Xiumei Pu
Co-Host of The Mountain Stories Podcast
Xiumei Pu is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Westminster College. She comes from a rural background in China. Her life has been itinerant since she came to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in 2004 . Prior to moving to Utah, she lived in Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. She has lived in Salt Lake Valley for five years so far. The longer she lives here, the more she is mesmerized by the complexities, contradictions, diversity, and beauty that this place holds. Her passion pivots around socio-environmental resilience and wellbeing and intercultural communication and understanding. When she is not working, she enjoys day hikes and snow camping in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Her teaching and research have been at the confluence of feminist studies and environmental humanities. She is the author of “Turning Weapons into Flowers: Ecospiritual Poetics and Politics of Bön and Ecowomanism,” and other writings on transcultural understanding of gender and the environment. She has collaborated on several publications with Dong Isbister and Stephen Rachman, including Chinese Women Writers on the Environment: A Multi-ethnic Fiction and Nonfiction (2020), “Blurred Centers/Margins: Ethnobotanical Healing in Writings by Ethnic Minority Women in China” (2019), and "(Re) connecting People and the Land: Ecomemory in Environmental Writings by Ethnic Minority Women Writers in China" (2017).
Xiumei Pu has hosted 13 Episodes.
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Episode 27: Mountains and Stories: Margaret Yee
February 11th, 2022 | 46 mins 46 secs
In the final episode of the "Mountains and Stories." project we sit down to talk with Margaret Yee. She has dedicated herself to serving the Asian community for over 55 years. She is the Co-founder of Chinese Railroad Worker Descendent Associations( CRWDA )and has brought the Asian community together to celebrate their culture and heritage through various events, as well as, to gain recognition for their achievements (both historical and present).
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Episode 26: Mountains and Stories: Otolose Fahina Tavake-Pasi
January 27th, 2022 | 35 mins 58 secs
We're happy to share our penultimate episode of the series we've been working on with Dr. Xiumei Pu as part of her project "Mountains and Stories." "Mountains and Stories" is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast, a documentary, and a series of local events. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Otolose Fahina Tavake-Pasi. Fahina has been the Executive Director of the National Tongan American Society (NTAS) since 2003 where she developed programs that help thousands of Pacific Islanders in Utah to healthier lifestyles, increased civic engagement, obtain citizenship, access higher education, address social justice issues and cultural preservation.
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Episode 25: Mountains And Stories: Catherine Elizabeth Seali'itualemalietoa To'omalatai Figiel
January 20th, 2022 | 17 mins 56 secs
We continue our collaboration with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast, a documentary, and a series of local events. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Catherine Elizabeth Seali'itualemalietoa To'omalatai Figiel. Catherine is a Samoan, Polish, and a Park Cook Islander. I was born in Samoa and moved to Utah in 2012. She discusses growing up in Samoa and staying connected to her roots after moving to the Salt Lake Valley.
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Episode 24: Mountains and Stories: Obaid Barakzai
September 25th, 2021 | 43 mins 22 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast, a documentary, and a series of local events. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Obaid Barakzai. Obaid Barakzai is originally from Kabul, Afghanistan. He is Afghan by nationality, Pashtun by ethnicity, and a mountaineer by heart.
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Episode 23: Mountains and Stories: Anda Xie
August 22nd, 2021 | 17 mins 13 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast, a documentary, and a series of local events. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Anda Xie. Anda is a seventh grader here in Salt Lake City, UT.
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Episode 22: Mountains and Stories: Prashanti Limbu
August 8th, 2021 | 42 mins 21 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast, a documentary, and a series of local events. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Prashanti Limbu. Prashanti is from Nepal and is currently an international student at Westminster College
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Episode 21: Mountains and Stories: Nikki Navio
July 31st, 2021 | 45 mins 18 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains. In addition to theses podcasts, we will also be holding a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains on October 23, 2021. It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode we're talking with Nikki Navio. NIkki (she/her) was born on Panay Island in the Philippines. She is currently a Transportation Planner at the Wasatch Front Regional Council, where her days are dedicated to working with communities and alongside partners to plan for better regional transportation mobility in the Wasatch Front.
