Mountains and Stories: Building Community Among Asian Refugees and Immigrants in Salt Lake Valley

Xiumei Pu is bringing Asian refugees and immigrants in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley together to reflect on the cultural, symbolic, and environmental significance of mountains. Pu will collaborate with community partners and Brent Olson, co-director of the Institute for Mountain Research, to form a cohort of twelve storytellers. Together, they will produce a twelve-part podcast weaving together Asian mountain folktales and the storytellers' experiences living in mountain environments in Asia and the United States. She will also host a public storytelling event and lead a hike in the Wasatch Mountains and film a documentary in collaboration with Erin Coleman Serrano. It is Pu’s hope that this project will amplify Asian refugees and immigrants’ environmental voices, build community, and spark public interest in the connection between culture, identity, and the natural environment.