Filipino-Americans in Louisiana

This is Winston Ho, and I recently looked at a few sources on the history of Filipinos in Alaska.

The first Filipino to reach what is now Alaska apparently arrived in August of 1788 aboard a British trade ship. The Iphigenia Nubiana reached what is now the Cook Inlet and Prince William sound off the coast of what is now Anchorage. The British ship was under the command of Scotsman named William Douglas, and it sailed under a Portuguese flag to avoid the British East India Company's monopoly over trade along the Pacific Northwest.

According to the historian Thelma Buchholdt, the Iphigenia Nubiana purchased furs from the indigenous Alaskans, and there was at least one Filipino crewman aboard. Many other British and Spanish ships with Filipino sailors arrived in Alaska in the following years, though it is unknown how many of them stayed.

The first major migration of Filipinos to Alaska began in the early 1900s after the annexation of the Philippines. By the 1930s, thousands of Filipinos were working there as fishermen and in the canning industry. Today, over 35,000 Filipinos live in Alaska, where they are known as Alaskeros. The Aleskeros are by far the largest group of Asian Americans in Alaska, outnumbering the Koreans, the Hmong, the Japanese, and the Chinese combined. And now, Asian Americans are the third largest ethnic group in Alaska, behind whites and indigenous Alaskans.

By the way, the historian Thelma Jean Garcia Buchholdt (1934-2007) served in the Alaska State Legislature from 1975 to 1983. She was the first Filipina woman to be elected to any state legislature in the United States. A native of Claveria, Cagayan on the northern coast of Luzon, Buchholdt immigrated to the United States as a teenager, first living in Los Angeles, and later Las Vegas.

First working as an elementary school teacher, Buchholdt and her husband moved to Anchorage in 1965, at a time when there was still widespread discrimination against Asian Americans in Alaska. Buchholdt and her husband even had trouble finding a landlord that would rent an apartment to them. This seems to be how she became involved in civil rights, and why she began running for office in the 1970s.

After losing a close race for a seat on the Anchorage School Board, Buchholdt was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 1974, where she served four terms. After leaving office, she and her family moved to Washington D.C., where Buchholdt earned a law degree and became involved in national politics. She served as president of the Filipino American National Historical Society, and in the 1996, she wrote what is now considered a definitive history of Filipinos in Alaska.

Author: Winston Ho.
Date: 2026 Mar. 3, Monday.
Total Words: 446.

Sources.

"'Coming to America' Alaska Filipinos -- Rain County." KTOO-TV, 1989. Accessed from Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbI4hxhOrU&t=31s ).

Franco, Kimani. "'Alaskeros': Pinoys in Alaska, the original overseas Filipino workers." The Philippine Star (2021 Jun. 15). Accessed from the Philippine Star ( https://philstarlife.com/living/812040-pinoys-in-alaska-the-original-ofws?page=4 ).

Chua, Paolo. "The Fascinating Story of the First Filipinos in Alaska. Esquire Magazine (2019 Aug. 15). Accessed from Esquire Magazine ( https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/first-filipinos-in-alaska-history-a2336-20190815-lfrm ).

"Remembering Alaskan Thelma Buchholdt, the nation’s first Philippine-born woman legislator." Alaska Public Media (2021 Mar. 6). Accessed from Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKqR9LciOcA ).

Thelma Buchholdt on Find-A-Grave ( https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37464131/thelma_jean-buchholdt ).

I didn't read the following sources, but the articles I read cite them:

Buchholdt, Thelma. Filipinos in Alaska, 1788-1958. Aboriginal Press (Jan. 1, 1996).

Liljeblad, Sue Ellen. "The Filipinos and the Alaska Salmon Industry." Alaska in Perspective, vol. 1, no. 2 (1978). Anchorage: Alaska Historical Commission (1978): p. 9.

Liljeblad, Sue Ellen. "Filipino-Alaska: A Heritage." Anchorage: Alaska Historical Commission, Studies in History, no. 9 (1981): p. 257.

I'm not sure, but this looks like a photograph of a seafood processing shed with a seafood drying platform behind it.

The Stillness of Barataria Bay 203F
A marsh fishing camp on Barataria Bay feels like a world balanced between water, sky, and the quiet persistence of coastal life. Weather worn shacks rise on pilings above the tide line, their boards bleached by years of sun and salt. Skiffs and shrimp boats idle at the docks, rocking gently in the soft chop that rolls in from the open bay. Nets hang to dry like heavy curtains, and the smell of brine, diesel, and fresh caught fish lingers in the air. Egrets stalk the shallows, unbothered by the slow rhythm of men mending gear or boiling coffee on a camp stove. Out here, time stretches differently—measured not by clocks but by tides, wind shifts, and the promise of tomorrow’s catch. Barataria’s marsh camps stand as stubborn reminders of a working culture shaped by resilience, resourcefulness, and the deep pull of Louisiana’s waters.
fonvillewinansphotography.com , , , Orleans, Isle, , , , , Bay.