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Episode 20: Mountains and Stories: Kripa Thapa
July 17th, 2021 | 29 mins 50 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Kripa Thapa. Kripa recently graduated from the Master's program in geography and Geographic Information Science master's student from the University of Utah. Besides these engagements over the past two years, she conducted my research titled "Assessment of mountain water supply and storage at sub-basin scale in Nepal."
Besides these engagements over the past two years, I conducted my research titled "Assessment of mountain water supply and storage at sub-basin scale in Nepal". The study aims to elucidate the primary drivers of water vulnerability in the mountain ecosystems of Nepal and provide a framework to help combat potential water scarcity that will be of interest to policymakers and researchers in the long run.
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Episode 19: Mountains and Stories: Kevin Nguyen
July 11th, 2021 | 59 mins 56 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Kevein Nguyen. Kevin Nguyen (he/him) is a resident of West Valley, child of an immigrant family, community advocate, and avid outdoorsman. He was born and raised here in Salt Lake City, where he attended the University of Utah for both his graduate and undergraduate degree in Public Health and Exercise Science. Kevin believes that everyone has such a potential to change the lives of others for the better and works to serve his community wherever possible. Growing up through the “struggles”, he personally knows the challenges and understands how the power of community when everyone comes together to help one another. When he isn’t involved in his work, he spends his time exploring our wonderful mountains on his mountain bike or on foot during rescue operations as a Squad Leader with Salt Lake County’s Search and Rescue team.
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Episode 18: Mountains and Stories: Jake Fitisemanu
June 19th, 2021 | 51 mins 35 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Jake Fitisemanu. Jake co-founded the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition and has chaired the annual statewide Pacific Islander Health Week since 2012. He was appointed to the US Census National Advisory Council in 2014 and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the Mana Academy Charter School. He also teaches lion dancing at the Jung Hing Lion Dance Club.
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Episode 17: Mountains and Stories: Emilio Manuel Camu
June 12th, 2021 | 52 mins 54 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Emilio Manuel Camu. Emilio Manuel Camu is a queer Tagalog-Bikolnon Filipino immigrant and first-generation graduate of the University of Utah, where he received both his BS Communication and Asian Pacific Islander Studies and MEd in Educational Leadership & Policy. For the past eleven years, he has served on the boards of numerous Asian Pacific Islander organizations both locally and nationally demonstrating his commitment to equity and justice. He currently serves as the National Vice President of Education & Culture for OCA National, Director and current president of OCA Asian Pacific Islander American Advocates Utah, founder and director of the Filipino American National Historical Society Utah, and the treasurer for Mana Academy Charter School.
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Episode 16: Mountains and Stories: Ze Min Xiao
June 5th, 2021 | 45 mins 58 secs
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu in her project "Mountains and Stories." Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, we talk with Ze Min Xiao. When we conducted the interview earlier this spring, she was the Director of the Office for New Americans in Salt Lake County. She has since started a new position as the Director of the newly launched Center for Economic Opportunity and Belonging at the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
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Episode 15: Mountains and Stories: Introducing the New Season with Dr. Xiumei Pu
May 29th, 2021 | 30 mins 29 secs
aapi, american, asian, culture, education, environmental humanities, humanities, mountains, pacific islanders, stories
This summer and fall we'll be collaborating with Dr. Xiumei Pu to share stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Salt Lake Valley. Mountains and Stories is a community-building endeavor among diverse Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant families living in Salt Lake Valley. Anchored in the theme of mountains, the project consists of a twelve-part podcast and a documentary, a storytelling-conversation cultural event (June 26, 2021), and a group hike in the Wasatch Mountains (October 23, 2021). It is our hope that these efforts will amplify the environmental voices of Asian and Pacific Islander refugee and immigrant communities, and spark more public interest in thinking about the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment. In this episode, Dr. Pu introduces talks more about this project.