Pacific Island Cultures Research Articles

Reminiscence therapy and dementia care in the Pacific island of Guam

AbstractBackgroundPersons living with dementia often find it easier to remember experiences from long ago—including memories from their youth and early adulthood—than to recall recent events, such as what they did that week or even earlier that day. As a result, trying to navigate the present can be stressful and overwhelming, while reminiscing about the past can be a comforting experience. Connecting with valued memories from the past often helps persons living with dementia maintain their identity, preserve their sense of self, and enhance their overall quality of life. Reminiscence therapy was developed as a way to achieve these benefits by engaging older adults in the exploration of cherished memories to improve cognitive functioning and psychological well‐being. In recent years, reminiscence therapy has become an effective and popular approach to providing therapeutic support for persons living with dementia.MethodTraining in reminiscence therapy was provided to family and professional caregivers in the Pacific island of Guam through a weekly online support group. Training sessions were designed to help caregivers learn to use reminiscence therapy with persons with dementia in culturally sensitive ways reflecting the oral storytelling traditions of Pacific island cultures. Session topics addressed: (1) the benefits of reminiscence for persons with dementia, from maintaining memory health to building confidence and self‐esteem; (2) guidance from local writers and historians on how to talk with older adults about their life histories, including questions to ask and ways to evoke favorite memories; (3) the use of historical photos from Guam as conversation starters for older adults with memory loss; and (4) sharing stories about growing up in Guam in the 1930s, '40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, along with readings from memoirs based on this period.ResultParticipants reported highly positive experiences with implementing reminiscence therapy with persons with dementia in their care. The techniques helped persons with dementia to relive beautiful memories and to share these memories with their families.ConclusionProgram outcomes indicate that online training in reminiscence therapy is an effective way to teach caregivers skills to promote memory health and psychological well‐being for persons living with dementia.

Training caregivers to make meaningful connections with persons living with dementia: Telehealth strategies from the Pacific island of Guam

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) are not only characterized by a decline in memory and cognition, but also by marked difficulties in language, communication, and social functioning. As ADRD progresses, it becomes increasingly challenging for persons living with dementia to participate in social interactions with family, friends, and caregivers, adversely impacting their well‐being and quality of life. Despite impairment in social functioning, persons with dementia still enjoy interaction with others and respond positively to social contact even in advanced stages. Thus, there is a need to develop effective strategies for interacting with persons living with dementia in a meaningful way.MethodA telehealth dementia care training initiative was developed in the Pacific island of Guam focused on teaching family and professional caregivers to make meaningful connections with persons with ADRD through a wide range of stimulating, culturally responsive activities adapted to meet their unique needs, interests, and abilities. Activities were designed to provide opportunities for social engagement and simultaneously to help persons with dementia remain mentally and physically active. Examples include: (1) making meaningful connections with persons with dementia during activities of daily living; (2) rediscovering Guam’s history and culture through family‐based virtual museum tours; (3) embracing the oral storytelling traditions of Pacific island cultures by sharing family memories; (4) employing culturally responsive bibliotherapy by reading indigenous stories and picture books together; (5) stimulating the mind through collaborative readings of poetry; (6) soothing the aches and pains that come with aging by providing therapeutic massage; and (7) integrating music, dance, and movement into each day. All trainings were conducted in virtual family caregiver support group sessions as part of a comprehensive telehealth outreach program designed to provide improved access to dementia care support services for persons with dementia and their caregivers in Guam.ResultApproximately 60‐100 family and professional caregivers participate in the program each month.ConclusionProgram outcomes indicate that telehealth training in activity‐based dementia care can be an effective way to help caregivers learn to make meaningful connections with persons living with dementia.

