Primary Sources: The 1950s: Immigration

"This digital collection contains exhibit documents, exhibit images, interview documentation, and oral histories. Not all items are open to the general public. Some audio oral histories have not been transcribed in English and Spanish. If you wish to assist the library with transcribing and/or translating these interviews, please contact Matt Cook. Additional materials are located in the University Archives."

"The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America."

The SAOHP has been conducted in four phases. Each phase is marked by key historical events that drew South Asians to the United States like the end of World War Two and the partition of India and Pakistan, the opening of U.S. immigration laws in 1965 to people from South Asia, and the growth of key technology industries in the region that attracted South Asian students and workers.

Taken together, these interviews make up a unique record of the lives of South Asians who have contributed greatly to the fabric and texture of the region. These interviews reflect religious, linguistic, occupational and gender diversity and provide rich insight into changing experiences of South Asians in the Pacific Northwest.