THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 A3
TODAY
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
Sikhs in Oregon react to the
Indianapolis mass shooting
Brent Drinkut/Statesman-Journal via AP, file
The annual Nagar Kirtan Sikh parade moves down Oakhill Avenue in Salem in 2015. Members of the religion, which began in India in the 15th cen-
tury, have been the targets of violence in the United States over the years.
BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
The Oregonian
T
he victims of this
month’s mass shooting
in Indianapolis felt fa-
miliar to Gurpreet Kaur, de-
spite the distance between her
Portland-area home and the
Midwestern FedEx facility.
Of the eight people killed in
the April 15 attack, four were
members of the Sikh religious
community. And in viewing
photos of the victims, Kaur saw
the faces of her own family and
friends.
“There was a woman in her
60s. My mom worked till she
was close to 60,” said Kaur, sec-
retary of the Sikh Center of
Oregon. “In the U.S., Canada,
there are so many places where
there’s an Indian concentration
in the workforce. It’s harrowing
to think of something like this
happening because of identity.”
Authorities have not spec-
ified whether the shooter, a
former worker at the FedEx
facility, was targeting Sikhs.
But members of Oregon’s Sikh
community say the threat of vi-
olence is always in the back of
their minds.
“For many people like us —
non-Christian, nonwhite — it’s
not ‘if,’ but ‘when,’” Kaur said.
“There’s always fear that some-
thing might happen in your
community.”
The region is home to several
gurdwaras, or Sikh temples,
including the Sikh Center of
Oregon in Beaverton and other
locations in Salem, Eugene and
Vancouver, Washington.
Kaur said it’s been difficult to
“I think the Punjabi community and the Sikh community
tend to be very resilient. People carry on with their regular
lives, but there is a psychological cost that is very apparent.”
— Gurpreet Kaur, secretary of the Sikh Center of Oregon
have conversations about safety
and the Indianapolis shoot-
ing because of restrictions on
in-person gatherings during
the COVID-19 pandemic. But
the limited conversations that
have occurred are not new to
her and other Sikhs.
“These conversations hap-
pen on and off, but at the end
of the day, how much can you
let these fears incapacitate you
from living your life of faith?”
Kaur said. “You can safeguard
the gurdwara, but when I go to
work, I can’t leave my identity
back at home.”
Sarabjeet Teja, former chair-
man of the Guru Ramdas
Gurdwara Sahib in Vancouver,
said the Indianapolis shooting
sent shockwaves through the
local Sikh community and re-
surfaced memories of a 2012
shooting that killed six people
at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Still, he hopes Sikhs will re-
member it’s important to not
be intimidated by the India-
napolis attack.
“Being at the gurdwara, do-
ing other stuff we normally do
in our daily lives — that cannot
stop,” he said.
The Indianapolis shooting
comes against a backdrop of
ongoing concerns for Sikhs,
Muslims and other religious
minorities.
Teja said that prior to the
pandemic, when more people
were gathering in person, tem-
ple leaders hired Vancouver
police officers or private com-
panies to offer security during
Sunday services.
Kaur also described an up-
tick in the bullying of Sikh chil-
dren after the election of for-
mer President Donald Trump
and said adult Sikhs who were
bullied or harassed as children
increasingly sought counseling
for painful memories.
Violence against several south
Asian communities, including
Sikhs and Muslims, also rose
64% in the year after Trump’s
election, according to the advo-
cacy group South Asian Ameri-
cans Leading Together.
In one such attack, a man
asked to come into a Gresham
temple to use the restroom
in 2017, then attacked a Sikh
woman and attempted to sexu-
ally assault her. Gresham police
later said there was no evidence
the suspect assaulted the woman
because of her race or religion.
Kaur said it’s important for
Oregonians to know the his-
tory of violence toward Sikhs
in their own state.
She referenced the St. Johns
Riot of 1910, during which
about 200 St. Johns residents
attacked several Sikhs who
lived in the area and worked
at a lumber mill, forcing them
onto trains south to another
part ofPortland.
