About a year ago, a fellow named Thupten Dadak visited the Saving Tape studio.  Thupten owns the Heart of Tibet store in Linden Hills, MN. He also happens to be one of the first Tibetans to move to Minnesota over 20 years ago. There are now over 2,500 Tibetans living in our state, in part the result of a resettlement program, which happened in the early 1990’s.

During the past many months Saving Tape has partnered with Thupten and the Tibetan American Association of Minnesota (TAFM) to create a video history of the Tibetan presence in Minnesota.

Watch this 20-minute documentary on Vimeo.

There is MUCH more to share about our partnership with the Tibetan community, including Saving Tape’s documentary filming of the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama this past May. We are currently editing the footage for public distribution.

In coming months we’ll be collaborating on efforts to create a comprehensive video archive of the Tibetan experience in Minnesota. This includes posting video excerpts online.

We are also looking for financial partners to help us launch a video oral history project, focused on the lives of Tibetan elders in Minnesota. We have a rare opportunity here in Minnesota to work with our Tibetan neighbors in the preservation and distribution of these stories.

Stay tuned to future blog posts. Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.