Northwestern APIDA Staff Affinity Group (ASAG)

The APIDA Staff Affinity Group (ASAG) is an affinity space open to any Northwestern staff member who self-identifies as part of the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) community – which is inclusive of, but not limited to, East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Islander diasporic identities, as well as multiracial and multiethnic APIDA identities.

University Statement of Solidarity with Asian and Asian American Communities

ASAG Statement of Solidarity in the Face of Increased Violence Against Asian and Asian American Community

Northwestern sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of the Three Fires (Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatami) as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk nations. It was also a site of trade, travel, gathering, and healing for more than a dozen other Native tribes, and is still home to over 100,000 tribal members in the state of Illinois.

To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honouring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important as members of the APIDA community to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation.

We also want acknowledge Pacific Islander communities who have similar connections to land, water, and place as North American Native and Indigenous communities, and whose stories and histories are not always represented in APIDA spaces. Part of the intention of offering a land acknowledgement in this context is for us to be mindful of how our presence at Northwestern means being on Native land, as well as the connections of these issues to the Pacific Islander peoples and experience.

Fill out this form or email asag@northwestern.edu to request to join the ASAG email listserv.

Click here to request to join the ASAG Microsoft Teams channel.