Pacific Island Communities Research Articles

Impacts of marine heatwaves on tropical western and central Pacific Island nations and their communities

Marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on marine species and habitats, often with flow-on effects to human communities and livelihoods. This is of particular importance to Pacific Island countries that rely heavily on coastal and ocean resources, and for which projected increases in future marine heatwave (MHW) frequency, intensity, and duration could be detrimental across the Pacific Island region. In this study, we investigate MHWs in the tropical western and central Pacific Ocean region, focusing on observed MHWs, their associated impacts, and future projections using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) simulations under a low (SSP1–2.6) and a high (SSP5–8.5) greenhouse gas emissions scenario. Documented impacts from “Moderate” mean intensity MHW events in Fiji, Samoa, and Palau, that were categorised as “Strong” at their peak, included fish and invertebrate mortality and coral bleaching. Based on CMIP6 multi-model mean estimates, and relative to current baselines, “Moderate” intensity MHWs are projected to increase from recent historical (1995–2014) values of 10–50 days per year (dpy) across the region to the equivalent of >100 dpy by the year 2050 under the low emissions scenario, and > 200 dpy nearer the equator. Under the high emissions scenario, 200 dpy of Moderate MHW intensities are projected across most of the region by 2050, with >300 dpy nearer the equator. For the most intense “Extreme” category of MHW, estimates range from <1 dpy under the current climate to >50 dpy projected under the high emissions scenario by 2050. In contrast, “Extreme” MHWs are projected to increase to <5 dpy by 2050 under the low emissions scenario, highlighting the importance for Pacific Island nations that global emissions more closely follow the low emissions scenario trajectory. • Marine heatwaves are impacting Pacific Island communities. • Projected increase in marine heatwave metrics in tropical central-western Pacific. • Poses threats to tropical central-western Pacific Island nation food security. • Case studies and impacts in Fiji, Samoa and Palau.

Creative Community and Academic Collaboration Approach in the Development of the Micronesian Early Education Toolkit for Easing Access into Early Childhood Learning Through an Experiential Process of Improvement

Introduction The Micronesian and Pacific Islander community experiences adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) at rates higher than other ethnic groups. Exposure to ACEs increases the risk of negative outcomes, including heart disease, cancer, and psychosocial problems into adulthood. Early childhood learning (ECL) provides resilience against ACEs. However, Micronesian and Pacific Islander children reportedly have 53.8% not enrolled in ECL. Approach The purpose is to describe a creative community and academic collaboration approach, including culturally responsive partnership building exercises with inspirational reflections as a communication process between partners in the Micronesian Islander Community non-profit organization and Washington State University College of Nursing that led to the development of a culturally responsive, web-based, Micronesian Early Education Toolkit with Micronesian Islander Parent Leader Champions. We engaged a local school district to participate. Tenets of Popular Education guided partnership building. The Early Childhood Education Access Framework guided toolkit development and experiential improvement process. The toolkit includes both text and videos on what is ECL and importance, ECL program types, and navigation of the application process. We used a Plus/Delta evaluation. Findings Nine Parent Leader Champions representing Chamarro, Chuukese, Kapingamarangi, Marshallese, and Pohnpeian communities reported that the toolkit respects cultural values; easy to comprehend and navigate; the process makes it feasible to help enroll Micronesian Islander preschool students; and will be helpful at expanding access to ECL programs. Discussion The toolkit development and experiential improvement process centered the voice of Micronesian Islander Parent Leader Champions. This helped the toolkit to be interactive, clear with specific utility for diverse English-speaking levels, respectful language, and creativity on how families can start. Conclusion This creative community and academic collaboration approach, including Micronesian Islander Parent Leader Champions and engaging a local school district achieved development of a culturally responsive ECL toolkit that was a helpful foundation to begin ECL enrollment.

Why and How Should We Teach Asian American History?

This synopsis of an interview conducted on March 12, 2021 reflects an interview conducted by Sohyun An and Ritu Radhakrishnan with Dr. Erika Lee, Regents Professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of Minnesota. This interview took place during a time of extreme violence perpetrated against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Our conversation was subdued and anxious. However, we recognized the importance of Dr. Lee's scholarship and knowledge in framing this special issue. Our focus during this interview was to provide a context for how Asian Americans are experiencing current events and how these events have been informed by history. As a result, Dr. Lee offers a perspective on why and how we should teach Asian American history.

