Illinois, USA: Cahokia Mounds and prehistoric native American culture

The first thing I did when I found out I was flying to the U.S. was to find the nearest UNESCO World Heritage Site to Chicago. It was a good thing there was one in Illinois, the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. It excited me more when I found out that we were visiting it as part of our program itinerary since the only convenient way to get there was by renting a car.

According to UNESCO, Cahokia is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico and was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1400), when it covered nearly 1,600 hectares and included some 120 mounds. The main mound in the complex is called Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, covering over 5 hectares and standing 30 meters high.

After watching a video at the Interpretative Center, we walked around the park and got to climb up Monks Mound where you can see nearby St. Louis, Illinois. If you don't want to rent a car, public transportation to the place is possible but a bit complicated. Directions are available in the Cahokia website. Take note that the Cahokia Mounds are in Collinsville, Illinois and not in the city of Cahokia.

Illinois, USA: Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

As part of our program, we visited several not-for-profit organizations or NPOs in the Chicago area. Among these is the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an NPO formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations — Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition — founded by Jesse Jackson. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism.

We were lucky to meet the Rev. Jesse Jackson himself, an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was closely associated with Dr. Martin Luther King. Before Barack Obama, there were four black candidates for president namely Shirley Chisholm, Senator Carol Moseley Braun, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. Jackson was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

Illinois, USA: Philippine Independence Day celebrations in Chicago

We celebrated Philippine Independence Day by attending the reception hosted by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City of Chicago on June 10. It is indeed an honor for the Philippines that a major American city has given significance to our celebration of freedom. In fact, Mayor Daley proclaimed June 12, 2008 as Philippine Independence Day in the City of Chicago. At the reception, Mayor Daley encouraged all Chicagoans to appreciate the contributions the Filipino-American community has made to Chicago

Earlier in the afternoon, we had made a courtesy call to Consul General Blesila C. Cabrera at the Philippine Consulate General along North Michigan Avenue.

During the reception, I was expecting Philippine cultural performances but there was none of that. Maybe next year, they can include that in the program since the current generation of Filipinos in the U.S. are no longer familiar with our culture having been born and raised there. It would be great if they can bring in cultural groups from the Philippines to perform or even better if young Filipinos in the U.S. can practice and perform our traditional songs and dances themselves.

What I noticed though was that there were so many ladies wearing crowns and sashes on the stage and even right below the stage. I know that traditional Philippine fiestas involve naming a queen and princess. But it's usually one for each. So we asked why there were so many ladies wearing crowns and sashes. The answer was each Filipino association had its own queen!

Then I realized, the Filipino-American community in the U.S. is an agglomeration of ethnic associations reflecting the regionalism that exists here in the Philippines. In general, we were told that Filipinos in the U.S. form associations based primarily on their place of origin in the Philippines rather than forming a single heterogeneous community based on their geographical location in America. We were told it partly explains why we don't have any "Filipinotowns" in the U.S. aside from the fact that we are good at adjusting to any culture to begin with.

Filipino-Americans are in the best position to set an example for our country by going beyond the regions, provinces and towns, transcending cultural barriers and moving as one. Filipinos here and around the globe must unite, strengthen Philippine national (and not just regional) identity and move our nation forward.