When Filipino men moved from Manila to Juneau in the 20th century They came as bachelors and worked in the canneries along with Alaska Natives. Since they were separated and confined to a small area, both the Filipino along with Alaska Native communities intermixed. Many Alaskeros got married and formed households along with Alaska Native women.
The term “mestizo” refers to “mixed” to Spanish. In Alaska it is people who share both Alaska Native as well as Filipino roots, as that the Philippines are established by Spain. Some people who share these identities decides to use the term However, many people in Juneau do.
“When we were halfway Filipino as well as half Lingit and it was difficult to determine which of us belong? We knew that we wouldn’t belong in a white-dominated society,” says Marcelo Quinto who was raised at Juneau during the 1940s and 1950s.
Following 1965’s Immigration Act, it became possible for Filipinos to move with an accomplice, and the marriages between Filipinos and other communities decreased. Then the Juneau’s Filipino Community Hall became less accommodating to the Alaska Native women who had been able to raise funds for the purchase which left their grandchildren and children to seek their own space within the larger Filipino community.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I truly feel that I have a Lingit connections to Aani and the land in our homeland However, I’ve never had that experience through my Filipino portion of my self.” Says Kai Monture, an artist in Juneau.
The fourth and final episode on Mga Kuwento, Yvonne Krumrey shares an account of a group with a rich history of Juneau and how Mestizos are seeking to reconnect with their Filipino part.
