
The Pacific Northwest has a rich history of immigrants from Asia. We explore how Chinese and Japanese immigrants struggled to define their social and cultural place in American society, looking at the narrative shift from “Yellow Peril” and “Enemy Aliens” to today’s “Model Minorities”.
Learning Objectives

Lenses of Inquiry
Places and Activities
This program is flexible, and can be offered in 3, 5, or 7 day itineraries.We arrive in Seattle, exploring the history of immigration to the city, the development of China and Japanese ‘towns’, and how these communities have maintained their cultures and traditions.
Travelling south, we consider the complexities of Portland’s relationship with Chinese and Japanese Americans by visiting the Japanese Gardens, gifted by Japan after WWII, the underground “Shanghai” tunnels, and participating in a haiku workshop.
We head east along the route travelled by thousands of Japanese relocated to the Minidoka Internment Camp. We meet with a survivor to visit the camp and learn of their experience.
We close our time in reflection, thinking about our experiences over the week and confronting our own biases and internalized messages about immigration, identity and race.
Let’s work together
Contact Us
“The Envoys staff has been amazing. I have bonded with each of them in different ways and they made the trip to Colombia nicer that I expected. Envoys helped me open myself up to interacting with the locals wherever we traveled!”
— Illeana G. , Student, Deerfield Colombia 2014“I don’t think it is possible to pull a trip like the Amazon and the many activities that you directed without the sense of purpose you have, without your drive for experiential learning for teenagers. All our experiences with the Envoys team were amazing!”
— Angela , Traveling Faculty, RoundSquare Colombia 2015“My goals were to learn about post-conflict Colombia and step out of my comfort zone. These were fulfilled each and every day through activities, reflections, and first-hand experience.”
— Julia D. , Student, GEBG Colombia 2016