1.6.1 – South Asian Pioneers
Grade: 4-6Subject:
U.S. History, EnglishNumber of
Activities: 4 + Extension Activities
As students study the impact of immigrants and the development of the
United States, regionally and as a whole, early South Asian immigration
should be discussed. Early South Asian immigrants played a significant
role in the nation’s economic and agricultural development, especially
in California. Early South Asian immigrants formed their own communities
and created unique communities with other marginalized communities
around them, such as Black, Mexican, and Puerto Rican communities. This
lesson focuses on the experiences and impact of these early South Asian
Americans.
Students will be able to:
- Describe the experiences of South Asian immigrants
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Identify the discrimination faced by early South Asian immigrants in
the U.S.
- Describe how South Asian immigrants overcame discrimination
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Identify how South Asian immigrants contributed to the nation’s
cultural and economic development
This lesson can be completed in one instructional session or over a
period of 1-2 weeks. Here are options for lesson implementation:
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One instructional session: Complete Activity 1 and Activity 2 plus
Discussion Questions
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Two instructional sessions: Complete Activity 1, Activity 2 plus
Discussion Questions, and one option from Activity 4
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One week: Complete Activity 1, Activity 2 plus Discussion Questions,
one option from Activity 3, one option from Activity 4, one extension
activity
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Two weeks: Complete all activities plus several additional options
South Asian Pioneers Essay
From 1899 to 1913, almost 7,000
immigrants from
South Asia came to the United States. Many
of these early South Asian immigrants came from
Punjab. Punjab is the northern region of South Asia. Most of these Punjabi
immigrants were
Sikh. They belonged to
peasant families. They
had little education. They spoke little English. So, they had limited
work opportunities. Many worked in the lumber mills in British Columbia
and Washington. Others helped build railroads and worked on farms in
California’s Central Valley.
South Asian immigrants excelled as laborers and farmers. Soon after they
arrived, they were seen as an
economic threat. They were accused of
taking away jobs from white men. As such, they faced hate and violence.
For example, in Washington, the Bellingham riots of 1907 took place. A
mob of 400-500 white men attacked the South Asians living in Bellingham.
They drove South Asian immigrants out of town.
South Asian immigrants faced much discrimination. But they found ways to
overcome it. They built community for safety and for power. Pushed out
of Washington state, many South Asian immigrants worked on farms in
California’s Central Valley. In 1915, South Asian leaders built a Sikh
Gurdwara, or temple, in Stockton, California.
The Stockton Gurdwara was the first Sikh temple in the United States. It
was hugely important to the South Asian immigrant community in
California. It was more than a church. It was a meeting place. It was a
dining hall. It was a political center. It provided support and
services. It also nurtured South Asian political leaders that made an
impact on American politics. For example, Dalip Singh Saund was the
Secretary of the Stockton Gurdwara. He then was elected as the first
Sikh and Asian American U.S. Congressman in 1957.
In 1947, South Asian American immigrant leaders in California’s Imperial
Valley built the second gurdwara in the United States. (Today, there are
over 50 gurdwaras in California.) South Asian immigrants were recruited
to develop the Imperial Valley. They were expert farmers in India. They
applied their knowledge to California. For example, they used water from
the Colorado River to
irrigate California’s desert lands. They
improved other farming techniques. They helped make California
fertile.
South Asian immigrant farmers were doing well. But, racist laws banned
them from owning land. So, South Asian immigrants had to find ways to
transfer their property to others. Some made deals with white farmers,
bankers, and lawyers who held land in their names. Some fought for their
rights in courts.
Racist laws also banned South Asian immigrants from marrying white
women. At the same time, racist laws banned South Asians from
immigrating. Unable to bring wives from India, some South Asian
immigrants in California married Mexican women and had children. There
were many benefits to such marriages. First, their children could
legally own land. Second, they created a distinct Punjabi-Mexican
culture. For example, these families tended to speak Spanish. But, they
ate South Asian foods.
Descendants of
these Punjabi-Mexican marriages are still thriving today.
