Indipino

The Indipino Community of Bainbridge Island began when 36 Indigenous women from 19 different tribes in Canada, Alaska, and Washington State migrated here to pick berries for Japanese American farmers in the 1930s-1940s.

The women married young Filipino immigrants, worked alongside their husbands in the fields, and raised their Indipino children. The Filipino dialect, Ilocano, was primarily spoken in social gatherings. Filipino culture and traditions played a central role in family life.

Their mother’s Indigenous way of life, language, culture, and traditions were seldom practiced. In the 1980s, adult Indipinos began to embrace their mixed heritage and identify by their mother’s tribal affiliation.

Watch Indipino Elder Oral Histories