Translating Sexual Taboos

This paper outlines an approach for translating sexual references in the Bible in a culture that considers the subject taboo in public discussions. Such is the case in most Pacific Island cultures, especially in the Tongan culture. We will look at various examples of sex-related language, and conceptual metaphors in particular. For this, a method is proposed for understanding metaphorical expressions based on Lakoff and Johnson's cognitive linguistic view of metaphor. Then, this method is applied to biblical references to sex in the biblical storyline, focusing especially on the Old Testament. Finally, suggestions are offered for how best to translate sexual terms in Tongan Bible translation.

Situating climate change adaptation within plural worlds: The role of Indigenous and local knowledge in Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Scholars, practitioners, and decision-makers are increasingly recognising that Indigenous knowledge can play a significant role in facilitating adaptation to climate change. Yet, adaptation theorising and practises remain overwhelmingly situated within Euromodern ontologies, and there remains limited space, at present, for plural ontologies or alternative ways of being and knowing. In this paper, and using the Pacific as our case study, we present an argument for the inclusion of multiple ontologies within adaptation policymaking. Pacific adaptation policies and interventions frequently privilege Western scientific knowledge and focus on addressing individual climate risks through technical fixes directed by foreign experts and funding agencies. They are also rooted in a policy architecture that is an artefact of colonisation in the region. Despite these obstacles, Pacific Islander responses to climate change are dynamic, and inclusive of the multiple and competing ontologies they work within, offering insights into how Euromodern and Pacific islander world views could coalesce to builds adaptive capacity and consolidate community resilience into the future. Highlights • Indigenous Knowledge plays a critical role in enabling resilience and facilitating climate change adaptation in some parts of Vanuatu • Ni-Vanuatu people employ dynamic responses to climate risks incorporating multiple knowledge systems and practises • Co-existence of different knowledge systems provide insights into factors that enable adaptive capacity and consolidate community resilience • Diverse worldviews, knowledge systems and practises with Pacific Island cultures highlights the importance of thinking about ontological pluralism within adaptation • Climate adaptation is principally founded on Western ontologies, but there is a need consider non-Western ontologies and epistemologies.

Barriers to older Pacific peoples’ participation in the health-care system in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Introduction Participation in the health-care system is a key component of healthy ageing strategies. The number of Pacific people aged ≥65 years in Aotearoa New Zealand will increase significantly over the next decade. Addressing the considerable health inequities and unmet need for care Pacific Island people experience when compared to other ethnicities in Aotearoa New Zealand should be a priority. Aim To identify barriers to older Pacific people's participation in the health-care system in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods A participatory action research design was utilised. In total, 104 Pacific co-researchers contributed to focus groups using Talanoa , a traditional method of conversational dialogue deeply rooted in Pacific Island culture. Data were collected in Pacific Island languages from storytelling and conversations shared within the focus groups. Data were translated into English and analysed using a collaborative approach. Results Three main themes captured older Pacific peoples' barriers to participation in the health-care system: accessing health care; relationships with health-care providers; and understanding the health-care system. Discussion Older Pacific people have the capacity to influence locally driven programmes to be more responsive to their needs and aspirations. Improving older Pacific peoples' participation in health care will require a commitment to partnership and inter-sectoral collaboration identified in recent ageing strategies. The findings will inform local communities, and policy and practice aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of Pacific peoples who are ageing in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Telehealth outreach programming in the Pacific island of Guam: Providing access to dementia care support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to heightened levels of isolation and loneliness for millions of individuals and families worldwide, resulting in adverse health and mental health outcomes. Persons with dementia and their family caregivers are particularly vulnerable due to the deleterious impact of social isolation on both dementia symptoms and caregiver burden. One of the greatest challenges for dementia patients has been accessing dementia care services during COVID‐19 lockdowns. In the Pacific island of Guam, the pandemic quickly led to the closure of senior centers, adult day care centers, family caregiver support programs, and other social services for older adults and their families in March 2020. As a result, persons with dementia suddenly found themselves isolated at home and dependent upon family members to provide round‐the‐clock care. This presentation will describe the development of an innovative telehealth outreach program that was launched in Guam in the summer of 2020, three months after the first COVID‐19 case had appeared on the island. The program was designed to provide improved access to social support and specialized community services for persons with dementia and their family caregivers. There are four components: (1) virtual family caregiver support groups where participants can share the stresses and challenges of caring for a loved one with dementia with others who are going through similar experiences; (2) virtual presentation and consultation sessions led by dementia care specialists from the community providing easy access to dementia care information and services; (3) 24/7 family caregiver support networks through mobile messaging apps to mitigate social isolation and ensure the availability of support in times of crisis; and (4) telehealth family counseling for persons with dementia and their family members employing narrative approaches that embrace the oral storytelling traditions of Pacific island cultures. The community response has been strong with approximately 50‐60 family caregivers and persons with dementia participating in the program monthly. Project outcomes suggest that telehealth outreach services represent an effective and sustainable approach to connecting persons living with dementia and their family caregivers to community resources during times of isolation.