This is Winston Ho, and I recently looked at a few sources on the history of Filipinos in Alaska.

The first Filipino to reach what is now Alaska apparently arrived in August of 1788 aboard a British trade ship. The Iphigenia Nubiana reached what is now the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound off the coast of what is now Anchorage. The British ship was under the command of Scotsman named William Douglas, and it sailed under a Portuguese flag to avoid the British East India Company's monopoly over trade in the Pacific Northwest.

According to the historian Thelma Buchholdt, the Iphigenia Nubiana purchased furs from the indigenous Alaskans, and there was at least one Filipino crewman aboard. Many other British and Spanish ships with Filipino sailors arrived in Alaska in the following years, though it is unknown how many of them stayed.

The first major migration of Filipinos to Alaska began in the early 1900s after the annexation of the Philippines. By the 1930s, thousands of Filipinos were working there as fishermen and in the canning industry. Today, over 35,000 Filipinos live in Alaska, where they are known as Alaskeros. The Aleskeros are by far the largest group of Asian Americans in Alaska, outnumbering the Koreans, the Hmong, the Japanese, and the Chinese combined. And now, Asian Americans are the third largest ethnic group in Alaska, behind whites and indigenous Alaskans.

By the way, the historian Thelma Jean Garcia Buchholdt (1934-2007) served in the Alaska State Legislature from 1975 to 1983. She was the first Filipina woman to be elected to any state legislature in the United States. A native of Claveria, Cagayan on the northern coast of Luzon, Buchholdt immigrated to the United States as a teenager, first living in Los Angeles, and later Las Vegas.

Working first as an elementary school teacher, Buchholdt and her husband moved to Anchorage in 1965, at a time when there was still widespread discrimination against Asian Americans in Alaska. Buchholdt and her husband even had trouble finding a landlord that would rent an apartment to them. This seems to be how she became involved in civil rights, and why she began running for office in the 1970s.

After losing a close race for a seat on the Anchorage School Board, Buchholdt was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 1974, where she served four terms. After leaving office, she and her family moved to Washington D.C., where Buchholdt earned a law degree and became involved in national politics. She served as president of the Filipino American National Historical Society, and in the 1996, she wrote what is now considered a definitive history of Filipinos in Alaska.

Author: Winston Ho.
Date: 2026 Mar. 2, Monday.
Total Words: 447.

Sources.

"'Coming to America' Alaska Filipinos -- Rain County." KTOO-TV, 1989. Accessed from Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbI4hxhOrU&t=31s ).

Franco, Kimani. "'Alaskeros': Pinoys in Alaska, the original overseas Filipino workers." The Philippine Star (2021 Jun. 15). Accessed from the Philippine Star ( https://philstarlife.com/living/812040-pinoys-in-alaska-the-original-ofws?page=4 ).

Chua, Paolo. "The Fascinating Story of the First Filipinos in Alaska. Esquire Magazine (2019 Aug. 15). Accessed from Esquire Magazine ( https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/first-filipinos-in-alaska-history-a2336-20190815-lfrm ).

"Remembering Alaskan Thelma Buchholdt, the nation’s first Philippine-born woman legislator." Alaska Public Media (2021 Mar. 6). Accessed from Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKqR9LciOcA ).

Thelma Buchholdt on Find-A-Grave ( https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37464131/thelma_jean-buchholdt ).

Bebot. “Filipino! Filipino! Filipino! Filipino!” Because I am feeling connected to the ancestors and to Filipinos all over the world this morning, and it’s a fun song.

The Black Eyed Peas - Bebot (Official Music Video) Official music video for "Bebot performed by The Black Eyed Peas. Remastered in HD!Create a YouTube Short using this song! Tap the 'Shorts Remix' button abov...

1980 Shrimp drying platform in Chauvin, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. (Louisiana Sea Grant Program photo)

If any of you live on the Lafayette area:

Registration is now open for the 2026 LHA Annual Meeting, scheduled for March 5-7 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
For details, please visit the LHA website.
https://www.lahistory.org/annual-meeting/

From Kroger Charles Menzer: “I posted an old black and white of this in the past. A friend of mine refreshed it in color. Inocancio Gedoria was my Great Grandfather and the first generation of my family in the U.S. His daughter "Reggie" is the one who (was in) the Shrimp Dance video (Dancing The Shrimp, James and Isabel Kenny).Which, I've never been able to find.”
- Thank you!