To get around the immigration ban, South Asian leaders from Stockton
helped South Asians enter the United States through Mexico. They created
special maps that showed safe travel routes. The maps also showed
networks and resources.
Other South Asians came to the U.S. through British ships they worked
on. They would leave the ship when it got to the U.S. and live in that city
or move to a different city. These men were Muslim
peddlers from the Bengali area of South
Asia. They sold “
exotic” items that were popular at the time. They lived with other non-white
communities in cities like Detroit, New Orleans, and New York City.
These men also could not bring wives from South Asia or marry white
women. So, they married and created families with Puerto Rican women or
Black women. These South Asians also helped other South Asians who
entered the United States. There are still many South Asians in these
cities today.
South Asian immigrants overcame discrimination and contributed greatly to U.S. culture, politics, and economy, especially through their success in farming. Today, Punjabi American-owned farms produce over half of the country’s raisins and almonds. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States is the world’s largest producer of almonds, 80 percent share of world almond production and nearly 90 percent share of trade. The U.S. exported $4.7 billion of almonds in 2020.
Bibliography:
Deol, Amrit. (2022). “Gilded Cages: South Asian American Histories of
Anticolonialism in the American West.” Accessed 31 August 2022.
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Descendant: one coming
from an ancestral source; future generations
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Economic: relating to the
production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
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Exotic: from another country;
excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual
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Fertile: capable of
sustaining abundant plant growth
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Gurdwara: a Sikh place of
worship
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Immigrant: a person who
comes to a country to take up permanent residence
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Irrigate: to supply land
or crops with water by artificial means in order to promote plant
growth
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Peasant: a member of a
social class responsible for tilling the soil as small landowners or
as laborers
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Peddlers: someone who
sells things along the street or from door to door
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Punjab: the region of the
northwestern Indian subcontinent in Pakistan and northwestern India
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Sikh: a follower of Sikhism, which
is a religious faith that originated in the Punjab region and is known
for its rejection of idolatry and caste
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South Asia: geographic region
including the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc.
- What were the early South Asian immigrants like?
- What jobs did early South Asian immigrants have?
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What role did racism play in the experiences of early South Asian
immigrants?
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What role did activism play in the growth and development of the South
Asian immigrant community?
- How did early South Asian immigrants build community?
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What role did community play in the advancement of the South Asian
immigrants?
- How did South Asian immigrants transform California?
- What is special about Punjabi-Mexican culture?
- What is significant about the Stockton Gurdwara?
Map of South Asia
Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map
Division
Source
Activity 1:
Introducing South Asian
Americans (Suggested Time: 15 minutes)
Students will be introduced to South Asia and South Asian Americans. The
second part of the activity will begin to introduce the history of South
Asian farmers in California.
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Ask students to share what they know about South Asia.
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Show students a map of South Asia. Tell students that
South Asia
consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and other
countries.
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Show students a map of the
Punjab
area. Tell students that most of the early South Asian immigrants
came from this area.
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Show students a map of
Punjab to California
to convey how far South Asian immigrants had to travel.
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Tell students that some South Asian Americans, especially younger
generations, refer to themselves as “Desi American.”
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Have students quickly sketch what they think a farmer around 1900
looks like.
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Have students hold their sketches up and tell students to look at
their peers’ drawings.
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Have students make observations about the sketches. Ask them: How
did most of you characterize a California farmer in 1900? What
informs this perception?
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Tell students that South Asian immigrants are an important part of
farming history, especially in California.
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Show the
George Shima documentary
clip from 1:06 to 1:44. Explain that George Shima was one of the
richest Japanese American farmers at that time. This film, made in
1914 at the Shima farm in Stockton-Sacramento, contains unique
footage of South Asian immigrant farmworkers.
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Show the
picture of a South Asian farmer. Tell students it is of a modern Punjabi American farmer in
Tracy, California.
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Ask students:
- What did you notice in these images?
- What is the purpose of studying these images?
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How do these images of California farmers in the 1900 compare
to your sketches / preconceptions?
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Tell students they’ll be learning about the immigration of South
Asians and their contributions.
Valentina Alarez and Rullia Singh posing for their wedding photo in
1917.
