Filipino people are collectivists.

I really like that term.

And that helps make connections within the larger Asian community in Alaska.

Have you seen this cross-cultural connection across the state within Filipino or combined Asian organizations in cities beyond Fairbanks and Anchorage?

Okay, well, I think so because way back in mid 80s.

See, I used to live here from 1971 to 2008.

In and so Thelma Buck hold it started this group and they meet in Juneau for a conference and get together.

So the Juneau members of the organization and, you know, members of the Filipino community in Anchorage, we all there for the meeting.

And so, but, you know, if you or if, I mean, I felt this myself, if you are from another country, you come to any country, okay, if you like to hug somebody who is a Filipino, that looks familiar.

Yeah.

And it's just like the belongingness that we have in our tradition.

And so that's that's why Filipinos, when they get together, they start adapting.

And there's always food, of course.

Yes.

Mary Jo, do you see some of those connections?

I wholeheartedly agree with Aurora when, even in traveling and, for example, when my mother and I immigrated here to Alaska back in the 80s, there wasn't a recognizable Filipino community that we could just turn to.

It was, you know, going out in town, going in the stores, and you'd see somebo.. may look like you and, you know, oh, are they Filipina?

And once you discovered that you were it just it's an instant connec.. And, and it's an instant, connection that that to the next you then but also extends that connection pretty much through your whole life.

Once you've made a Filipina, your friends with them for your whole life and, so having that connection is, is so important.

And even when traveling, if, you know, we seek each other out and you'll hear somebody say, you know, for modern terms, you may be why you'll be you.

And then they'll be like, oh yeah.

And then you.. you just connect and it builds that instant family where, especially when we have immigrants that come to Alaska and we may not have a family yet.

We form our family here.

So that's lovely.

I really, really, you know, so you're getting attention in the US, you know, you say something.

But third, Filipina.

Which?

Yeah.

So w.. a little insider code the.. Yeah, right.

It's just getting the attention right.

Aurora.

The Filipino community of Anchorage, as we noted, is having a big annivers.. this year, the 60th anniversary this year.

Yes.

It was founded by Alfredo Ag..

I sadly never met, but I knew his wife.

Casita.

Oh, the home that they that he had built for them is just about two blocks from my home.

I used to admire her lovely flowers.

Talk about Mr. Grant's passion for creating an association that brought Filipino people together, and what he wanted the organization to do for its members and the larger community.

Well, I'm really and lucky to have met Mr. Agron and Mrs. Agron.

And by the way, if you notice, I never called all their people by their name.

That is one thing.

Most Filipinos, at least from where I grew up, you will always use the word book or you never.

If you are from the northern part, locals mono.

If you are not really related and they are older than you are, you call them mano a mano for a woman.

And so I always I never called him a friend.

Never in the entire time that we know each other, I call them Mr. Agron and Mrs. Agron, the 17 members of the Filipino community, the founders.

I never call them by their first name, except one.

Except there's always exceptions to the rule, right?

Gaspard Winkler is a photographer.

Official photographer.

Well, I think he has never been married, you know, because he was by himself through the 50 years that that here and and and so Mr. Agron, like anybody else, decided that, okay, three of his friends get together under the, Eagle River bridge one weekend because they were working at the base.

And so, of course, they always bring their special.

So these four gentlemen, you know, just spend summer, remember, summer nights right under the bridge.

And they started talking and, and so it just kind of fun because you like meeting your.. Get together.

Okay.

The next time.. they called other men, okay?

Because most of those Filipinos who came first here don't have wives.

Okay?

I mean, the ot.. they my wife's in the Philippines, but anyway, so they got this little group, it turned up to 17 or something.

The Bachelors Club.

So it starte.. Yeah.

Beca.. now when they start, the more Filipinos came into Anchorage with their families and stuff, they decided they're going to change this, you know, the Bachelors Club to include everybody.

And and so.

They had they decided, okay, Mr. Agung is, how well is it?

He is education.

Although it starting started in the Philippines after second year, he came to the US, you know, and, went to work first in Seattle.

You know, poultry farm.

By the way, we Filipinos do not have f r o r v, so sometimes and we don't have gender.

I mean, yeah.

Here you got he or she and to this date and I've been here every year in my 80 some years here we always call saya region.

I don't know the just so many times to this date, even my grandchildren said Luna Union.

Hey.

Oh, yeah.

I forgot.

So we don't do that, sir.

And and so anyway, but Mr. Agron has this vision, you know, having graduate, I mean, you know, fitness, technical medic, mechanical, degree in San Francisco, decided, let's organize and have a real meet regularly.

Okay.

And then i..

Yes.

And even.

And so this next one, this bachelors club, came the Filipino community of Anchorage and vicinity.

Perfect.

Yeah.

So now there are more numbers, right?

Right.

And it's a person who came to meetings.

They they just want, you know, to talk more hot try to come to a Filipino community meeting.

Everybody's talking and they want to talk.

But anyway, so it took four years, 3 or 4 years before they were able to make a constitution.

And but while us, you know, obviously did a fantastic job because it's lasted for 60 years and it's right there celebrating the well but but local as members it because it lasted that long because look at our honorary consul Evelyn.

Thelma backwards.

Well, I was a little bit more, I guess aggressive.

And Mr. Agron himself is very, you know, has a powerful, you know, kind of, I don't know, political presence.

Presence.

Okay.

Thank you.

