Scroll through to see what we’ve added to our online shop!
<<bit.ly/shopsead>> If you still haven't gotten a copy of the Knowing Our Joy book, you can now purchase at our online shop. We've also included new releases to further celebrate the launch of our community elders' stories! Shop our exclusive Knowing Our Joy products while supplies last.
We will be on our Holiday break beginning December 25th-January 1st, so orders will be fulfilled ASAP once we return on the 2nd.
We are excited to announce the launch of Mekong Journeys: Raising New Villages, a living digital archive preserving the stories, memories, and histories of Southeast Asian communities.
Through oral histories, storytelling, and art, this project honors 50 years of resilience, migration, rebuilding, and community care. Together, we celebrate the stories that shaped our communities and ensure future generations can continue carrying them forward.
Join us for the launch event:
📍 825 Arts @ 825 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55104
📅 June 13, 2026
⏰ 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
🔗 Link in the bio
#MekongJourneys #SEADProject #SoutheastAsianStories #DiasporaStories #OralHistory #CommunityStorytelling
Today is the last day to register!
The SEAD Project is offering an 8-week, online Level 1 Lao Language workshop to help folks rebuild their life in a way that honors our lived experiences through cultural and language justice and survival.
This set of workshops will introduce you to the Lao writing system, teach basic terms and phrases, and share understandings of Lao culture.
Registration closes tonight, May 8!
bit.ly/laolevel1! (Link in the bio)
This workshop is reserved for community members at risk of deportation. We are also extending the invitation to their family members who will potentially need to navigate things overseas to help their families also.
The class will meet every Tuesday at 6-9 PM, starting May 12, 2026 through July 7, 2026.
Let’s eat, karaoke, play games, connect, and keep these stories blooming!
Come for a Pho-nomenal Time and stay to support our growth in cultural organizing, critical language, and the powerful storytelling that defines our community. Your contribution helps us lift and enrich the narratives of Minnesota’s SEA Diaspora, ensuring our diverse journeys are celebrated and heard.
📅 Date: May 30, 2026
📍 Location: Puzzles Bar Restaurant and Banquet, North Saint Paul, MN (Proudly Hmong-owned!)
🎟️ Get Your Tickets: Link in the Bio
Registration closes this Friday, May 8! Link in the bio.
The SEAD Project is offering a virtual, 8-week Level 1 Lao Language workshop to community members under direct threat of deportation. This set of workshops will introduce you to the Lao writing system, teach basic terms and phrases, and share understandings of Lao culture.
The class will meet every Tuesday at 6-9 PM, starting May 12, 2026 through July 7, 2026
This workshop is reserved for community members at risk of deportation. Space is limited so we will need to verify each student's ability to attend classes.
If you are a community member who does not meet this criteria, please consider registering for the general Level 1 language series offered this fall (Registration opens this summer).
Join us for a free screening of Bitterroot!
📅 Saturday, May 2, 2026
⏰ 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
📍Trylon Cinema @ 2820 E 33rd St, Minneapolis, MN
🔗 Registration is required. Link in the bio
The SEAD Project is offering a virtual, 8-week Level 1 Lao Language workshop to community members under direct threat of deportation. This set of workshops will introduce you to the Lao writing system, teach basic terms and phrases, and share understandings of Lao culture.
The class will meet every Tuesday at 6-9 PM, starting May 12, 2026 through July 7, 2026
This workshop is reserved for community members at risk of deportation. Space is limited so we will need to verify each student's ability to attend classes.
If you are a community member who does not meet this criteria, please consider registering for the general Level 1 language series offered this fall (Registration opens this summer).
Register by Friday May 8, 11:59 p.m. Link in the bio.
Join us for a free film screening of BITTERROOT directed by Vera Brunner-Sung.
Reeling from a failed marriage and seeking solace and a new perspective, a Hmong man cares for his aging mother amidst the deceptively tranquil landscape of rural Montana.
