The University of Alaska student organization that attempts to deliver valuable information about Mongolia-Alaska relations, politics, culture, and education both in English and Mongolian. A story that happened to one of the University of Alaska Anchorage students from Mongolia may give you an insight and a purpose of promoting Mongolia-Alaska relations and creating this page:
"Who is a mongoloid? In my understanding, the term "mongoloid" has always been associated with "a term used for all or some people indigenous to East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, North Asia, the Arctic, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands" because they taught us that the ethnologists of the 18th century divided people into 3 races: Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid. I clearly remember the day when we had an open conversation class with newly arrived French students and when I started my introduction with the phrase "Je suis mongol" (I am Mongolian), I'm not sure if it was my pronunciation or something else but one of those students felt sorry for me. Until that moment, I've never heard the term "Mongol" being used for other meanings. Of course, people around me wouldn't initiate such discussions. I started doing research and found out that up until the late 20th century, people with Down Syndrome were often referred to as "Mongoloids" or in terms of "Mongolian idiocy" or "Mongolian imbecility". After becoming a member of the United Nations in 1961, Mongolia joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1965 and asked for the term mongoloid to be changed. From then on, the disorder became known as Down Syndrome. I've heard from my friends that in rural places in some countries, people would still use the term as an insult. However, I think that it is up to us, Mongolians, who live, work, and study in foreign countries to teach people about our country, our culture, and our people. The progress comes with raising awareness. There is an amazing photographer from Yakutsk, Russia Alexander Khimushin who traveled around the World and captured beautiful photos of indigenous people, particularly, here you can find Mongoloids of Siberia. University of Alaska Anchorage student from Mongolia Geser B. Stories like this that happen to international students encouraged us to create Mongolian Students Society of the University of Alaska. MSS