They were among the thousands of Punjabi-Mexican unions that
sprouted up in the Southwest of the United States.
Credit:
Department of Special Collections at Stanford University Libraries
(Public Domain Image)
Source
Activity 2:
The Power of Community
(Suggested Time: 40 minutes)
Students will learn about the challenges early South Asian immigrants
faced and how they overcame those challenges through community power and
support using the example of South Asians in Stockton.
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Have students do a close reading of the essay. (Option: Create a slide
deck with the essay content.) Facilitate a discussion (see Discussion
Questions).
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Have students complete the following T-chart:
What challenges did the early South Asian immigrants face?
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How did early South Asian immigrants overcome these
challenges?
|
|
|
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Discuss the significance of the Stocktown Gurdwara:
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Show students a
picture
of the Stockton Gurdwara.
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Read aloud paragraphs 7-11 of
Roshan Sharma’s first-person narrative of his experience at the Stockton
Gurdwara.
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Facilitate a discussion given the following prompt: What did you
learn about the South Asian immigrant community from Sharma’s
account?
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Show and discuss this
video about Punjabi-Mexican families:
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Have students identify the causes and effects of Punjabi men
marrying Mexican women.
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Facilitate a discussion given the following prompts:
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What were the impacts of restrictive immigration laws
regarding Punjabi and Mexican immigrants?
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How did immigrants from Punjab and Mexico find each other?
- How did they come to be in California?
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What are the impacts and/or implications of these
Punjabi-Mexican communities in California?
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Have students complete a quickwrite answering this prompt: In what
ways was community important to early South Asian immigrants in
California? Discuss student responses.
Devon Avenue, a South Asian hub in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood
Credit:
Public Domain Image via Wikimedia Commons
Source
Activity 3:
South Asian American Impact
(Suggested Time per Option: 30 minutes)
This activity offers two options for teachers to use to have students
further build their knowledge and grow their understanding of the
lasting and ongoing impact of South Asian Americans.
Teachers can choose one or more of the following options:
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Have students research the impact South Asian Americans have made and
are making. Assign each group to research one of these topics:
- Group 1: The Ghadar Party
- Group 2: Sikh Foundation & Dr. Narinda Singh Kapany
- Group 3: Dalip Singh Saund
- Group 4: Bhagat Singh Thind
- Group 5: Didar Singh Bains
- Group 6: Charanjit Batth
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Have students compare and contrast South Asian American communities.
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Have students conduct further research on the South Asian
communities in Stockton and Imperial Valley. Have students compare
and contrast these two communities.
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Have students research a South Asian ethnic enclave and compare it
to the Stockton and Imperial Valley communities. Examples include:
- Little Bangladesh in Los Angeles (Koreatown)
- Little India in Artesia, California
- India Square in New Jersey
- Little India in Jackson Heights (New York City)
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Have students answer the following research questions:
- When and how did the community start?
- Who are the main founders/leaders?
- What are the main achievements or landmarks?
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Have students complete the
Venn Diagram with Three Circles.
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Facilitate a gallery walk or give each group time to share their
findings with the entire class.
“A Punjabi farmer posing with his cotton crop.”
Credit: Image by
Steven Cerier, via Wikimedia Commons
Source
Activity 4:
Exploring South Asian American Experiences
This activity offers two options for assessing students’ comprehension
of the significance of South Asian immigrants’ experiences and
contributions.
Teachers can choose one or more of the following options:
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Have students write an explanatory essay describing the experiences of
South Asian immigrants and their contributions to U.S. history,
culture, and economy.
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Have students write a fictional story based on true events of South
Asian immigrants in the U.S. Examples include a day in the life of a
South Asian farmer, the origin story of a Punjabi-Mexican descendant,
or a recount of a South Asian immigrant’s first trip to the Stockton
Gurdwara. Have students highlight the factual details.
Extension Activities:
(Suggested Time
per Option: 20-40 minutes)
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Have students learn more about the connection between the Stockton
Gurdwara and the Ghadar Party, a group of South Asians who published a
Punjabi newspaper and focused on organizing India’s independence from
the British. Have students create their own class newspaper to
advocate for a cause important to them.
