Over the last several months, led by project coordinator Nawang Tsering Gurung — originally from Mustang, Nepal and now living in Queens — ELA has launched Voices of the Himalaya, a new project exploring the lived experiences of migration and social change among Himalayan New Yorkers. The aim is to document the languages, cultures, social histories, folklore, and community life of indigenous people in collaboration with community members and scholars of the Himalayan region. This is one of New York’s newest and fastest-growing immigrant and refugee communities, where a wide variety of little-documented and endangered languages are spoken.
Check out our first three videos, featuring the life stories of three women who have made the journey from the Himalayas to New York:
