northwestwomen

What comes up in your mind when you hear the words, “Pacific Northwest”? As a born and raised Seattlite, I think of snow-capped mountains, clear cold waters, and evergreen trees. But let’s go deeper into the significance of the northwest- to truly know what it means to be a Pacific Northwesterner, you have to understand the roots of our history here. Why are evergreens so important up here? Why are there so many green spaces? What was Seattle’s role in the early days of its settlement? These are questions that will help you to know the context of the culture of the northwest.

One thing we can pride ourselves upon is the diversity of people here. Although Caucasians make up the majority here, there is a number of other ethnic groups here, most notably the Asians (I myself am a daughter of Filipino immigrants). In the beginning, it was the Chinese and the Japanese who came here to establish businesses and find work, but over time, immigrants came from all different parts of the world.

As I was going to school at the UW for my undergrad degree, I wanted to find out more about the history of the Filipino Americans in Seattle. So, I took a Filipino Histories class as an elective. I found out that the first Filipino to come here was actually a Filipina who was married to an armed forces man (I thought I heard he was African American) in the early 50’s. But that came from my professor’s mouth. I’m going to do more research on that. I’m pretty sure there were Filipinos here before that time. 

Anyways, I love to find out and discover new things out here in the northwest. It’s one of the reasons why I stay here. So if you’re Filipino, or Filipina, a northwest woman, or just a person who wants to know more about Seattle and the northwest, leave me a comment, a question, a complaint, or some criticism. I’ll be writing more in the near future.   

Trackback URI | Comments RSS