Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders ‘integral to the American story’

“In Hawai‘i, we celebrate the rich histories, cultures and resilience of our Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities — not as a single story, but as the vibrant fabric of who we are,” says a May 1 post on Facebook from the office of Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green.

Residents of the islands do that on the daily.

The post added that May each year is specifically a time to proudly step up and honor even more the generations who shaped the islands and those who will mold their future during Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Hawaiʻi Democrat U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and her Democratic colleague U.S. Rep. Grace Meng of New York, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, introduced a bicameral resolution that makes it official nationwide this year.

Senate Resolution 214 marks May 2025 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — honoring the significant contributions the communities have made and continue to make to the nation.

“During Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate the diversity and historic contributions of our communities while also recognizing the challenges we have overcome,” Hirono said in a release after introducing the resolution May 8 in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

She added that at a time when diversity is under attack and immigrant communities are being targeted throughout the country, she’s proud to join her colleague Meng in the U.S. House of Representatives with introducing this bicameral legislation.

The resolution reaffirms the commitment of Congress in the fight to build a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

Judiciary Committee members dicharged Resolution 214 by unanimous consent May 22. The measure was agreed to in the Senate the same day — also by unanimous consent — without amendment and with a preamble.

The Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community is composed of more than 70 distinct ethnicities in the United States, with more than 100 language dialects.

U.S. Census Bureau data show the Asian American population grew by nearly 56% between 2010 and 2020 — faster than any other racial or ethnic group in the nation.

The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population grew by 30.8% during the same decade.

More than 25 million U.S. residents identify as Asian and about 1.8 million are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, together making up more than 10% of the nation’s total population.

May was selected for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month because the first Japanese immigrants to the United States arrived May 7, 1843, and the first transcontinental railroad — built with substantial contributions from Chinese immigrants — was completed May 10, 1869.

The month also is officially designated by U.S. code as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

This year even marks several Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander milestones:

• 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS–51C, crewed by Ellison Shoji Onizuka from Kealakekua on the Big Island and for whom the Kona International Airport is named. Onizuka was not just an astronaut, engineer and U.S. Air Force flight test enginner, he was the first Asian American in space.
• 50th anniversary of the completion and launch of the double-hulled voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa on Oʻahu, marking the first traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe built in Hawaiʻi in more than 600 years. The waʻa and its sister canoe Hikianalia are now anchored in the waters off Hilo on the Big Island, preparing to relaunch their Moananuiākea Voyage, a circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean that will take the next 3 years. The canoes are tentatively scheduled to sail out May 30.
• 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and beginning of the Southeast Asian diaspora in communities throughout the United States.
• 60th anniversary of the enactment of “An Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes” approved Oct. 3, 1965 (79 Stat. 911), landmark legislation that reversed restrictive immigration policies against immigrants from Asia.
• 115th anniversary of the establishment of Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, Calif., which served as a major port of entry for immigrants coming to the United States from Asia and the Pacific.

Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders also have made significant contributions at all levels of the federal government and military:

• Dalip Singh Saund of California, the first Asian American elected to Congress.
• Daniel K. Inouye of Oʻahu, a Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who, as president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, was the then-highest ranking Asian American government official in the history of the United States.
• Hiram Fong of Oʻahu, the first Asian American senator.
• Patsy T. Mink of Maui, the first woman of color and Asian American woman elected to U.S. Congress.
• Herbert Y.C. Choy of Kauaʻi, the first Asian American to serve as a federal judge.
• Daniel K. Akaka of Oʻahu, the first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry.
• Norman Y. Mineta of California, the first Asian American member of a presidential cabinet.

The 119th Congress also includes 25 members of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, including 82 members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders represent more than 8% of federal judges and hundreds of thousands of federal employees, including hundreds of staffers of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent who serve as congressional staff.

However, as much as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are represented in U.S. history and everyday life now, discrimination against Asian Americans, especially in moments of crisis, is not a new phenomenon.

Violence against Asian Americans has occurred throughout the nation’s history, and incidents of hate crimes against those who are part of the community continue to be above levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have made invaluable contributions to our country and continue to play a vital role in shaping America for the better,” Meng said in the release. “In the face of recent efforts to erase our community’s achievements, Sen. Hirono and I remain steadfast in our support for the [Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander] community …”

She added they will continue to be champions of their community’s stories of triumph, sacrifice and resilience — all of which are integral to the American story.

The measure is co-sponsored by his resolution is cosponsored by 29 other senators, all of whom are Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, also of Hawai’i.

It is co-sponsored in the U.S. House by 40 other representatives, also all Democrats, including U.S. Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case of Hawai’i.

Read the full text of the resolution here.

“We recognize the strength and resilience of those who have come before us and those who continue to perpetuate cultural practices and traditions,” Gov. Green wrote in a May 2024 Facebook post “Let’s come together to celebrate our shared heritage and the values that unite us.”

He encouraged everyone in the state to honor the past, celebrate the present and look forward to a future when diversity continues to flourish, but acknowledged there are still challenges many in the community face.

“It’s important that we continue to work towards equity and inclusion for all [Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander] individuals, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive,” wrote the governor.

News reporter Nathan Christophel contributed to this story.