Thai American girls practicing traditional Thai dance

Although the documentation was conducted over 10 years ago, the material is still pertinent and the stories are still compelling. The project directors would like to up-date the stories by contacting each woman to find out what has happened to them since they were interviewed and to clarify some points in the original interviews texts. One or two tapes still need transcribing. While some of the interview transcriptions have been carefully reviewed and cleaned up, others still need this done. The same is true about writing short biographies of each woman. Ultimately the full transcriptions and biographies will be posted on this website for use by researchers. A bibliography of related books, films, curricula and websites will be compiled and posted as well.

Since the project began, it has been planned that a traveling exhibition based on the materials would be developed for display at museums, libraries, community centers and schools. Such an exhibition would allow students and community members to understand the human impact of war, how cultures change and adapt in new environments and the role of women in preserving culture. A related book was also planned. Click the links for descriptions of these.

Funds are still needed to complete and disseminate this documentation project. Funds need to be raised to:

• Up-date the women’s stories
• Work through the transcriptions, create follow-up questions, get answers, write bios
• Continue building the website to contain all materials
• Develop a traveling exhibition (write script, print photographs, design exhibition, fabrication)
• Write and publish book

If you are interested in supporting this work, call 520-626-2973 or email us at:

The project directors are determined to get these materials out of their storage cabinets and available to researchers and the communities whose stories they hold.