Karen Leonard, Emeritus Professor, Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
/>The archive honors Mr. Tejinder “Ted” Singh Sibia for his passion for preserving the history of Punjabi pioneers in North America. He served as a librarian at the UC Davis library specializing in biology and agriculture. His website documenting the history of the Sikh pioneers has been a valuable resource for researchers and community members all over the world. Many of the photographs he collected are part of important archives, such as the South Asians in North America Collection at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library and the Becoming American Exhibit at the Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County Several photographs featured in the archive were obtained by Mr. Sibia (see the timeline and farming sections). His wife, Mrs Manjeet Sibia, also contributed to the history of South Asian pioneers through her connections and translating documents from Punjabi to English. Visit Ted Sibia’s website at https://sikhpioneers.org.
“Ted Sibia constituted a valuable online archive for not just scholars but anyone interested in the history of the early Punjabi pioneers in California and the West. He asked many people for materials, family and personal materials, as well as archival ones, and he was tireless and energetic in pursuing all possible leads. He was a pioneer himself in pursuing the history of the Punjabi pioneers and making it available to others!”