The Nexus of Asian Indigeneity, Refugee Status, and Asian Settler Colonialism in the Case of Indigenous Cham Muslim Refugees

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cham peoples are typically recognized as ethnic or religious minorities in Southeast Asia and the U.S. We are never recognized as Indigenous on any national or international platform despite our Indigeneity to the Kingdom of Champa (present-day central and southern Vietnam). This essay examines the complex positions of Cham refugees of the Vietnam War and Khmer Rouge genocide who necessarily resettled in the U.S. Utilizing Yến Lê Espiritu’s concept of “critical juxtaposition,” this essay critically juxtaposes two Cham identities, often viewed as separate identities: “Indigenous” and “refugee.” As Indigenous Asian peoples in diaspora, Cham peoples complicate the discussion of Asian settler colonialism.