But Kaur said the Sikhs
came back, filed police reports
and tried to take legal action
against their attackers.
Now, like then, members
of the community have been
strong, she said.
“I think the Punjabi com-
munity and the Sikh commu-
nity tend to be very resilient,”
she said. “People carry on with
their regular lives, but there is a
psychological cost that is very
apparent.”
Kaur believes more inter-
faith conversations can help
create a safer environment for
Sikhs and members of all reli-
gious groups.
“What happens in an immi-
grant community doesn’t just
affect that community,” she
said. “It has repercussions for
the wider society.”
It’s Sunday, April 25, the 115th day
of 2021. There are 250 days left in
the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
In 1507, a world map produced
by German cartographer Martin
Waldseemueller contained the
first recorded use of the term
“America,” in honor of Italian navi-
gator Amerigo Vespucci .
In 1859, ground was broken for
the Suez Canal.
In 1862, during the Civil War, a
Union fleet commanded by Flag
Officer David G. Farragut captured
the city of New Orleans.
In 1898, the United States Con-
gress declared war on Spain; the
10-week conflict resulted in an
American victory.
In 1915, during World War I, Allied
soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Pen-
insula in an unsuccessful attempt
to take the Ottoman Empire out
of the war.
In 1917, legendary jazz singer Ella
Fitzgerald was born in Newport
News, Virginia.
In 1944, the United Negro College
Fund was founded.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S.
and Soviet forces linked up on
the Elbe River, a meeting that
dramatized the collapse of Nazi
Germany’s defenses. Delegates
from some 50 countries gathered
in San Francisco to organize the
United Nations.
In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway
opened to shipping.
In 1990, the Hubble Space
Telescope was deployed in orbit
from the space shuttle Discovery.
It was later discovered that the
telescope’s primary mirror was
flawed, requiring the installation
of corrective components to
achieve optimal focus.
In 1992, Islamic forces in Afghan-
istan took control of most of the
capital of Kabul following the
collapse of the Communist gov-
ernment.
In 2002, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of
the Grammy-winning trio TLC
died in an SUV crash in Honduras;
she was 30.
In 2019, former Vice President Joe
Biden entered the Democratic
presidential race, declaring the
fight against Donald Trump to
be a “battle for the soul of this
nation.”
Ten years ago: President Bashar
Assad of Syria sent the military
into the southern city of Daraa,
where an anti-government up-
rising had begun the previous
month.
Five years ago: The city of Cleve-
land reached a $6 million settle-
ment in a lawsuit over the death of
Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black boy
shot by a white police officer while
playing with a pellet gun outside
a recreation center. A panel of the
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Manhattan ruled 2-to-1 that
New England Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady had to serve a four-
game “Deflategate” suspension
imposed by the NFL, overturning
a lower judge and siding with the
league in a battle with the players
union. Brady ended up serving the
suspension.
One year ago: As the global
death toll from the coronavirus
surpassed 200,000, countries
took cautious steps toward easing
lockdowns. The U.K. became the
fifth country in the world to report
20,000 virus-related deaths.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Al Pa-
cino is 81. Ballroom dance judge
Len Goodman (TV: “Dancing with
the Stars”) is 77. Rock musician
Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater
Revival) is 76. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus
(ABBA) is 76. Actor Talia Shire is 76.
Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 74. Rock
musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty
& the Heartbreakers) is 71. Country
singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is
67. Actor Hank Azaria is 57. Rock
singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 57.
Rock musician Eric Avery is 56.
Country musician Rory Feek (Joey
+ Rory) is 56. TV personality Jane
Clayson is 54. Actor Renee Zellwe-
ger is 52. Actor Gina Torres is 52.
Actor Jason Lee is 51. Actor Jason
Wiles is 51. Actor Emily Bergl is 46.
Actor Jonathan Angel is 44. Actor
Marguerite Moreau is 44. Singer
Jacob Underwood is 41. Actor Mel-
onie Diaz is 37. Actor Sara Paxton is
33. Actor/producer Allisyn Snyder
is 25. Actor Jayden Rey is 12.
— Associated Press
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