Policing and Preventing Gender Violence in the Global South

This special issue is the product of a workshop on innovations in policing and preventing gender violence in the Global South, hosted by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Centre for Justice 3-4 December 2019. The event was attended by scholars from Brazil, Pacific Island communities, Bangladesh, Argentina, and several Australian jurisdictions. Hence the articles in this special issue reflect the diverse nationalities present at the event. A central aim of the workshop realised in this special issue is the stimulation of innovation in understanding the policing and prevention of gender violence through novel international collaborations and cross-fertilization. It reverses the assumptions that underpin the epistemic injustice of the social sciences, that innovations generally flow only from the Global North to the Global South. This special issue shows that it can be the other way round.

Grounded Theory of Asian American Activists for #BlackLivesMatter

A grounded theory study was employed to identify the conditions contributing to the core phenomenon of Asian American activists (N = 25) mobilizing toward thick solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020. The findings indicate achieving a collective oppressed identity was necessary to mobilize in thick solidarity with the BLM movement and occurred because of causal conditions: (a) experiences of COVID-19–related anti-Asian discrimination, and (b) George Floyd’s murder. Non-action, performative or unhelpful action, and action toward thick solidarity were influenced by contextual factors: (a) alignment with personal and community values, (b) awareness and knowledge, and (c) perspectives of oppression. Mobilization was also influenced by intervening factors, which included affective responses, intergenerational conflict, conditioning of “privileges” afforded by White supremacy, and the presence of organized communities. Mental health professionals and social justice advocates can apply these findings to promote engagement in the community organizing efforts of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities with the BLM movement, denounce anti-Blackness, and uphold a culpability toward supporting the Black community.

The United States at the Center of the Action

The United States at the Center of the Action

The role of women in community resilience to climate change: A case study of an Indigenous Fijian community

Climate change is projected to have wide-ranging effects on natural resources, environment, agriculture and fisheries. The various impacts of climate change pose significant risks to Pacific Island communities and people's livelihoods. A community consists of different groups of people and requires contributions from all members to build community resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) women have skills, knowledge, and unique local and traditional experience that can increase the resilience of the community, however, their voice is not often heard in a patriarchal community. An understanding of gender roles in a community is essential for adaptation to climate change.Fijian communities exhibit elaborate social support system and traditional practices that demonstrate high level of dynamism and institutional support in the community's response to risks. Using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observations, the study investigated the enabling and inhibiting factors that affect the ability of iTaukei women to contribute to building community resilience. The findings from the study identified that the village women contribute significantly to three key areas of community resilience, particularly social resilience, economic resilience and ecological resilience. The findings also indicated that women face barriers that prevent them from contributing to decision-making on issues related to climate change resilience in the community. The study recommends interventions that are culturally accepted and that also support the role of women in decision-making, while promoting their participation in various climate change forums in the community.

Asian in the Time of COVID-19: Creating a Social Work Agenda for Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities.

The health of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities remains an understudied area of racial/ethnic minority research in the United States, and even more so in the field of social work. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how AAPI health and social welfare issues have not received adequate attention in social policy, social work practice, and research. Contrary to model minority myths, AAPIs are subject to racialized attitudes and discrimination, which have been associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including increased anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Drawing from the theoretical framework of AsianCrit, which is grounded in critical race theory, authors analyze health disparities among AAPI communities as reflected in COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities, as well as increases in acts of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia. Better understanding health disparities of AAPI communities needs to be a key research issue for social workers in future years. The authors conclude by offering a short set of recommendations to improve social policy, social work practice, and research to more aptly address contemporary social issues impacting AAPI communities.

Reimagining Policing in America

Police killings have increased over 100% in the past two decades. Black people, along with American Indians and Latinx communities (and some Asian and Pacific Islander communities), are more likely to have police force used on them relative to whites. This article aims to provide policy recommendations that inform reforms toward police accountability, improved training, and a police culture that protects citizens. We focus on short-, medium-, and long-term solutions for reimagining law enforcement to reduce officer-involved shootings, racial disparities in use of force, mental health issues among officers, and problematic officers who rotten the tree of law enforcement. We focus acutely on the need to abolish qualified immunity with the longterm change of transforming police culture itself to better protect civilians and police who approach their jobs with ethical respect.

The Push for Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions: Highlighting the Perspectives of Student Activists

ABSTRACT This paper documents the involvement of students who advocated for what eventually became the federal designation for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). Through interviews with 12 student activists, we document students’ motivations for mobilizing, as well as the challenges they encountered. Students identified motivations such as gaining additional resources, seeking recognition through the legislation, and fostering proactive approaches to activism. Challenges included motivating their peers beyond immediate self-interest and the overshadowing of individual subgroup concerns within the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We comment on the ways in which the push for AANAPISIs represents a racial project within a broader process of racial formation, and highlight both the possibilities and limitations of student advocacy.

Use of Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships to Reduce COVID-19 Disparities Among Marshallese Pacific Islander and Latino Communities - Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas, April-December 2020.

