Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM)

The Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with members living in and around Twin Cities. Since its inception in 1992, it has transformed into a full-fledged social and cultural hub through events held at its headquarters, the Tibetan Community Cultural Center in St. Paul. It strives to preserve Tibetan identity, culture, and tradition, as well as to spread peace and compassion through social services in and around the Twin Cities.

Under the 1990 Immigration Act, the US federal government authorized the issue of immigrant visas to 1,000 Tibetans in Nepal and India. These 1,000 people were sent to several different states in the country, and with the help of host families and volunteers, 160 of them arrived and settled in Minnesota. With a few exceptions, they were the first Tibetans to live in the state permanently.

One of the exceptions was Thupten Dadak, a Tibetan immigrant who had come to Minnesota from India four years earlier, in 1986. Recognizing a need for an official group that could help resettle incoming Tibetans, Dadak co-founded the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) in St. Paul in 1992. At about the same time, a sister organization called the Tibetan Association of Minnesota (TAM) formed in the same city. While the TAFM was made up mostly of white Minnesotans—about 400 in total—and tackled settlement issues, the TAM was made up entirely of Tibetans and focused on cultural preservation, community building, and mutual assistance.

As the 1990s progressed, Tibetan refugees continued to reunite with family members in the Twin Cities with the help of TAFM, and the area’s Tibetan American population increased. Meanwhile, TAM hosted community events and coordinated celebrations of Tibetan Buddhist holidays, including the Losar festival (observed on the first day of the Tibetan New Year), Lhabab Duechen (observed during the ninth Tibetan lunar month), and Tibetan Uprising Day (March 10), which recognizes the guerilla fighters who resisted the Chinese army in Lhasa (Tibet’s capital) in 1959.

The Dalai Lama’s 2001 visit to St. Paul proved to be a crucial moment in the development of TAFM. It earned so much income from fundraising and sales related to his appearances that it was able to expand its programs. In 2003, it bought a building at 1096 Raymond Avenue in St. Paul and reopened it as the Tibetan Cultural Center.

In the 2000s, TAFM has remained committed to preserving Tibetan culture, tradition, religion, and heritage. Its board members, who are directedly elected and serve three-year terms, are responsible for the management of the community center and for program coordination and planning. Programs include education for Tibetan Americans of all ages, including Tibetan language classes for children from preschool to eighth grade. The Lamton program, created in 2008 by Tibetan students at St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges in cooperation with TAFM, guides Tibetan youth toward higher education. Meanwhile, in the field of public health, the Tibetan Nurses Association (another TAFM partner) aims to uplift the wellbeing and health of its community members.

In 2019, community members estimate that roughly 3,500 people of Tibetan descent live in Minnesota—the second-largest Tibetan American population in the country after New York’s. TAFM continues to collaborate with other community organizations such as the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and the Regional Tibetan Women’s Association to amplify the voices of Tibetans inside Tibet. Together, they organize awareness campaigns and write petitions to the United Nations and American leaders, urging them to end the plight of Tibetans living under the rule of the Chinese communist regime.