And so finally, the after three, four years of working on this bylaws, they decided in 1965, they decided to sign it.

And this so the 17, members who signed them are now the founders.

Sure.

So in every, banquet program, you will see the the founders of that.

And that is why it is still going fantastic.

Thank you.

Mary Jo.

The Filipino Americ.. of Fairbanks formed 20 years ago.

And you and you said that the Anchorage organization was an inspiration for your group.

Talk about how the the FCA helped guide your formation and how you partner today.

Sure.

Yeah.

I think that FCA has real.. a foundation for other organizations to form.

And and it inspires us around the state to, to, take up the mantle and organize as well.

So really, fil-am society of Fairbanks Filipino American Society of Fairbanks, also called Fil-am is a they originated in 1997 and then with doctorate of campus and same same ideas was it was to gather our people together and form that community inside of a community where they didn't know the the different ways, and they wanted a way to be able to reconnect to our culture in the Philippines.

And then in 2005, they reincorporated.

So we are a nonprofit corporation, like many of the film organizations here in Fairbanks, Alaska.

And we do that because we, we have the resources.

So many of our people are so giving and, they contribute their own personal resources to build these foundations because they see the importance of being able to share our culture.

And for me, as an immigrant from the Philippines, I immigrated at a very young age.

And so I'm learning about my culture second hand, really.

And now my own children, they even get a more diluted version of our culture because they only experience what I tell them.

So if we don't have these organizations to keep our traditions alive here in Fairbanks or here in Alaska, we are losing that touch of our tradition and our heritage and one two generations.

So yeah, it's so fast.

How how easily it can happen.

I was just speaking with Auro.. and she had mentioned to, well, you don't speak any Tagalog.

I said no, that's the first thing everybody mentions to me as the first thing.

And I said, no.

I moved here when I was four, right before school started.

And, you know, my mother wanted me to assimilate easily and, you know, blend in and be able to be accepted.. that we were in.

Now.

And, you know, I, I'm appreciative of her efforts then, because there wasn't when I went into school, there was .. You know, th.. And, and now we have a larger influx of Filipinos, immigrating to Alaska, to the US.

And now we have the opportunity, for myself, I have the opportunity to reconnect with that culture.

And it's really thanks to organizations, FCA, for laying that foundation and, other organizations to form throughout the state and individual you help with citizenship issues for folks.

Talk a little bit about that work and if you have concerns with this disruption that we're seeing with immigration and, and, concern, confusion for folks, what what are you helping folks with now?

Sure.

In a pre.. the, K-12 outreach at the university, I helped with Alaska teacher placement, and that was the Alaska Retention Center for, all the school districts throughout the state.

And, Alaska experience still has an Alaska teacher shortage, and it's a major issue.

And they're trying t.. And a few years back, pretty recently, we had an influx of Filipino teachers applying for these positions.

And at first they were kind of dismissed.

And I don't know if it was more of a questioning of, you know, their qualifications or their certifications.

But also it's just the the process of navigating those immigration pieces for the school districts was a challenge.

Nobody knew where to start.

Nobody knew how.

You know that it's such a lengthy and complicated process.

You know, who'.. to help pave those pathways.

So with my work with the, Alaska, teacher placement and seeing that need, we have seen more teachers, more school districts embrace hiring, Filipino teachers, especially through the J-1 visas.

J-1 visas are a cultural exchange visa, and they're temporary.

So three years is about the max they can get here.

They can extend for two more years, but the teachers who are here, they aren't able to build on their five years of work that they've already committed to, you know, how can they extend their work?

How how can they continue to build upon that work?

And, same we see the same sentiment expressed by, school administrators.

They want to retain these teachers.

So how do we do that?

You know, so it's, a lot of work has to be done to help, you know, educate, not just, school districts, but other employers, other industry employers that, Filipino workers are willing to come here and helping them guide through these processes.

And so with those with those conversations, I was involved with those especially advocating for Filipinos.

We, I was invited to, to help launch the Office of Citizenship Assistance and that is a resource that is provided for all legal immigrants, .. they need to help build and connect their lives here in Alaska.

All right.

Well, sadly, we're almost out of time, but, Aurora, I wanted to ask you.

You will be giving the main speech at the weekend's celebration.

Yes.

The longest serving member.

What message do you want to leave with?

Well, I would like for th..

I would like to let not just Filipino, but all the guests.

Because, in before I do that, I would like to acknowledge our.

We have to we have to keep going out of time.

Yes.

All right.

Well, anyw.. for them to really retain the Filipino values.

Family.

And then you have your, respect for elders and then what they called bayanihan.

It's helping somebody else if they're in need by.

And then I wanted.

I'm so happy you brought that word back, because in the earlier interview I thought, I want to remember that.

Thank you so much.

And thank both of you for being here and have a wonderful, wonderful celebration.

Thank you.

Thank yo..

Yes, learning about the cultures of our extended family members, coworkers, and neighbors helps us learn about other customs, traditions, worldviews, and delicious food.

Respectful discussions about work, family, and voter issues, or engaging in the fun of festivals and other cultural gatherings helps make important connections within our neighborhoods, and that can lead to better understanding between neighbors for building more cohesive, healthy, and happy communities.

That's it for this edition of Alaska Insight, visit our website.

AlaskaPublic.org for breaking news from our partner stations across the state, and sign up for our free daily digest so you won't miss any of Alaska's top stories of the day.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

I'm Lori Townsend.

Good night.