Marshallese and Latino communities in Benton and Washington counties, Arkansas, were disproportionately affected by COVID-19. We evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehensive community-based intervention to reduce COVID-19 disparities in these communities. We examined all laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 2 counties reported from April 6, 2020, through December 28, 2020. A 2-sample serial t test for rate change was used to evaluate changes in case rates before and after implementation of the intervention. After implementation, the proportions of cases among Marshallese and Latino residents declined substantially and began to align more closely with the proportions of these 2 populations in the 2 counties. Infection rates remained lower throughout the evaluation period, and weekly incidence also approximated Marshallese and Latino population proportions. Leveraging community partnerships and tailoring activities to specific communities can successfully reduce disparities in incidence among populations at high-risk for COVID-19 .

We Are Not a Stereotype: Co-Creating Resources Centering Asian American and Pacific Islander Histories

ABSTRACT The dual pandemic that started in 2020, COVID-19 and events revealing systemic racism, has increased awareness about violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the United States. This article describes how the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, a “museum without walls,” collaborated with a group of educators to co-create video resources for teaching and learning AAPI histories and stories.

Building Capacity for a User-Centred Integrated Early Warning System for Drought in Papua New Guinea

Drought has significant impacts on the agricultural productivity and well-being of Pacific Island communities. In this study, a user-centred integrated early warning system (I-EWS) for drought was investigated for Papua New Guinea (PNG). The I-EWS combines satellite products (Standardised Precipitation Index and Vegetation Health Index) with seasonal probabilistic forecasting outputs (chance of exceeding median rainfall). Internationally accepted drought thresholds for each of these inputs are conditionally combined to trigger three drought early warning stages—”DROUGHT WATCH”, “DROUGHT ALERT” and “DROUGHT EMERGENCY”. The developed I-EWS for drought was used to examine the evolution of a strong El Niño-induced drought event in 2015 as well as a weaker La Niña-induced dry period in 2020. Examining the evolution of drought early warnings at a provincial level, it was found that tailored warning lead times of 3–5 months could have been possible for several impacted PNG provinces. These lead times would enable increasingly proactive drought responses with the potential for prioritised allocation of funds at a provincial level. The methodology utilised within this study uses inputs that are openly and freely available globally which indicates promising potential for adaptation of the developed user-centred I-EWS in other Pacific Island Countries that are vulnerable to drought.

Community-Driven Archives

According to the Arizona Archives Matrix, the Latinx, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community currently make up over 42% of Arizona's population but are only represented in 0-2% of known archival collections. Arizona’s archives are dominated by white narratives that promote white supremacy, settler colonialism, and dehumanizes Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) living on this land for centuries. This article will share parts of my autoethnography as a Queer Latinx and archivist who is addressing this inequity and erasure by establishing the Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative at Arizona State University with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Since the project’s inception, I embraced a love ethic that uses Gloria Anzaldúa’s path to conocimiento as an epistemological framework for our CDA work. In their book This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation, Anzaldúa and AnaLouise Keating reflect on how conocimiento, a Spanish word for consciousness and knowledge, can be used to decolonize the mind, body, and soul of marginalized communities. I believe BIPOC and Queer community archivists experience the seven stages of conocimiento as they learn how to preserve their archives, reclaim their narratives, and build a collective memory that heals historical trauma. The undeniable truth is that decolonizing is an act of deep transformative love, courage, and reflection. A predominantly white profession will never decolonize archives because the foundation of most traditional repositories is rooted in white power and systemic racism. In order to truly liberate archives from oppressive theory and practice, there needs to be a redistribution of power and resources which grants marginalized people the authority to lead community-driven archives.&#x0D; Pre-print first published online 07/14/2021

Historical Trauma and Descendants' Well-Being.

Because multiple Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the United States have experienced historical trauma (HT), it is important to understand HT's impact on the well-being of members of subsequent generations. This article addresses intergenerational trauma transmission, focusing primarily on Japanese American and Southeast Asian American communities. Research on these groups illuminates strategies for future empirical investigations of intergenerational trauma in other AAPI populations and suggests implications for care.

Canoe-carving, Lamotrek style

Micronesian traditional canoe carvers of Lamotrek Atoll are one of the few Pacific communities whose canoe carving, ocean seafaring and indigenous navigation techniques are living traditions. They sail long distances on open ocean in these craft without instruments or maps, using traditional navigation techniques. Their building procedures involve no plans, no measuring devices or numbers. This kind of indigenous boatbuilding and seafaring was once practiced by virtually all Pacific island communities over hundreds or thousands of years, but the traditional knowledge has been eradicated in all but the most isolated and impoverished communities.

