APIAHiP is proud to present a public history event on the 118th anniversary of the 1907 Bellingham Riot alongside the 18th anniversary of the Arch of Healing and Reconciliation. This gathering reflects on histories of exclusion and injustice—from the expulsion of South Asian laborers in 1907 to Chinese Exclusion legislated in 1882 and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII in 1942.

In September 1907, a white mob in Bellingham violently targeted South Asian immigrants—primarily Sikh laborers from Punjab—who had been recruited to work in the region’s lumber mills. Hundreds were beaten, robbed, and forced from their homes, then herded into the city jail under the guise of “protection.” Within days, nearly the entire South Asian community was driven out of Bellingham, many leaving the region altogether. This expulsion was part of a larger wave of anti-Asian violence on the West Coast, connected to Chinese Exclusion laws and foreshadowing Japanese American incarceration during WWII.

At this year’s event, APIAHiP will highlight the work of Digital Humanities Intern Avneet Dhaliwal, in partnership with the Sikh American History Project and the Whatcom County Sikh Community, with participation from County Executive Satpal Sidhu. The program will include history-sharing, community reflections, and the presentation and installation of a new marker connecting visitors at the Arch with online interpretive materials.

This project is supported by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s Valerie Sivinski Fund.

Light refreshments will be provided by the local Sikh community.