The Filipino American National Historical Society

This thirty-first day of Filipino American History Month (FAHM) brings more detailed information on the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), which first celebrated FAHM.

Founded on November 16, 1982 by Fred and Dorothy Cordova, the FANHS is a community-based organization whose mission is “...to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect that rich past...”

The FANHS commemorates the arrival of Luzones Indios in California on October 18, 1587 by celebrating FAHM in October every year. In 1987 the National Pinoy Archives was established by the FANHS in Seattle, Washington. The Archives is the world's largest collection of Filipino American historical and cultural materials.

There are more than twenty-eight chapters across the United States of America which serve as the primary informational resource on Filipino Americans. For example, the FANHS produced the award winning video Filipino Americans: Discovering Their Past for the Future and the renowned book Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans, which was published in 1983. FANHS members publish and create new sources of Filipino American history every year.

Since 1987, FANHS has sponsored biennial national conferences where community folks of all ages and from all walks of life gather to share and present research, network with other Filipino Americans, and honor those who have produced ground-breaking innovative work in the field of historical research and analysis. The 2010 conference, "A Quest for Emergence: A Retrospective," will be held in Seattle, Washington.

In addition, long range goals include the establishment of the National Pinoy Museum in Stockton, California, and the National Pinoy Library in Seattle, Washington.