Post on the St. Louis World Fair and the Igorots became one of best read stories

EDITORS at AsAm News were surprised that a story about the Philippines exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair became the second-most best-read stories in 2015. It also has been one of best read stories in this blog, too. Out of hundreds of stories over the two years of Views From The Edge, it ranks ninth.

The Philippines exhibit at the fair featured six "tribes" from the Philippines, including a tribe of Igorots, one of the mountain peoples of Luzon. It is a little known chapter in our American journey and another example of propping up the idea of American exceptionalism and to justify its imperialistic ambitions.

Unfortunately, it was America's first up-close and personal look at Filipinos and it left an everlasting impression on the American psyche of barely clothed "savages" who had dogs as a major part of their diet. That image affected how European/Americans thought about the  subsequent waves of immigration from the Philippines, from the sugar cane workers in the early part of the 20th century all the way to the waves of medical and tech workers of the last two decades of that same century.

I'm sure Filipino/Americans who read the story felt mixed feelings. I know my parents' generation's reaction would be one of horror; their amor propio demeaned. "That's not us. That's only a tiny part of the Philippines. We wear clothes."

I suspect that younger Filipino/Americans would embrace their indigenous heritage with pride and feel incensed at how their predecessors/ancestors were treated like animals in a zoo.

The high interest in the post points out the strong need for an accurate telling of American history with all its warts instead of a means to make one group of people feel better about themselves at the expense of people of color. At the very least, it would teach some humility.

For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, go to AsAm News.

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