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The (punjabi) Indian population in NWA


KJW

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We do have an Indian grocer - sort of. There is a convenience store/Indian grocer on Highway 102 in Rogers - at the Shell station between Dixieland and 13th streets, on the north side of the road. They actually have a really great selection - they carry everything from speciaty rices, spices, fresh and frozen Indian veggies, etc to Indian health and beauty aids, Hindi movies, etc.

I stopped there a couple of times and it was actually the first Indian operated business I experienced in NWA. The BP on Hwy 412 in Springdale is Indian operated and they have all kinds of Indian groceries and even sell hookah's at the checkout counter.

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I stopped there a couple of times and it was actually the first Indian operated business I experienced in NWA. The BP on Hwy 412 in Springdale is Indian operated and they have all kinds of Indian groceries and even sell hookah's at the checkout counter.

Oh, wow, I didn't know about that one. I'll have to check it out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Talked with a guy who works the front door at the big W-M distribution center on Airport Road who says W-M India may be closer than we think.

He said you can always tell where W-M is looking to go next by the people who visit their warehouse...i.e., lots of Chinese people came by prior to W-M's Chinese expansion.

Lots of Indian people, he said, have been visiting recently to see how the big W-M warehouse works...

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Estimated Asian population in the four county NWA metro from figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2006...apparently it does not include "Pacific islanders":

Asian Indian: 1,748

Vietnamese: 1,408

Chinese: 1,279

Korean: 687

Japanese: 585

Filipino: 234

Other Asian (I'm guessing this includes the Hmong from Laos and other SE Asian regions): 2,421

Total Asian population: 8,362

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Estimated Asian population in the four county NWA metro from figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2006...apparently it does not include "Pacific islanders":

Asian Indian: 1,748

Vietnamese: 1,408

Chinese: 1,279

Korean: 687

Japanese: 585

Filipino: 234

Other Asian (I'm guessing this includes the Hmong from Laos and other SE Asian regions): 2,421

Total Asian population: 8,362

Couploe of other things:

- At this point in time Asians represent only 2.1% of the region's population (NWA, that is).

- Fort Smith has 4,624 Asians (in a metro area of 278,361) for 1.7% Asian composition, 2nd in the state. In the NWA/FSM DMA there are at least 12,986 Asians estimated, again enough for a city almost the size of Siloam Springs.

By contrast, Little Rock has 6.998 Asians for a 1.1% Asian composition.

- I have a book from 1996, the MacMillan color atlas of the United States. It has state maps with African-American, Asian and Hispanic populations (and as you can guess is WAY outdated). But given NWA's population trends vs. other areas, here is how the states adjoining Arkansas Asian population compared 10 years ago:

MISSOURI - 3 Counties (Boone, Phelps and Pulaski) with a population of 2.0% Asians or greater. (Boone is home to the University of Missouri-Columbia, Phelps the University of Missouri-Rolla. Pulaski is home to Missouri's largest Military installation Fort Leonard Wood.)

TENNESSEE - No counties with a 2.0% or greater Asian population.

MISSISSIPPI - 3 counties, Lafayette (home of the University of Mississippi), Oktibbeha (home of Mississippi State U.) and Harrison (Gulfport area).

LOUISIANA - 3 parishes, Jefferson, Plaquemines (both on the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to New Orleans) and Vernon (home of the U.S. Army's Fort Polk).

TEXAS - 14 counties including a few with 5% or greater Asian population (hello, Aporkalypse) mainly in D/FW, Houston, the area around the U.S. Army's Fort Hood and the Gulf of Mexico where there are a lot of shrimpers from Viet Nam who have settled.

OKLAHOMA - 4 Counties including Payne (Oklahoma State U.), Oklahoma, Cleveland (both OKC with the latter also having the University of Oklahoma) and the county where Lawton is.

This book says the only Arkansas County having a 2.0 or more Asian population at the time of publication was Sebastian/FSM...consistent with growth reports of these past few years.

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I just passed a guy at Wal-Mart that could've been Yakuza! Black leather biker jacket, but I didn't look close enough to see any tattoos. Not meant to be offensive since most Yakuza are actually nice people.

They really are. And ninjas are totally sweet.

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They really are. And ninjas are totally sweet.

No really. Todays Yakuza are just businessmen and most of the stereotypes are outdated. Besides the Japanese government has pretty much arrested the last of the crime lords in Japan not too long ago. Yakuza don't like to bring attention to themselves and most of their operations today are quite legit.

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No really. Todays Yakuza are just businessmen and most of the stereotypes are outdated. Besides the Japanese government has pretty much arrested the last of the crime lords in Japan not too long ago. Yakuza don't like to bring attention to themselves and most of their operations today are quite legit.

That's coming from someone who spent a year doing a lot of research on Japanese society and customs. Most of the facts I know about Japan would seem unreal or even incredulous to most people, but they're still supported facts.

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No really. Todays Yakuza are just businessmen and most of the stereotypes are outdated. Besides the Japanese government has pretty much arrested the last of the crime lords in Japan not too long ago. Yakuza don't like to bring attention to themselves and most of their operations today are quite legit.

Oh. I see. :blink: It sounds like you speak from first hand experience... I'll take your word for it!

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One small thing which almost veers off out of "coffeshop" territory...I hadn't thought of it earlier, but isn't it interesting that Fort Smith's metro area is nearing 300,000?

It means FSM/NWA together in their metros have about 700,000 now combined.

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The corruption is a huge problem. When we visited India in '95, we had to pay a bribe to get our luggage, because we were carrying electronics. My husband's family (in India) can't move forward with construction on some apartments they'd like to build, because they can't trust the city officials regarding building codes. Apparently, you can be told that your plans are within code before you start building, and then once it's all done, they can (and do) change their story, and levy enormous fines for being out of code. In my in-law's case, the fine they are worried about is seizure of one entire floor of their apartments. So, I can see how Wal-mart might be hesitant to move forward in India.
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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 months later...

Last Saturday night, my husband and I attended the Inaugural India Live Banquet at the John Q. Hammonds Center. It's amazing to see how many Indians are in the area now (at least 300 in Walmart ISD alone, according to one of the speakers). The keynote speaker was U of A Chancellor John White, and the special guest speaker was Rollin Ford, CIO of Wal-mart ISD. The ladies were all decked out in beautiful Sari's, with most of the men in suit and tie, but a few in traditional Indian dress. There was a (vegetarian) Indian buffet and a silent auction to raise money for the new temple. Indian folk dancers and musicians closed out the evening.

Another interesting tidbit; my husband was seated next to the President and CEO of the Arkansas World Trade Center. I didn't get in on all their conversation, but he seems to be a nice guy. I told him I first heard about him here :P . He said he'd have to check us out.

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