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Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM)

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The Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, 2017. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.

The Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, 2017. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.

The Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with members living in and around Twin Cities. Since its inception in 1992, it has transformed into a full-fledged social and cultural hub through events held at its headquarters, the Tibetan Community Cultural Center in St. Paul. It strives to preserve Tibetan identity, culture, and tradition, as well as to spread peace and compassion through social services in and around the Twin Cities.

Under the 1990 Immigration Act, the US federal government authorized the issue of immigrant visas to 1,000 Tibetans in Nepal and India. These 1,000 people were sent to several different states in the country, and with the help of host families and volunteers, 160 of them arrived and settled in Minnesota. With a few exceptions, they were the first Tibetans to live in the state permanently.

One of the exceptions was Thupten Dadak, a Tibetan immigrant who had come to Minnesota from India four years earlier, in 1986. Recognizing a need for an official group that could help resettle incoming Tibetans, Dadak co-founded the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) in St. Paul in 1992. At about the same time, a sister organization called the Tibetan Association of Minnesota (TAM) formed in the same city. While the TAFM was made up mostly of white Minnesotans—about 400 in total—and tackled settlement issues, the TAM was made up entirely of Tibetans and focused on cultural preservation, community building, and mutual assistance.

As the 1990s progressed, Tibetan refugees continued to reunite with family members in the Twin Cities with the help of TAFM, and the area’s Tibetan American population increased. Meanwhile, TAM hosted community events and coordinated celebrations of Tibetan Buddhist holidays, including the Losar festival (observed on the first day of the Tibetan New Year), Lhabab Duechen (observed during the ninth Tibetan lunar month), and Tibetan Uprising Day (March 10), which recognizes the guerilla fighters who resisted the Chinese army in Lhasa (Tibet’s capital) in 1959.

The Dalai Lama’s 2001 visit to St. Paul proved to be a crucial moment in the development of TAFM. It earned so much income from fundraising and sales related to his appearances that it was able to expand its programs. In 2003, it bought a building at 1096 Raymond Avenue in St. Paul and reopened it as the Tibetan Cultural Center.

In the 2000s, TAFM has remained committed to preserving Tibetan culture, tradition, religion, and heritage. Its board members, who are directedly elected and serve three-year terms, are responsible for the management of the community center and for program coordination and planning. Programs include education for Tibetan Americans of all ages, including Tibetan language classes for children from preschool to eighth grade. The Lamton program, created in 2008 by Tibetan students at St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges in cooperation with TAFM, guides Tibetan youth toward higher education. Meanwhile, in the field of public health, the Tibetan Nurses Association (another TAFM partner) aims to uplift the wellbeing and health of its community members.

In 2019, community members estimate that roughly 3,500 people of Tibetan descent live in Minnesota—the second-largest Tibetan American population in the country after New York’s. TAFM continues to collaborate with other community organizations such as the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and the Regional Tibetan Women’s Association to amplify the voices of Tibetans inside Tibet. Together, they organize awareness campaigns and write petitions to the United Nations and American leaders, urging them to end the plight of Tibetans living under the rule of the Chinese communist regime.

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Ephemera and records, 1992–2019
Manuscripts Collection, Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota archives, St. Paul
Description: Pamphlets, brochures, and other documents related to or produced by the foundation.

Fink, Mara Kumagai. “TRiO Program Fuels College Dreams.” MPR News, May 25, 2009.

French, Rose, and Allie Shah. “The Dalai Lama’s Message of Peace.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 7, 2011.
http://www.startribune.com/the-dalai-lama-s-message-of-peace/121437289

Hughes, Art. “Tibetans in Minnesota: Preserving Their Culture.” MPR News, May 7, 2001.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/culture.shtml

Past Events. Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota.
https://www.tafm.org/2018/07/30/past-events

Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota.
www.tafm.org

“Tibetan Community Cultural Center to Open in Minnesota.” Phayul, August 1, 2003.
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=4664&t=1

Related Images

The Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, 2017. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.
The Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, 2017. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.
Tibetan Americans perform a traditional Tibetan opera in front of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, ca. 2018. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.
Tibetan Americans perform a traditional Tibetan opera in front of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, ca. 2018. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.
Tibetan Minnesotans perform an incense-burning ceremony for the wellbeing and health of their spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, ca. 2018. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.
Tibetan Minnesotans perform an incense-burning ceremony for the wellbeing and health of their spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul, ca. 2018. Photograph by Tashi Khongtsotsang.

Turning Point

Under the 1990 Immigration Act, the US federal government issues immigrant visas to 1,000 Tibetans in Nepal and India.

Chronology

1990

The Immigration Act authorizes the issue of visas to Tibetan refugees, allowing 1,000 of them to come to the United States.

1991

Through the US Tibetan Resettlement Project, Tibetans begin to move to the United States—including Minnesota.

1992

Thupten Dadak, who had immigrated from India to Minnesota in 1986, co-founds the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) in St. Paul. A sister organization, The Tibetan Association of Minnesota (TAM), forms at about the same time.

1993

In July, the TAM elects its first officers and board members, including Wangyal T. Ritzekura as president.

1997

Members of the TAM found the Tibetan Culture School (TCS) to educate Tibetan American children about their religion, history, and language.

2001

The Dalai Lama visits St. Paul in May. Afterward, the TAFM and the TAM merge.

2002/2003

Using revenue earned from ticket sales and fundraising related to the Dalai Lama’s visit, the TAFM buys and moves into a building at 1096 Raymond Avenue in St. Paul. The building becomes the Tibetan Community Cultural Center.

2005

The TAFM has about 1,500 members.

2008

Tibetan students at St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges begin to meet at TAFM for Lâmtön—a high-school tutoring program designed to guide Tibetan youth toward higher education. “Lâmtön” is the Tibetan word for guidance.

2011

The Dalai Lama visits the Twin Cities

2014

The TAFM organizes a two-day visit to St. Paul for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who speaks at the Minneapolis Convention Center on March 1 and at Augsburg and Macalester Colleges on March 2.

2016

On November 27, the TAFM hosts a public lecture given by Kalon Karma Yeshi, the finance minister of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA—the Tibetan government-in-exile operating from India).

2018

TAFM celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary on September 1.

2019

Community members estimate that roughly 3,500 people of Tibetan descent live in Minnesota.