Originally organized by the Nationale Herdenking 15 Augustus 1945 Comité, this annual commemoration and ball honors the liberation of the Dutch East Indies in 1945. At the committee’s request, The Indo Project began hosting the event in 2023 and is honored to continue this tradition with our community. Read through our previous event highlights to…
From January 21 to May 10, 2026, the Singer Museum in Laren (Netherlands) presents the exhibition De werelden van Jan Toorop(The Worlds of Jan Toorop). Jan Toorop’s work is celebrated internationally, but this exhibition is exceptional in the way it brings his oeuvre together with works by friends and contemporaries, revealing the artistic exchanges that…
By Inge Oosterhoff | Article Highlights by The Indo Project Featured image: The meeting where the DURF began, in the living room of the Attinger family, 1961. Indo author Tjalie Robinson in white shirt in the middle. Photo courtesy of Attinger family archive. Introduction In October 2023, The Indo Project featured Inge Oosterhoff’s widely received article,…
By Monica Veerman Cluff Editor’s note: This article uses “Tjideng,” the colonial-era Dutch spelling. The modern Bahasa Indonesia spelling is “Cideng.” Both spellings appear in historical and contemporary sources. Finding the Words For those of us with roots in the wartime Dutch East Indies, our family’s stories often contain unspoken gaps. I’ve always been deeply…
The Indo Project invites you to our annual Commemoration and Liberation Ball on Saturday, August 9, 2025, from 2:00–6:00 PM at the Buena Park Elks Lodge in Buena Park, California. This meaningful event honors the resilience and legacy of the Indo community with an afternoon of remembrance and celebration, featuring live music, delicious food, and…
by Arthur Fickel, president of the IGV About The Indische Genealogical Society (IGV) was established in 1988 by individuals seeking information about their ancestors who once lived in the Dutch East Indies. They found the existing resources to be grossly inadequate and faced challenges in accessing genealogical sources from both the former Dutch East Indies…
By Willem-Jan Brederode Do you know what ‘Indo’ really means? Do you comprehend what you actually are from an ethno-historical perspective? I am going to be bold and state that most of us do not know our entire story, and therefore may feel incomplete in terms of our cultural identity. And that is absolutely understandable;…
By Jeff Keasberry “You are doing cultural appropriation and making money off it!” – a critic in a recent online discussion. Amid ongoing debates about decolonization and cultural ownership, this accusation was directed at me for writing cookbooks and promoting Dutch-Indonesian cuisine. Some argue that Indo cuisine (Indische keuken) is not a distinct culinary tradition…
During this season of Thanksgiving, The Indo Project Team extends its gratitude to you and each other. Please join us in sharing your words of thanks. I am deeply grateful for our amazing TIP team, our dedicated supporters, and everyone who has shared their stories with TIP. Your contributions have taught me so much about our shared…
by Roderick C. Wahr It happened on January 5th, 1942, at 7:30 a.m. in Sumbawa Besar village on the island of Sumbawa. My mother lay in the bedroom, sweating and moaning, while my father stood outside the bedroom, nervously dragging on a cigarette. I was in the process of being born. The palace of Sultan…