1245Culturally-appropriate research supporting a co-designed childhood obesity prevention program tailored for Māori & Pacific Islanders

Abstract Background Children of Māori & Pacific Islander descent living in Australia experience higher rates of obesity, increasing their risk of developing life diminishing chronic diseases. However, community-based, childhood obesity prevention programs, tailored to the Māori & Pacific Islander population are lacking, further escalating the rates of health inequity. Methods Program co-design involved a three-phase, iterative, participatory and experienced-based process, guided by the Te Ara Tika: Guidelines for Māori Research Ethics, promoting respect and equity. Following traditional oratory customs of Māori & Pacific Islander cultures, “talanoa” facilitated the collaborative program design with consumers, cultural advisors and health professionals. Results Co-design developed an 8-week community-based childhood overweight/obesity prevention program, providing culturally-tailored education across nutrition, physical activity and parenting practices. Maximum engagement demonstrated life-changing improvements across the life course; 72% of children and 67% of parents reduced their sugar sweetened beverage consumption and 60% of children and 47% of adults increased their vegetable consumption. Resultingly, BMI z-score decreased among 59% of children and BMI decreased among 47% of parents. Conclusions Endorsing a bottom-up approach, via a co-design methodology, significantly improves culturally-tailored health care delivery. An evidence-based framework developed holds significant potential to be scaled to additional cultural groups. A consumer-led approach is pivotal to sustaining engagement and improving health outcomes, addressing health inequity among Australia’s priority populations. Key messages Co-design empowered consumers to formulate program objectives, session plans, resources and evaluation tools. Co-designed quality improvement practices ensure relevance of the program to sustainably address community needs, tackling the complexities of obesity over generations.

Lū sipi: a marker of Tongan distinction

In Tonga, traditional dishes like lū sipi—lamb or mutton drenched in coconut cream and baked in taro leaves—play a crucial role in sustaining cultural norms, affirming place and constructing identity. Consequently, lū sipi illuminates daily routines and the significance of being and becoming Tongan. For Tongans abroad, lū sipi provokes island memories and nostalgia. Considering lū sipi’s importance both in Tonga and in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, this paper explores lū sipi as a marker of Tongan distinction, using qualitative description, talanoa ‘Pasifika research methodology’ and thematic analysis. We interviewed two self-identifying Tongans and an academic expert on South Pacific Island culture, all based in Auckland. Their expertise and experiences, within our explorative research, provided a platform to understand lū sipi within Tongan culture, particularly its symbolic and actant properties. What our research reveals is that, despite its Tongan distinction, lū sipi reflects the dynamic nature of cultural change around food over both time and place. Within these considerations, our research explores the dynamic nature of food as an expression not only of the Tongan diaspora but of the dynamics of contemporary Tongan identity.

