Nearby History: For more than 4 decades, community within community

In 1980, several Asian and Asian American residents of Moscow and Pullman came together to discuss forming an organization that would celebrate and share their culture here on the Palouse.

Along with building community, the group increased general awareness and understanding of Asian American cultures and people.

While such organizations were usually limited to one culture, the founding members of this group represented Chinese, Japanese and Filipino ethnicities. The organization was to be inclusive of all Asian cultures and open to non-Asians as well.

Little did these founders realize how big and busy the Palouse Asian American Association would become, how long it would last, how many lives would be touched, and what legacies would live on.

Known as PAAA, the organization held monthly meetings until recently when the decision was made to institute a partial closure.

To memorialize their 43 years of activities, members voted to sponsor a flight of stairs at Moscow’s 1912 Center by making a meaningful donation. Each step of the stairs now has an engraved plaque to provide a lasting memory of the place where so many PAAA meetings were held.

The official dedication of the plaques took place on March 30, when PAAA members and friends gathered at the 1912 Center to reminisce and celebrate the group’s accomplishments.

Over the years PAAA raised funds mainly by selling Asian food at the Moscow Renaissance Fair.

Thousands of dollars were then contributed to Asian related community projects and causes.

These included establishing scholarships at the University of Idaho and Washington State University, donating funds to eight area libraries to purchase children’s books on Asian subjects, and helping to support Palouse visits and programs by Asian and Asian American scholars, scientists, authors and performing artists. Donations were also made to the UI Arboretum for Asian flora and to the Asian American Comparative Collection for the purchase of books and artifacts and towards the development of an endowment for this unique research asset at UI. In 1998, a donation of $300 was made to the UI International Friendship Association to help start a new program called “Cruise the World,” which continues to the present day.

Annual popular PAAA events included the December Holiday Party at the 1912 Center and the February Lunar New Year banquet held in various Asian restaurants. Rural potluck gatherings took place each year at the Genesee Valley Daoist Hermitage and in the barn of the Murai-Wolf farm in Uniontown, Washington where children were treated to rides on tractors and combines. Other activities for children included picnics and fishing trips.

One of PAAA’s most notable accomplishments was producing a documentary, “Other Faces, Other Lives: Asian Americans in Idaho” as part of Idaho’s Centennial in 1990. This project was sponsored by PAAA with the assistance of a grant from the Ethnic Heritage Committee of the Idaho Centennial Commission. Lily Wai, then head of the Government Documents Department at the UI Library, was the project administrator of the endeavor which also included involvement by PAAA members Jeff Mio, Loreca Stauber and Joann Muneta.

Muneta, Mio, and videographer Alan Lifton traveled to Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Boise and Caldwell, as well as in Moscow to interview eight Asian American families about how they arrived in Idaho. They were also asked about their experiences living here, how they maintained their cultural heritage practices and identity, and if there were any benefits of living in Idaho as an Asian American. “Other Faces, Other Lives” has been broadcast on numerous Idaho PBS stations and shown at several public meetings in Moscow. The video as well as all the full interview tapes have recently been digitized by the University of Idaho Library, and can be accessed by visiting lib.uidaho.edu/digital/otherfaces.

The list of the many events, organizations and people helped by PAAA and enriched by its programs goes on and on. Above all, the many current and past members of the organization treasure the memories of working together and enjoying good food and fellowship which united them in celebration of their various cultures no matter what their background or heritage. This history provides a wonderful example of the beauty and strength of peaceful sharing of the diversity of the human experience.