Patch: Honoring Our Past
AGE LEVEL: All ages
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: All girls can earn a patch by learning how to do an oral history themselves, participate in Asian Pacific activities, and use activity links from their Girl Scout books. In addition, the Wing Luke Asian Museum will allow troop leaders or individual members to rent their curriculum boxes. Inside of one, girls can experience Asian Pacific American artifacts, costumes, books, videos, cassette tapes, maps, charts, and more.
An Oral History of Asian Pacific Americans in Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of Western Washington (then Totem Council) received contributions and information from women of color who were involved in Girl Scouts. It came to the attention of GSWW that the rich Girl Scout experiences these woman had were never documented. As a result, GSWW became proactive about it by applying for and receiving a Girl Scouts of the USA Innovations grant from the headquarters office in New York for a new project called Honoring Our Past. Starting with one of the largest ethnic American populations in the region, the project consisted of an oral history of Asian Pacific Americans in Girl Scouts to be developed into a display, a new educational patch program, and a girl trip to Asia in 2004.
A volunteer committee headed by staffer Barbara Mizoguchi was formulated. Their connections with the community and former Girl Scouts led to a variety of men, women, and girls who shared their experiences as a volunteer or as a Girl Scout. These stories were preserved by first having people fill out a data form and participate in an oral history interview by audiotape and/or videotape. The interviews were then exhaustively transcribed word for word that resulted in the first-ever permanent records for the Council.
Some of the rich stories included the first all-Chinese American troop west of the Mississippi, a Japanese American man serving as a Girl Scout board member, and a Filipino American woman serving as an international speaker for Girl Scouts from the Philippines. In addition, television reporter Mimi Gan - a former Girl Scout and Connie Matsui - the first Asian American Girl Scouts national president, were documented. These people and many others also took the time to find and contribute old photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia to the project.
Those photographs, memorabilia, and stories were assembled into an exhibit at the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle for an entire year. The exhibit was also supplemented with a new documentary video by Kingstreet Media, a historical publication by Carina A. del Rosario and Jesse Doquilo, and a scrapbook full of fun photographs.
As a tribute to Washington's Asian Pacific Heritage Month, a new patch was designed along with an educational patch program. These were launched at the Honoring Our Past booth set up for the Girl Scouts 90th anniversary celebration at Key Arena in Seattle for approximately 5,000 girls and adults.
In addition to launching the patch program, the 1,000 square foot booth also had several display boards introducing the project. Two computers gave a sneak preview of the upcoming video and a large activity center was set up for Girl Scouts to help build a 14 foot dragon with decorated scales thanks to contributions from the Seattle First Hills Lions Club and Superior Imaging. The completed and colorful dragon hung at the Wing Luke Asian Museum along with the Honoring Our Past exhibit.
Honoring Our Past also brought Kaize Daiko junior taiko drummers and the Seattle Chinese Community Drill Team consisting of girls 11-21 years old to participate in the anniversary ceremony.
Girl Scouts at least 14 years old with overnight experience had an opportunity to travel to Asia in 2004! It was an opportunity for girls in Girl Scouts to experience Asian Pacific culture first hand, meet international Girl Scouts/Girl Guides, and return home with a better education about international culture, history, and people.
Honoring Our Past celebrates its accomplishments with the ongoing patch program! What a rich and fun way to learn about the heritage of Girl Scouts and to honor their past!
SAMPLE ACTIVITIES:
- Learning about people's experience in the past can be an enriching experience. Through oral history interviews, girls have an opportunity to meet individuals, learn how to communicate, and appreciate the history of an individual's life. One way for them to begin is to learn how to do an oral history interview. Refer to the patch requirements for the total number of interviews required for each Girl Scout level.
- All girls can receive a FREE Honoring Our Past printed booklet (green) to supplement their activities. Booklets are available at local Service Centers.
- Do an Asian art or craft project such as origami, calligraphy or batik. Find out what country the project is from and what materials are used. Try to find an authentic example of the project.
- Learn a few words or simple phrases of an Asian language. Find out about the alphabet used. Try writing the language.
- Refer to the Honoring Our Past resource binder to find additional ideas and suggestions for girls as they fulfill their patch requirements. The binder is located at each local regional office.
MORE INFORMATION:
For the patch program requirements, visit your local regional office or download the patch requirements (PDF).
PURCHASE PATCHES: Patches are available at the GSWW store.