Weep for the Coming of Men: Epidemic and Disease in Anglo-Western Colonial Writing of the South Pacific

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, epidemics ravaged South Pacific islands after contact with Westerners. With no existing immunity to introduced diseases, consequent death tolls on these remote islands were catastrophic. During that period, a succession of significant Anglo-Western writers visited the South Pacific region: Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, Louis Becke, Jack London, and Fredrick O’Brien. In a remarkable literary conjunction, they each successively visited the Marquesas Islands, which became for them a microcosm of the epidemiological disaster they were witnessing across the Pacific. Instead of the tropical Eden they expected, these writers experienced and wrote about a tainted paradise corrupted and fatally ravaged by contact with Western societies. Even though these writers were looking through the prism of Social Darwinism and extinction discourse, they were all nevertheless appalled at the situation, and their writing is witness to their anguish. Unlike the typical Victorian-era traveller described by Mary Louise Pratt as the “seeing-man”, who remained distanced in their writing from the environment around them, this group wrote with the authority of personal felt experience, bearing witness to the horrific impact of Western society on the physical and mental health of Pacific Island populations. The literary voice of this collection of writers continues to be not only a clear and powerful witness of the past, but also a warning to the present about the impact of ‘civilisation’ on Pacific Island peoples and cultures.

Pacific royalty, past and present: German interactions with pre-existing elites on Pohnpei

The island of Pohnpei houses the ruins of Nan Madol, currently Micronesia’s only World Heritage site. It is now believed to represent the ceremonial centre of the Saudeleur dynasty, a vibrant period in Pacific Island culture. Western visitors to Pohnpei in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were fascinated by these ruins, often interpreting them as the dwelling place of kings long past. At the same time, they sought to comprehend the complex socio-political hierarchies of existing Pohnpeian society through the lens of monarchy, identifying multiple ‘kings’ among the island’s elites. This article examines German-speakers’ perceptions of, and interactions with, pre-existing elites on Pohnpei over the years 1870–1914. These dates correspond to a period of significant political change on Pohnpei, from nominal Spanish control to the establishment of an outpost of German imperialism.

Healthier Together: Co-design of a culturally tailored childhood obesity community prevention program for Māori & Pacific Islander children and families.

Children of Māori & Pacific Islander descent living in Australia have a greater prevalence of overweight/obesity and an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to co-design Healthier Together, a community-based, childhood overweight/obesity prevention program tailored to Māori & Pacific Islander cultures. Co-design involved a three-phase, iterative, participatory and experience-based process, guided by the Te Ara Tika: Guidelines for Māori Research Ethics to promote respect and equity. Following traditional oratory customs of Māori & Pacific Islander cultures, "talanoa" facilitated the collaborative program design with recruited Māori & Pacific Islander consumers, cultural advisors and health professionals. Co-design formulated program objectives, session plans, resources and evaluation tools. Co-design developed a 9-week community-based childhood overweight/obesity prevention program providing culturally tailored education across four themes: (a) nutrition (b) physical activity (c) positive parenting practices (d) culture and health. Strong community engagement developed a program highly tailored to the local Māori & Pacific Islander population. Co-design methodology promotes equity and inclusion of all stakeholders, acknowledges and caters to diversity and creates a medium for openness, respect and shared purpose. Community-led participatory approaches are pivotal to engaging and empowering communities to successfully improve health behaviours, particularly in tackling childhood overweight/obesity. SO WHAT?: Healthier Together is culturally significant to ensure relevance, effectiveness and sustainability. It is relevant and potentially adaptable to other priority populations across Australia and globally. Ultimately, the delivery of culturally tailored health care will contribute to a reduction in the health inequity experienced amongst priority populations.

