On a rainy Wednesday around lunchtime, the students in Room 211 at Sitka High are passing around Styrofoam takeout containers of egg rolls. They’re here for the weekly meeting of the Barkadas Club.
The word “barkadas” translates to “group of friends” in Tagalog. Senior Julia Nabua started the club in 2023 after attending a camp for young Filipino-Americans in Washington State.
“All my friends all talked about a Filipino club and it sounded really interesting, so I wanted to start one here too,” she said.
She said she wanted a space where Filipino-American students could take pride in their culture – and for some, learn more about their own heritage.
“Usually we don’t really learn much about it in school or at home, because, you know, we’re in the U.S.,” she said.
A little over six percent of Sitkans identify as Filipino or Filipino-American, according to the most recent data. Julia’s mother, Bennie Grace Nabua, is an advisor for the club. In 2022, she helped develop a scholarship for Filipino students in Sitka and drafted a municipal resolution declaring October to be Filipino American History Month. She said she was eager to support Julia’s idea to start a club.
“Julia, you know, finding herself and and having a better and deeper appreciation of her identity as a Filipino teenager in the US, I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I think it will be super great, you know, to have that space,'” she said.
The Barkadas have extended their reach far beyond the walls of Room 211. The club partners with the Tulong Aral scholarship fund, which provides scholarships for graduating Filipino-American students to pursue higher education. The club has also coordinated two “Salo-Salos,” or community gatherings, to celebrate Filipino American History Month.
Last year’s Salo-Salo brought in more than a hundred people. Bennie Grace said the students did most of the work to organize the event.
“The Salo-Salo gatherings that we have been having for the past two years are big projects — fundraisers, connecting with businesses, asking for solicitations,” she said. “Most of them are done by the students, and — how should I say it? They have really been independent about doing a lot of the work.”
Sitka High teacher Jarred Rivera is a faculty advisor for the Barkadas and a Filipino-American. He said growing up, Sitka’s Filipino-American community hosted a lot of community events.
“I remember when I was young, we had huge potlucks,” Rivera said. “The whole community was invited, and it was a big thing. It was huge, and, and then, you know, that went away but now, since the Barkadas club started, you know, we’re getting a lot of buy-in from the community and stuff.”
The club has attracted a diverse group of students, including many who aren’t Filipino-American. Senior Desirae Hutton said she initially joined to support Julia, her friend since sixth grade.
“When she told me she was starting this group, she was like, ‘Can you come for this first meeting? I’m nervous,'” Hutton said. “And I was like, ‘I got you. I’ll be there.'”
Hutton has been a member since that first meeting. She’s now the club treasurer.
“I’ve never been a part of a heritage-type of club, so being here and learning about this different stuff has been really interesting,” she said. “And it’s also been cool, though I’m not Filipino, being able to still be involved how I am, that’s just fun and cool, getting to learn something new.”
Julia said she hopes the club continues to grow, even in her absence. She’s already mentoring younger students to take over club leadership after she, Hutton, and vice president Rex Adres graduate this spring – and she said even after graduation, she hopes to serve as a resource for future members.