ProjectQED: Building an Inclusive Department for Queer and Trans Students, Staff, and Faculty

Inclusivity efforts focused on gender and sexuality in higher education often fail to identify and address the specific needs of queer and Trans Students, Staff, and Faculty of Color. In this program description, we report on ProjectQED, a student-organized event series at the Stanford Graduate School of Education that sought to address these unmet needs using intersectionality theory as an organizing framework. ProjectQED centered LGBTQ+ and same-gender loving (SGL) perspectives from Asian American, Black, Latinx, Native American, and Pacific Islander communities through a series of invited guest lectures and film discussions between 2016 and 2019. The broadly inclusive nature of these events expanded opportunities for building community and solidarity across campus, bringing together interest groups and affinity groups centered around gender and sexuality, racial and ethnic identity, and multiple academic departments and disciplines. We share this program description as a model that staff and faculty at other institutions might replicate by centering the experiences of queer and trans People of Color in programming for LGBTQ+/SGL campus communities.

The 4-Site Pacific Transect Collaborative (4-Site)

Abstract The vastness of the Pacific Ocean, and the geographic isolation of its island nations, sets the stage for critical disconnects between the drivers and causes of climate change and their local impacts in Pacific Island communities. Pacific Islands, as elsewhere, face persistent local crises at the nexus of natural and human systems that have altered the way we interact with our environments, raising challenging questions about how to sustain the well-being of our communities, and their associated coral reef ecosystems. These ecosystems and communities that rely on them are “canaries in the coal mine” for climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, the scientific, technological, indigenous, and social knowledge systems that could contribute to sustainable futures are often siloed in disciplinary as well as political contexts. It is in this arena that the 4-Site Pacific Transect Collaborative seeks to work. The big question we ask is, “What knowledge infrastructure is needed to equitably and democratically support Pacific Islands societies in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and promote the resilience of coral reef social-ecological systems”?

Perspectives on Racism: Reflections on Our Collective Moral Responsibility When Leveraging Arts and Culture for Health Promotion.

In this commentary essay, I examine the collective moral responsibility of leveraging arts and culture for health promotion, and the role ethical storytelling can play in reframing how health educators promote "good health" with specific regard to the next generation of the workforce. I reflect on the impact of racism, White supremacy, and anti-Blackness when merging the arts and culture sector with public health disciplines, and close with a call to action as our niche field expands. I argue that no matter our role as artists, cultural workers, heritage holders, and/or focus within public health education and health promotion, our work is both an art and a science. Just as the language we use forms a story, the collection of scholars we choose to cite exposes a narrative. I hope this commentary encourages readers to reflect on opportunities in their work to close the health equity gap with recognition of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and capital within and across Black culture while also lifting up the community cultural wealth that exists in Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

Healthy Cities South Auckland: A focus on youth leadership and sustainability in the post-COVID world

Introduction: This paper draws on a presentation given at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in Philadelphia in 2019 (Drs. Conn and Field). It is based on an innovative public health initiative in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, which incorporates key themes relating to sustainable and healthy cities in the post-COVID world.&#x0D; Method: Healthy cities South Auckland began in 2019, and involves Auckland University of Technology (AUT) faculty and students, many of whom are from indigenous Māori and Pacific Island communities, working collaboratively. The initiative aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the urban population using a series of codesigned projects that prioritise youth leadership and principles of sustainability. Current projects include an investigation of healthy food youth enterprise and the role of urban sustainable food environments; and student, faculty, and industry codesign of future-oriented public health higher education.&#x0D; Discussion: Whilst this public health initiative is grounded in known principles of community action and determinants of health, it is innovative in the close and contextualised attention to Māori and Pacific youth leadership and to a more overt sustainability agenda. Emphasising the shift from healthy cities focusing on people, to one that focuses on the inextricable link between people and the natural environment, the initiative is underpinned by indigenous guardianship concepts, such as Māori Kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the natural order) and Pacific Va (healthy spaces). Traditionally associated with rural and marine spaces, a valuable new development is the application of indigenous principles by youth in an urban setting and for a public health agenda. These notions resonate with global shifts such as the ‘school strikes for climate change’ movement and seem particularly apt in a post-COVID world which must mobilise new ways of bringing about transformative change. These include addressing disease outbreaksand chronic disease and health inequities, while also taking into consideration the contexts of community, culture and natural environments.&#x0D; Conclusion: In the Aotearoa New Zealand context, strengths-based approaches are a vital way forward, positioning Māori and Pacific young people as champions. Notions of healthy cities as sustainable cities; based on indigenous guardianship applied to 21st century urban spaces; youth activism and urban health in the digital age; and partnership between academia, youth, and industry are significant areas for further study, providing useful lessons for cities’ agendas, both locally and internationally.