Abstract
Oral history interview with Tia Ka'auamo conducted by Jerwin Tiu and Stefani Evans on April 28, 2023 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islanders Oral History Project. In this interview, Tia Ka'auamo recalls her childhood in Hilo, Hawai'i, and in rural Makawao, Maui as the middle of three daughters born of a Korean-Japanese father and a Filipino-Okinawan mother. She discusses living in state-funded housing in Hawai'i, and with various family members due to difficult personal situations. Ka'auamo discusses earning a bachelor's degree in psychology, spending a summer study abroad in Berlin, Germany, and attending law school. She talks about learning Tagalog from her paternal grandmother, who was punished if she used her language in school, and questions the ways others use language, food, and culture proficiency to determine their identity. Ka'auamo moved to Las Vegas in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and currently works a legal records specialist for the Office of the City Attorney at the City of Las Vegas. She also recently organized the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Committee of city employees.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with Tia Ka'auamo conducted by Jerwin Tiu and Stefani Evans on April 28, 2023 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islanders Oral History Project. In this interview, Tia Ka'auamo recalls her childhood in Hilo, Hawai'i, and in rural Makawao, Maui as the middle of three daughters born of a Korean-Japanese father and a Filipino-Okinawan mother. She discusses living in state-funded housing in Hawai'i, and with various family members due to difficult personal situations. Ka'auamo discusses earning a bachelor's degree in psychology, spending a summer study abroad in Berlin, Germany, and attending law school. She talks about learning Tagalog from her paternal grandmother, who was punished if she used her language in school, and questions the ways others use language, food, and culture proficiency to determine their identity. Ka'auamo moved to Las Vegas in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and currently works a legal records specialist for the Office of the City Attorney at the City of Las Vegas. She also recently organized the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Committee of city employees. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked.
Preferred Citation
Tia Ka'auamo oral history interview, 2023 April 28. OH-03896. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
This interview was conducted and transcribed by the Oral History Research Center (OHRC) which is part of the UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Division.
Processing Note
nterview materials were processed by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 2023. Sarah Jones wrote the description. Access copies were created for born-digital audio files.