Velma Veloria has served in the House of Representatives, worked as a member of the Alaska Cannery Workers Association, and fought for the rights of citizens in her home country of the Philippines. Although Veloria has led an exciting life as a Filipina immigrant in the United States, a review of her oral history clearly suggests that not all of Veloria's experiences have been positive. While it is reasonable to argue that Veloria's experiences have shaped the person, legislator and activist that she has become, the stories of her life that she recounts are both inspiring and painful. With this in mind, it is useful to examine Veloria's history such that a more integral understanding of her life and the causes that she has chosen to support can be better understood.

Veloria begins her oral history with one of the first memories from her immigration to the United...