Wesley Ueunten

Wesley Ueunten (he, him, his) is a Sansei Okinawan born and raised in Hawai’i. He received his PhD. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley after having lived in Okinawa and Japan for nearly a decade and is the Chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. For the past 25 years or so, Ueunten had been active in the Okinawan and Japanese American community in the Bay Area as a member and officer of various organizations and as a student, performer, and teacher of Okinawan music.

Updated January 2023

Stories from This Author

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Nikkei in Cuba - Reflections from Three U.S. Nikkei Groups

Sept. 2, 2008 • Wesley Ueunten

The term "Nikkei" can be generally translated to mean "of Japanese lineage," but as the years and generations pass since large-scale overseas Japanese emigration started in the late 1800s, determining what Nikkei means has becoming increasingly complicated. For example, many Nikkei are descendants of immigrants who left Japan before World War II; how is their identity different from the post-War immigrants and their descendants? Another point to consider is that a proportionally large number of Nikkei are, in fact, from …

Choodee Without Borders (organization) Cuba Discover Nikkei Tsukimi Kai (organization)

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Aman Nagamiyura: Uchinanchu Diaspora Blues

March 27, 2008 • Wesley Ueunten

I was honored to be part of the panel discussion on “Okinawans and their Global Networks” at the Japanese American National Museum on March 1, 2008. The information provided by Professors Hiroyuki Kinjo, Naomi Noiri, and Kentar? Kuwatsuka from the University of the Ryukyus gave me a wider understanding of Okinawans around the world. The heartfelt presentation by my colleague and friend Yuko Yamauchi of the Okinawa Association of America about her experiences in Okinawa also inspired me. Participation on …