Becoming a Filipino American

Velma Veloria, Former Washington State Representative

I have never seen the Philippine artifacts at the Burke Museum. In fact, I didn’t know of their existence. I first heard of them when Dr. Bonus asked me to teach the Critical Filipino American Histories course. He showed me the short video of his students looking at some of the artifacts and captured their reactions. He specially mentioned looking at an old Philippine flag that had blood stains on it.

As I began teaching the course and covered topics of the Filipino migration to the United States, the struggle of the Filipino people for independence against Spain and the US, that flag gave my life experiences so much more meaning. It brought to light the importance of the issue for sovereignty.

What would my life have been like if the Philippines was not so influenced by the United States or by Spain? Would I know what Catholicism is? There would be no US Navy that my father could join so that he could migrate his whole family to the United States to have a better life. And then, why did we have to migrate for a better life?

I arrived in the US when I was 11 years old. In my early years, I did not know much about the history of the Philippines. My family and I were too busy trying to survive in a new country, a new language, and a new home. What I knew about the Philippines was limited to what my father shared with us, why he joined the US Navy, and why he felt it was best for us to leave.

I went through elementary, middle school, and high school. My knowledge of Philippine history was not substantially expanded. I learned about the different classical Filipino dances like the Pandanggo sa Ilaw (Dance of Lights) and of course, the delicious Filipino foods like the pinakbet (Filipino vegetable dish). My family and I became active in a Filipino organization and I even ran as a queen or some sort of royalty to help raise funds for the organization that my family was a part of.

But it wasn’t until I started college that I really began to study and learn more about the Philippines, her history, and her relationship with the United States. The Vietnam war was raging. I began to pay more attention to the American involvement and the US imperialist policy.

I joined the peace and social justice movement protesting against the Vietnam War. But the US expanded its imperialist policies to include El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Philippines, all countries fighting for their sovereignty.

Then I went to the Philippines. It was there that my cousin provided his lived experience fighting for the Philippine flag, fighting against US imperialism. It was already 1976 and the fight for a flag with blood against US imperialism continued. And the struggle continues. How much more blood will be spilled onto the flag?

I remember in the late 1960’s, early 70’s when I was faced with the impacts of the US foreign policies against Vietnam, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti. All these countries were struggling against American imperialism, the same struggle the Philippines was experiencing. Remembering those times, I reflected back on the postcard from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition (AYPE) that depicted a young Alaskan Native and a young Filipino, both symbolizing uncivilized citizens. The struggle is still relevant today. In 2025, we are still viewed as uncivilized citizens needing to be ruled.

As we struggle for democracy, we must use the Barangay to have discussions, plan forums and other activities to have our collective voice expressed, considered, and implemented.

Born in Bani, Pangasinan, Velma Veloria and her family immigrated to the US in 1961 and grew up in San Francisco.

In 1993, she was elected into office and became the first Asian American woman and first Filipina American elected to the Washington State legislature. Representing the 11th District, Veloria served from 1993 until 2004.

Among her many accomplishments in the legislature was her sponsorship of HB 1175, making the State of Washington the first state in the nation to criminalize human trafficking on a state level.

Veloria has more than 40 years of community organizing. She worked as a labor organizer for Cannery Workers Union Local 37, SEIU 1199NW, and SEIU Local 6. Veloria recently spent the past three years as a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington teaching Anti-Human Trafficking in an Era of Globalization and Critical Filipino American Histories.

Veloria continues to be active organizing for many different causes including securing funding for Seattle's Filipino Community Village, a $40 million building with 94 units of affordable senior housing and an Innovation Learning Center for the youth. Currently she is the Community Engagement Specialist at the Filipino Community of Seattle. In her off-time, Veloria is the chair of the King County International Airport Community Coalition (KCIACC), advocating for the health, safety, and environmental justice of communities impacted by airport operations. KCIACC is a member organization of Seatac Community Coalition for Justice (STACC 4 Justice).