Tibetan Americans are
Americans of
Tibetan ancestry. As of 2020, more than 26,700 Americans are estimated to have Tibetan ancestry.[1] The majority of Tibetan Americans reside in
Queens, New York.[4]
History
Ethnic Tibetans began to immigrate to the United States in the late 1950s.[5] Section 134 of the
Immigration Act of 1990 gave a boost to the Tibetan immigration to the US, by providing 1,000 immigrant visas to Tibetans living in India and
Nepal.[6][5]Chain migration followed, and by 1998 the Tibetan-American population had grown to around 5,500, according to a census conducted by
Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The
2000 United States Census counted 5,147 US residents who reported Tibetan ancestry.[6]
1991 As part of Fulbright scholarships administered by
Tibet Fund, Berea College in Berea, Kentucky enrolls the first batch of two students with two succeeding each following year to study in 4 year undergraduate programs. The program still continues with over 20 graduates, who have mostly resettled in America.
1992 The first group of the 1,000 Tibetans arrives in the U.S. under the TUSRP and settles in six cluster sites throughout the U.S.
1993 In little more than a year since the first group of Tibetans arrived in 1992, 21 cluster sites open in 18 different states across the United States.
1993–2002 Through family reunification, more Tibetans arrive to join the original 1,000. By 2002 there are approximately 8,650 Tibetans and 30 Tibetan community associations in the United States.
Demography
An estimate of c. 7,000 was made in 2001,[5] and in 2008 the CTA's Office of Tibet in New York informally estimated the Tibetan population in the US at around 9,000.[6] In 2020, The Central Tibetan Administration estimated the number of Tibetans living in the United States to be over 26,700.[1] The migration of the Tibetans to the United States took on the pattern of 22 "cluster groups", located primarily in the
Northeast, the
Great Lakes region and the
Intermountain West. Other communities include
Austin, Texas and
Charlottesville, Virginia. Tibetan Americans who are born in Tibet or elsewhere in Tibet are officially recognized as Chinese nationals not by choice due to China's occupation of Tibet.[9]
The town of
Northfield, Vermont has been home for many years to the seat of the current
Trijang Rinpoche, who has been estranged from the
Dalai Lama due to the
Dorje Shugden controversy, which has become a cultural heritage center for thousands of followers.
Every year, Seattle holds an annual
Tibet Festival in August.
Colorado
Although quite small in number overall, Colorado has one of the highest concentrations of Tibetans in
North America, focused on
Boulder,
Colorado Springs,
Douglas County and
Crestone. The state has
Naropa University whose values statement states, "We are Buddhist-inspired, ecumenical, and nonsectarian welcoming faculty, staff, and students of all faiths as well as those who don’t ascribe to any religion."[12] There is a Buddhist commune[citation needed] west of
Castle Rock and several cities have Tibetan outreach organizations. Colorado Springs alone has three Tibetan stores and a restaurant.
From 1958 to 1960,
Anthony Poshepny trained various special missions teams, including Tibetan
Khambas and
HuiMuslims, for operations in
China against the
Communist government. Poshepny sometimes claimed[citation needed] that he personally escorted the
14th Dalai Lama out of Tibet, but sources in the Tibetan exile deny this.
The site was chosen because of the similarities of the
Rocky Mountains in the area with the
Himalayan Plateau. The CIA parachuted four groups[13] of Camp Hale trainees inside Tibet between 1959 and 1960 to contact the remaining resistance groups, but the missions resulted in the death or capture of many team members.
^Gayley, Holly; Brallier, Joshua (2024). "Tibetan Buddhism in America". In Gleig, Ann; Mitchell, Scott (eds.).
The Oxford Handbook of American Buddhism. Oxford handbooks series. Oxford University Press. p. 240.
ISBN978-0-19-753903-3. Retrieved 2024-04-15. Tenzing Rigdol, a Tibetan artist whose family immigrated from Nepal to the United States in 2002