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Tell students that most Sikhs wear turbans. Have students learn more
about Sikh practices and beliefs, specifically regarding the Sikh
turban. Discuss the significance of turbans to the Sikh community by
asking the following questions: Why do Sikhs wear turbans? How has
wearing a turban made Sikh Americans targets for discrimination,
before and after 9/11? How has wearing a turban helped Sikh Americans
overcome racism and discrimination?
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Have students learn more about the “turban effect” and how this
affects Sikh Americans. Have students create a timeline that
highlights different events that made Sikh Americans victims of the
“turban effect” and targets for racism and discrimination.
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Have students research the
Bellingham Arch of Healing
which is a granite monument dedicated to three Asian immigrant groups
who were exiled from the town: the Chinese in 1885, the South Asians
in 1907, and the Japanese in 1842. Have students research the history
and purpose. Have students discuss the importance of such monuments.
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Show the documentary, “Roots in the Sand,” which presents a multi-generational portrait of the Punjabi
immigrants in the Imperial Valley. Encourage students to take notes
while viewing the documentary. Facilitate a discussion. (If you can’t
get access to the documentary, have students study this webpage
instead:
Punjabi-Mexican families.)
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Read aloud or have students read
Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh
by Uma Krishnaswami. This book is about a Punjabi Mexican American
girl’s struggles on a farm in Yuba City, California. Have students
identify the historical facts that form the basis for the book.
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Have students use the search feature on the Angel Island Immigration
Station Foundation’s
Immigrant Voices
site in order to read profiles of South Asian immigrants who
immigrated through the Angel Island Immigration Station. Have them
create a comic strip illustrating the immigrant’s experience. (If
students read multiple profiles, have them compare and contrast their
immigration experiences.) Some notable profiles include:
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Harnam Singh Dhillon
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Vasaka Singh, Majah Singh, Fauja Singh, and Ram Chand
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Sita Guha-Thakurta
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Kartar Singh
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Kanta Chandra
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Vaishno Das Bagai
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Dalip Singh Samra
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Hazara Singh
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Kehar Singh
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Have students interview a South Asian immigrant in order to learn
about their immigration experience. Have them write a profile or
biography about their person.
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Have students research Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind, a U.S. veteran
who fought through the court system to gain citizenship in the 1923
case, United States vs. Bhagat Singh Thind. Have students analyze the
impacts of the case.
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Have students learn more about Islamophobia after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001. Have students discuss the causes and
effects of these attacks. Ask students the following questions: How
has discrimination against South Asian Americans changed since they
immigrated in the late 1800s? How has it stayed the same? How has the
media misrepresented Muslims as terrorists which led to South Asian
Americans being targeted based on their physical appearance?
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Have students study how several South Asian American activist groups,
such as South Asian Americans Leading Together and Sikh Coalition,
worked to fight against Islamophobia. Have students create informative
flyers to promote these groups.
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Have students learn more about the Punjabi Farmers’ Protest in India
which started in 2020 and how California’s Punjabi farmers protested
in solidarity. Discuss the connection between the two communities by
asking: Why do California Punjabi farmers care about what’s happening
in India?
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Have students visit
http://bengaliharlem.com/
and explore the histories of South Asians through the cities or family
stories tab. Have students create an illustrated account of the story
they explore. As a class, discuss similarities and differences across
the stories.
California Common Core Standards Addressed
National Standards for History:
Grades K-4.2
The History of Students’ Own State or Region: Understands the people,
events, problems, and ideas that were significant in creating the
history of their state.
Grades K-4.3
The History of the United States: Democratic principles and values and
the people from many cultures who contributed to its cultural, economic,
and political heritage: Understands the causes and nature of movements
of large groups into and within the United States, now and long ago
Grades 5-12.4
Expansion and Reform (1801-1861): Understands how the industrial
revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and
the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward
regional tensions. Understands the extension, restriction, and
reorganization of political democracy after 1800
Grades 5-12.6
The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900): Understands
massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts,
and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity
College- and Career-Readiness Anchor Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make
logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing
or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats,
including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.