Filipino Americans and Cultural Maintenance

Cultural maintenance is the act of keeping one's culture alive. It is the sustainability of one's cultural traditions, values, lifestyle, and language, often to counter negative and historical forces such as colonization and marginalization in mainstream society. Cultural maintenance can also be a reaction to the absence of ethnic customs, traditions, and values lost in school, home, and community. Many children are being raised without connection to or a foundation of their cultural values to help form their own cultural identities, which is necessary for one's survival, existence, and success in society.

This entry provides a brief literature review of cultural maintenance and focuses on the experiences of one cultural group, Filipino Americans, and their quest for revitalizing and sustaining their ties to their culture. This ...