Who is APIDA?

Who is APIDA?

APIDA stands for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American. It’s an umbrella term that represents
people with heritage from East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia (Desi), and the Pacific
Islands. The term APIDA recognizes the diversity of identities, cultures, and experiences
across these communities.

 

Why the APSP Center Uses "APIDA"

At the APSP Center at Santa Ana College, we use APIDA to intentionally reflect the diversity of
our student community. This term allows us to be inclusive of students with:

Refers to people with ancestry from the following regions of Asia:

  • East Asians: China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
  • Southeast Asians: Burma (Myanmar), Brunei, Cambodia (Khmer), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos, including but not limited to ethnic groups such as Hmong, Lao, Lao Loum, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Tai Dam, and Tai Leu.

Refers to individuals whose ancestry traces back to the Indigenous peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. These communities are also often referred to as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI).

  • Polynesia: Native Hawaiian (Hawaiʻi), Samoan, Tokelauan, Tahitian, and Tongan identities.
  • Micronesia: Chamorro (Guam), Mariana Islander, Saipanese, Palauan, Yapese, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Kosraean, Marshallese, and I-Kiribati identities.
  • Melanesia: Fijian, Papua New Guinean, Solomon Islander, and Ni-Vanuatu identities.

  • Desi refers to people, cultures, and traditions connected to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and is often used to describe shared cultural, linguistic, and social experiences from these regions.
  • South Asian is a broader term that includes people from countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
  • Many people who identify as Desi may also identify as South Asian, but not everyone who is South Asian identifies as Desi.

Refers to people of APIDA heritage living in the United States. This identity acknowledges experiences related to immigration, citizenship, colonization, generational history, and navigating multiple cultures.

  • Describes people with more than one racial or ethnic background, including those who are both Asian and non-Asian, or who identify with multiple Asian ethnicities. We honor and respect each individual’s chosen identity terms.

 

Using APIDA helps us acknowledge the breadth of our communities while remaining
committed to learning, growth, and accountability. We recognize that individuals may identify
with different terms, and we respect each person’s right to self-identify.

 

Our Committment

Asia is vast, and people from Central and West Asia may identify in many ways, including as
Middle Eastern or through other cultural or ethnic identities. We recognize that shared terms
like APIDA do not fully capture every lived experience.

While the APSP Center primarily serves communities historically represented within APIDA,
we are committed to supporting all students seeking connection, care, and advocacy. We also
acknowledge that representation within our programming will continue to grow and evolve.

Language evolves, and so do communities. We strive to use shared identifiers with care and
intention—building solidarity while honoring difference—so every student feels seen,
supported, and valued. Meaningful support begins with listening, and we welcome ongoing
dialogue, questions, and input around identity, language, and representation.