Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative

Professor Hu-DeHart was born in China and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was 12. As an undergraduate at Stanford University she studied in Brazil on an exchange program. She became fascinated with Latin America and that interest eventually led her to a Ph.D. in Latin American history. She has written two books on the Yaqui, and is now engaged in a large research project on the Asian diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The goal of Professor Hu-DeHart`s diaspora project is to uncover and recover the history of Asian migration to Latin America and the Caribbean, and to document and analyze the contributions of these immigrants to the formation of Latin/Caribbean societies and cultures. It should also contribute towards theorizing diasporas and transnationalism. The importance and timeliness of this research was most recently demonstrated by the election of Alberto Fujimori, son of Japanese immigrants, as president of Peru. Hu-DeHart also hopes that her work will broaden the scope of Asian American studies as well as contribute to an area not well covered within Latin American studies.