The Hidden Affliction: Sexually Transmitted Infections and Infertility in History. Edited by Simon Szreter (Rochester, University of Rochester Press, 2019) 442 pp. $95.00

The Hidden Affliction is an interdisciplinary collection that explores the history of sexually transmitted infections (particularly gonorrhea and syphilis); most of its articles also link these diseases to issues of demographics and infertility. The collection is impressive in disciplinary and chronological scope, including work by historians, demographers, archaeobiologists, and virologists. It is divided into four sections—pre-modern sexually transmitted infections (sti), scientific approaches, and demography in the “Global South” and modern Europe. Although each of the articles stands alone, the overall editorial structure makes this collection into a cohesive unit that is worth reading as a whole book. Szerter’s introduction provides valuable insights about the topic and the importance of interdisciplinary work in the history of medicine more broadly. He argues that in order to obtain valuable knowledge about the ways in which venereal diseases led to historical infertility, we need not only to familiarize ourselves with the cultural and medico-social sources but also to “know as much as we can from today’s biological, evolutionary, and epidemiological sciences…. It is crucial not to restrict ourselves only to texts from the past but to embrace all available forms of relevant evidence” (12).Many of the chapters follow this logic, for example, by combining textual history with insights from ancient dna studies or epidemiology. Historians of medicine who want to familiarize themselves with scientific methodologies will find the second section particularly valuable. It offers a series of readable chapters about the virology and bioarchaeology of stis that serves as a useful introduction to these fields, although they may be too basic for experts. The fourth section, which includes Szerter’s own work, demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary scholarship most strongly. It examines attitudes to stis and declining fertility in Western Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. Each of the three contributions focuses on a different country (Germany, France, and Britain) and uses a different research methodology. The result is a thought-provoking examination of the subtle differences between medical views in these countries, as well as of the kind of historical knowledge gained from different scholarly approaches.Given the innovative nature of most of the work in this collection, it was jarring to find within it two chapters that make uncritical use of early twentieth-century anthropological descriptions of Pacific Islanders. These texts are not used as primary sources describing bygone attitudes but as acceptable descriptions of indigenous cultures to be cited by contemporary scholars. Tim Bayliss-Smith and Roy F. R. Scragg both argue that the demographic decline in some Pacific Island societies after colonial encounters was caused by the spread of gonorrhea, which can cause infertility in women while being otherwise asymptomatic. Their argument itself may be sound, but it is obscured by references to “Aphrodisian” and “Non-Aphrodisian” indigenous cultures, and descriptions of the “ritual promiscuity” and “sexual generosity” of indigenous women (206–209), or their reputation for “customary promiscuous behavior” (240). Substantial anthropological scholarship in the past several decades has criticized such descriptions of Pacific Island cultures, demonstrating that it obscures the true nature of colonial encounters.1Moreover, the other essays in the “Global South” section of this collection argue that colonial medical authorities tended to over-diagnose stis among indigenous populations due to false perceptions of promiscuity. The absence of a more critical engagement with these antiquated anthropological views is thus an unfortunate blemish on a collection that otherwise makes an important contribution to the history of medicine.

Digital Storytelling as a Culturally Responsive Instructional Strategy for Pacific Islanders in Guam and Micronesia

This article explores the use of digital storytelling as a culturally responsive instructional strategy for Pacific Island students on the islands of Guam and Micronesia in the Western Pacific. A major feature of Pacific Island cultures is their orality; therefore, building on the oral tradition through digital storytelling might be one way to optimize language and literacy learning for Pacific Island students in Guam classrooms. The article also describes an accessible and easy-to-use model for digital storytelling using PowerPoint that teachers can use to implement digital storytelling in the classroom.

