Indian American Museum at the Smithsonian
MA, USA, December 16, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- With the historic election of Senator Kamala Harris as the next Vice President of United States, the 1st Indian American ever to hold the 2nd highest office in the land, this is the right time to freeze this moment in history in an Indian American museum at the Smithsonian. A double pride for me as a former California resident and an Indian American woman.
At present there are approximately 4 million Indian Americans in the US (2018 census), with the earliest Indians dating back to 1900 (and pre 1800). Just the other day, I heard about an Indian American insisting on voting and exercising his right at age 90 ,100 years ago.
Needless to say, Indian Americans are highly educated contributing members of the American experience including being elected to political office like Governor, US Congress and local and state positions. And America's story would not be complete without talking about and preserving the rich heritage of the Indian American diaspora.
Earlier in 2009, Smithsonian's AAPI Center's HomeSpun Project was a platform to share India American heritage stories, culture and cuisine , with an amazing exhibition "Beyond Bollywood" in 2013.
It is through this project I got to tell the incredible story of my journey as an Indian American woman in a male dominated hi tech field, from being a foreign student at SUNY Stony Brook to becoming a US citizen 17 yrs after first stepping foot in America, as recorded Oral History, which I am honored to say is housed in Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Work &Industry section's reference materials along with Vinod Dham 'Father of Pentium micro processor'.
Thus, it is with this fervor of having all our stories told, I have approached members of US Congress to look into making the Indian American Museum at the Smithsonian, a reality real soon.
At present there are approximately 4 million Indian Americans in the US (2018 census), with the earliest Indians dating back to 1900 (and pre 1800). Just the other day, I heard about an Indian American insisting on voting and exercising his right at age 90 ,100 years ago.
Needless to say, Indian Americans are highly educated contributing members of the American experience including being elected to political office like Governor, US Congress and local and state positions. And America's story would not be complete without talking about and preserving the rich heritage of the Indian American diaspora.
Earlier in 2009, Smithsonian's AAPI Center's HomeSpun Project was a platform to share India American heritage stories, culture and cuisine , with an amazing exhibition "Beyond Bollywood" in 2013.
It is through this project I got to tell the incredible story of my journey as an Indian American woman in a male dominated hi tech field, from being a foreign student at SUNY Stony Brook to becoming a US citizen 17 yrs after first stepping foot in America, as recorded Oral History, which I am honored to say is housed in Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Work &Industry section's reference materials along with Vinod Dham 'Father of Pentium micro processor'.
Thus, it is with this fervor of having all our stories told, I have approached members of US Congress to look into making the Indian American Museum at the Smithsonian, a reality real soon.
Kumu Gupta
KUMU Consulting
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