LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A federal commission exploring the potential creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture is hosting an input session on the Las Vegas Strip on Friday, April 24.
I'm emceeing the event! Beforehand, I sat down with a local AAPI community leader who will be there about what this means for the Las Vegas Valley, its growing AAPI community, and cultural recognition.
The Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture was created in June 2022 through a federal law with unanimous bipartisan support. The commission has been tasked with devising a plan and laying the groundwork for a potential future museum that would honor the culture and accomplishments of Asian Pacific Americans.
As part of that process, the commission has been traveling the country, hosting input sessions in major cities, to get input from national and regional AAPI community leaders on what they'd like to see in this potential museum. The commission is making its next stop in the Las Vegas Valley on Friday, April 24 at the Waldorf Astoria.
Among those attending the listening session will be Vida Lin, the founder of the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC), a local nonprofit that has supported and advanced the interests and needs of Nevada's AAPI community for years. Lin tells me the commission approached her and invited ACDC to co-host the event.
"This commission has been traveling the country, hosting these input sessions in cities like Houston, L.A., New York City. What does it say to you that they decided to make Las Vegas one of their stops?" I asked Lin.
"Well, I think one of the things, the reason why they choose Las Vegas, is we're one of the fastest growing populations of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander," Lin said.
"So picking Nevada as one of the places for them to have this convening, talking about the growth of the Asian community and what we have inputted in history, is really important," Lin went on to say.
She pointed to the valley's Chinatown area, which is seeing massive growth and investments from local leaders, as a big example of Southern Nevada's rapidly growing AAPI community — and she said people are taking note.
She also noted that long before our bustling Spring Mountain Corridor came about, Asians played an important, but often overlooked role in Nevada. For example, in the 1800s, Chinese railroad workers built the Transcontinental Railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains.
"Nevada has played a very important part in the Asian history and how we contribute to the United States," Lin said.
She said she's looking forward to the commission's input session and how Nevada could play a role in a potential national tribute to the Asian and Pacific American experience.
"And that's what makes it so exciting — when you get almost 30 to 40 different ethnic groups coming to the room, to talk about their input and what they want to talk about, and about how we have changed and we are part of a history that's always been invisible or not talked about," she said.
"This is what I want to see — that we have our input. Especially in Nevada, with so much rich history, with the mining, with the railroad, with everything else that's happened in Nevada, we would love to make sure that history is being told," she added.
Based on these input sessions, the commission will develop and submit a report to Congress, providing a roadmap for the museum's potential creation. They will deliver that final report to Congress and the President in October 2026. Click here to keep up with the project.
"It's about time our community finally has a voice, and this museum would do that," Lin said.