Pacific Worlds: Indigeneity, Hybridity, and Globalization

14 A&Q Indigeneity at Sea The sea was open to anyone who would navigate a way through. . . . Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding, Oceania is hospitable and generous, Oceania is humanity rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire deeper still. —­ Epeli Hau’ofa, “Our Sea of Islands” In a context where representation (as “Asian American”) simultaneously takes place with nonrepresentation (the specificities of being Korean, Hmong, Pakistani ,etc.),PacificIslandersbecomeanotherun(der)representedAsianAmerican constituency to them that just needs more inclusion within the larger project. The problem with this, however, is that Pacific Islanders are not another underrepresented Asian constituency that fits uneasily into the Asian American coalition; they are not Asian American at all, and the political coalition that linked the two different pan-­ ethnic groups in the political and bureaucratic imaginary was the product of a moment that is long over, though its conceptual categories live on, much to the detriment of Pacific Islanders in general and Hawaiians specifically. —­ Lisa Kahaleole Hall, “Which of These Things Is Not Like the Other: Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders Are Not Asian Americans, and All Pacific Islanders Are Not Hawaiian” As always, this issue’s A&Q is a polyvocal feature, this time growing out of a panel organized by Charlotte Eubanks for the Global Asias 4 conference , convened at Penn State on March 31 through April 1, 2017. Each of the panelists was invited to respond to a set of questions (provided in edited form herein), reflecting on them from the specific vantage point of their own particularly institutional and disciplinary setting. The goal of the roundtable was to chart some of the interactions between notions of indigeneity and Asian-­ ness by focusing especially on Pacific Islanders and Oceania and attending to the particular histories, ideas, and epistemologies that such targeted attention might highlight. A & Q 15 1. What might a truly trans-­ Pacific Asian, Asian American, and/or Indigenous studies look like? If we set Asian studies and Asian American studies “adrift,” (how) can we craft meaningful alliances without erasing indigenous peoples and Pacific Islanders? 2. What is at stake—­demographically, aesthetically, legally, socially—­ in the categorization of Pacific Islanders with Asian Americans? With the categorization of Pacific Islanders with Indigenous peoples ? 3. How might we approach the relations between settler and indigenous communities without expunging difference and locality? What third terms are available, and how might these open crucial, nonbinary space? 4. How is your understanding of indigeneity shaped by, and how does it seek to shape, the institutions and disciplines in which you work? Pacific Worlds: Indigeneity, Hybridity, and Globalization RDK Herman The title of this essay today draws on my web-­based indigenous-­geography project Pacific Worlds (http://www.pacificworlds.com/). Created in 2000, this project works to portray Pacific Island communities through the words of community members themselves. The premise is that, despite climatic, linguistic, and material-­ culture similarities, each Pacific Island culture presents a complete and distinct worldview. And these worldviews developed in situ, through generations of interactions between the people and the environment. This kind of locally developed human–­environment knowledge is the cornerstone of what I call “indigeneity.” By this term, I am not referring to Indigenous Peoples as defined by the United Nations or other scholars or bodies. As I have stated elsewhere, all of our ancestors were Indigenous once, somewhere. Rather, my focus here is on a way of being in the world: being indigenous to a place means having a depth of knowledge, understanding , and connection to that place (Herman 2008). Indigeneity also includes a sense of stewardship and responsibility for managing that place and working respectfully with its nonhuman inhabitants. This included 16 A & Q holistic and spiritual engagement—­ both an extraordinary awareness of environmental conditions and, through that, a sense of consciousness and connectivity with the natural world and all its inhabitants. Prior to the onset of modernity, most people on this planet retained some degree of Indigeneity under this definition. I contrast indigeneity with modernity, the mode of human–­environment interaction based on industrial capitalism and characterized by commodification and exploitation of the environment. Capitalism fosters individual gain blind to consequences for other people, animals, and the natural world. And this approach...

Introduction to “Grave Matters in Oceania”

The idea for this collection of articles on burial practices in Pacific Island cultures first came to us in 2013 when we were invited to Sweden to give a lecture on “an aspect of materiality in Samoa” to the Archaeology Department of the University of Gotland (now the Gotland Campus of Uppsala University). The invitation came from Helene Martinsson-Wallin, Associate Professor of Archaeology there, who had been working with the National University of Samoa for some years to establish the teaching of Archaeology and associated research. As neither of us are archaeologists, our thoughts turned to digging holes in the ground in search of history, and from there to the increasing visibility and variety of graves in Samoa. Thus inspired, we set off with our camera, took pictures of many graves and put together a commentary on what the photographs told us about changing burial practices in Samoa.

