Nima Voices: Episode 15—Lee A. Tonouchi
Nima Voices is an interview series where we uplift our Nima through brief and enlightening interviews. In the fifteenth episode, Okinawan Yonsei and poet/writer/playwright Lee A. Tonouchi was interviewed by guest host Wesley Ueunten, a Okinawan Sansei and Chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. They chatted live on February 28, 2024, about Lee growing up in Hawai‘i as a fourth-generation Okinawan, how he became “Da Pidgin Guerilla,” his poetry (and “Andagi Nazi” grandmother), and his “Much Mahalos” articles on Discover Nikkei. Plus, Wesley plays the sanshin!
LEE A. TONOUCHI
Lee A. Tonouchi, Okinawan Yonsei, stay known as “Da Pidgin Guerrilla” for his activism in campaigning for Pidgin a.k.a. Hawai’i Creole for be accepted as one legitimate language. Tonouchi stay da recipient of da 2023 American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for his work in raising public awareness of important language-related issues and promoting linguistic social justice.
His Pidgin poetry collection “Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai’i Okinawan Journal” won da Association for Asian-American Studies Book Award. His Pidgin children’s picture book “Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos” won one Skipping Stones Honor Award. And his latest book stay “Chiburu: Anthology of Hawai’i Okinawan Literature.”
Read Lee’s articles on Discover Nikkei: https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal...
WESLEY UEUNTEN
Wesley Ueunten (he, him, his) is a Sansei Okinawan born and raised in Hawai‘i. He received his PhD. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley after having lived in Okinawa and Japan for nearly a decade and is the Chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. For the past 25 years or so, Ueunten had been active in the Okinawan and Japanese American community in the Bay Area as a member and officer of various organizations and as a student, performer, and teacher of Okinawan music.
https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal...
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ABOUT DISCOVER NIKKEI
Beyond just a website, Discover Nikkei is an international network that celebrates cultural diversity and explores both global and local identities. The project connects generations and communities by sharing stories and perspectives of the Nikkei, people of Japanese descent who have migrated and settled throughout the world.
The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”). Join our Nima-kai community and share your stories about the Nikkei experience! Find out more at https://DiscoverNikkei.org.
For more information about upcoming and past Discover Nikkei programs: http://discovernikkei.org/en/events/d...
Support Discover Nikkei: https://discovernikkei.org/about/support
Discover Nikkei is a project of the Japanese American National Museum (https://janm.org), with major funding from The Nippon Foundation.
https://DiscoverNikkei.org
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