Mekong Journeys: Stories of Abundance
BITTERROOT Film Screening
📅 Saturday, May 2, 2026
⏰ 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
📍Trylon Cinema @ 2820 E 33rd St, Minneapolis, MN
🔗 Registration is required. Link in the bio
Video courtesy of Icarus Films.
Join us in celebrating Southeast Asian filmmakers!
We're hosting a roundtable discussions with filmmakers Elizabeth Wijaya, Kazua Melissa Vang, Nhàn Tran, and Tony Nguyen.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
📅 Wed, Apr 29 | 5:30-7:30 PM
📍UMN Liberal Arts Engagement Hub | 120 Pillsbury Hall, 310 Pillsbury Dr. SE Mpls, MN
UPCOMING FILM SCREENING
📅 Sat, May 2 | 4-6 PM — Bitterroot
📍The Trylon Cinema | 2820 E 33rd St, Mpls, MN
We're so excited about our free upcoming film screenings and we want to share a bit more about the directors behind the films.
Tony Nguyen is an Oakland-based filmmaker whose work explores the Vietnamese refugee experience and the overlooked stories of folks and communities in the Town. He is the video producer for Asian Health Services, a community health center with roots in Oakland Chinatown that serves over 50,000 residents. His latest film, YEAR OF THE CAT, premiered in late April 2025, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, and has garnered several awards, including the Spotlight Award at the Viet Film Fest in Orange County.
Vera Brunner-Sung was born in Michigan to parents from Korea and Switzerland. Her work across experimental, nonfiction, and narrative explores belonging and American identity. Her films have been presented at festivals, museums, and galleries in the U.S. and abroad, including Sundance, Rotterdam, CPH:DOX, MoMA PS1, and Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Center for Asian American Media and the Sundance Institute. BITTERROOT is her second feature.
Watch their films:
📅 Apr 25 | 4-6 PM — YEAR OF THE CAT
📅 May 2 | 4-6 PM — BITTERROOT
📍The Trylon Cinema | 2820 E 33rd St, Mpls, MN
🔗 Registration is required. Link in the bio
Tony Nguyen and other Southeast Asian filmmakers will be attending the Roundtable Discussion on 4/29 at 120 Pillsbury Hall at UMN.
🔗 Registration is required. Link in the bio
Join us for a free film screening of YEAR OF THE CAT.
YEAR OF THE CAT follows filmmaker Tony Nguyen (@papa_t510 ) on an extraordinary quest to solve the mystery of his father, lost in the chaos of the Fall of Saigon. Crafted as an investigative home movie, this intensely raw documentary weaves together moments of humor and heartache, offering an intimate look at how the children of refugees are shaped by war and loss. As Tony delves into his family’s history, the film reveals the emotional lengths we go to in confronting the past—and the possibility of healing as we reclaim and transform our futures.
Mekong Journeys: Stories of Abundance
YEAR OF THE CAT Film Screening
📅 Saturday, April 25, 2026
⏰ 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
📍Trylon Cinema @ 2820 E 33rd St, Minneapolis, MN
🔗 Registration is required. Link in the bio
Video courtesy of Tony Nguyen.
Come show your support with SEAD for API Day at the Capitol, an energetic day of community and civic engagement.
“Belonging: 250 Years in America” will recognize the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of our longstanding API communities as well as more recently arrived immigrant and refugee communities to our state and nation.
Over the past few months, our communities have been the target of Operation Metro Surge. The time is now to advocate, participate, and show up in solidarity and strength with Minnesota’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
We plan to share a message of hope and optimism, asserting the many ways Asian Pacific Minnesotans have made this state and nation better. Generations of API immigrants have been an important part of the fabric of America. Our stories and lived experiences must not be erased and deserve to be heard.
API Day at the Capitol 2026
📍Capitol Rotunda | 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155
📅 Monday, April 20, 2026
🕘 Doors open 9 a.m., rally begins 10 a.m.
No reservation is required, but please allow extra time to enter the capitol as additional security measures have been implemented.
This event will take place in-person at the Capitol rotunda and will be live-streamed on the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans’ Facebook page.
Photos courtesy of CAPM