Te Vaka

Reviewed by: Te Vaka Candice Elanna Steiner Te Vaka. 30October 2015, Hawaii Theatre Center, Honolulu. Te Vaka, the award-winning and wildly popular South Pacific fusion group representing and featuring music and dance influences from many Pacific Island cultures, kicked off their US tour on 9 October 2015, with stops in Florida, Washington, California, Arizona, and Hawai‘i. Touring members included founder, [End Page 518]songwriter, and bandleader Opetaia Foa‘i; lead drummer and percussion composer Matatia Foa‘i; vocalist, keyboardist, and percussionist Douglas Bernard (aka D.Burn); vocalist, dancer, and choreographer Olivia Foa‘i; electric guitarist and percussionist Joe Toomata; bassist and percussionist Max Stowers; dancer Gerard Tioti; and dancer Etueni (Edwin) Pita. With their wide range of influences and impeccable skills, these musicians and dancers gave a spectacular performance, and the audience enthusiastically reciprocated. Indeed, the hallmark of the tour was a contagious energy that began its spread months before the first show with the band’s announcement of a major upcoming project and an album release, and that energy fully enveloped the audience during the 30 October performance in Honolulu. In August 2015, Te Vaka announced in their newsletter and via social media that Opetaia had signed on as songwriter—along with Lin Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina—for Disney’s upcoming feature film Moana, which is set for theatrical release in November 2016. In concert with this announcement, on 14 August Te Vaka performed one of the new songs for the film during D23: The Official Disney Fan Club’s D23 EXPO, a biannual event showcasing, among other things, Disney’s current and upcoming projects. Not long after, on 24 September, the band released their much-anticipated eighth studio album, Amataga. Members actively promoted Moana, Amataga, and the US tour on social media, stirring up excitement that spilled over into the group’s live performances. The Honolulu audience definitely brought this excitement to the show. Adding to this was a strong sense of community among those present: attendees of all ages and representing many of the communities in Hawai‘i quickly found friends and family in the crowd, greeting each other with hugs and excitement about the night’s event. To our great surprise, Auli‘i Cravalho, the teen from Mililani, Hawai‘i, who was cast to play the title character in Moana, was part of our concert community that evening (I turned to my left, and there she was just one section over). We were all looking forward to a memorable show. The first half of the concert featured some of the group’s softer and more serious songs, and the audience responded accordingly, smoothly shifting from bright to somber depending on the tone of each piece. During the introduction to one song in particular, sections of the audience burst into applause at the mention of Tuvalu but then fell into silence when Opetaia explained that the piece, “Loimata e Maligi” (Let the Tears Fall), mourns the loss of eighteen teenage girls and their supervisor in a dormitory fire in Tuvalu on 8 March 2000. The performance itself, led by Olivia, was breathtaking. Olivia’s voice filled the song’s range—both vocal and emotional—beautifully, and the entire group’s impeccable delivery left the audience rapt. The other songs during this half of the concert were equally engaging with their respective topics and outstanding delivery, and the audience was eager to participate throughout, cheering at the mention of any Pacific Island place and—in the case of a handful of particularly lively audience [End Page 519]members in the middle orchestra section—standing to dance during the more upbeat songs. Momentum was building. During the second half of the concert, it peaked. Encouraged to dance (Opetaia invited people to dance in the aisles, quickly adding that he probably shouldn’t have said that) and elated to have met Disney royalty during an intermission meet-and-greet with Auli‘i, the audience was ready to explode with energy. Our excitement was reflected back to us in the jubilant faces and exemplary performances of the band as they led the second half with one danceable hit after another. Te Vaka took full advantage of our...

Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture by Francis X Hezel, sj (review)

Reviewed by: Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture by Francis X Hezel, sj Joseph H Genz Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture, by Francis X Hezel, sj. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2013. isbn 978-0-8248-3661-0, xii + 182 pages, maps, suggested reading, index. Cloth, us$27.00. Making Sense of Micronesia sensitively and vividly depicts the cultures of Micronesia for readers unfamiliar with the region and its inhabitants. Drawing on more than four decades of personal experiences as a Jesuit priest and based on insights gleaned from interviews, conversations, and research, Francis X Hezel engagingly presents his own process of slowly stumbling toward cultural knowledge. Shaped by embarrassing moments, awkward encounters, and cultural collisions, the result is an enjoyable glimpse—what he at one point terms a “cultural guidebook” (165)—into the general cultural patterning of the Islanders of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. As Hezel acknowledges, many features of this synthesis may resonate with other island groups in Micronesia and the broader Pacific. After the introductory chapter on the history of cultural change and the social context of Micronesia, the book’s twelve main chapters each delve into and seek to illuminate one key aspect of general Micronesian culture that may seem at first glance to be mystifying to foreigners. After opening each chapter with a revealing vignette, Hezel examines each theme from his emergent understanding of the ways in which Micronesians think about each topic while also suggesting how the underlying traditions have been changing even as they endure. Although the chapters build on each other, they can also be read as stand-alone sections focusing on and highlighting particular themes. For instance, in the first two chapters Hezel writes of the persistence of a personalized face to every aspect of Island life, and he connects this to the primacy of a collective identity and the importance of cooperation and solidarity. These three “peaks in the cultural landscape” (166) are carefully interwoven in the remaining chapters, which speak to the following issues: generosity and the redistribution of wealth; circumspection and the guarding of information; the importance and meaning of silences when communicating; the significance of strong forms of respect; the private and familial nature of sex; the strict division of labor and the indirect power of women in society; culturally patterned emotional responses of love, affection, uncertainty, and loss; and culturally mediated mechanisms for coping with conflict. In the summary chapter, Hezel importantly outlines the ways in which the traditional Micronesian worldview clashes with the contemporary aims of foreign-imposed economic development. In this work, Hezel complements [End Page 569] his more academic treatment of related topics in The New Shape of Old Island Cultures: A Half Century of Social Change in Micronesia (2001). By chronicling his own reallife experiences and those of others in the tradition of the best reflective ethnographic writing, he brings the narrative to life while underscoring a lifetime’s dedication to understanding local people and their beliefs and practices. For instance, we witness the tragedy of a teenager named Tomaso, who committed suicide after his father’s refusal of a request for money; we feel the confusion and embarrassment when a volunteer compliments the beauty of a student’s sister; we notice an apparent and perhaps misleading lack of affection between a husband and wife when one of them departs on an international flight; and we follow Hezel to the woods after a memorable meal where he vomits up his dinner with complete lack of secrecy. Having spent considerable time in the region, I can relate to the poignancy of nearly every vignette with great empathy. Hezel acknowledges the possibilities and limitations of this approach. Caught in a nearly timeless present, a deliberate blurring of the complexities of the numerous Island societies within this region enables Hezel to generalize about a singular Micronesian culture in comparative counterpoint to a Western worldview. This works. The many vignettes, written for broad appeal, resonate with anyone who has either spent time in Micronesia or has engaged with Micronesians abroad, and this invites the...

Music in Pacific Island Cultures: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture by Brian Diettrich, Jane Freeman Moulin, Michael Webb (review)

Music in Pacific Island Cultures: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture by Brian Diettrich, Jane Freeman Moulin, Michael Webb (review)

Can the IUCN 2008 Protected Areas Management Categories support Pacific island approaches to conservation?

Many Pacific island nations lag behind more developed countries with respect to achieving Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) targets for protected area coverage. The modified definition of protected areas under the IUCN’s 2008 Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories offers opportunities for Pacific islands nations to formally recognize indigenous community conserved and locally managed areas under a range of management styles. However, there are elements to the new definition and principles that are unlikely to be compatible in the context of customary tenure prevailing in the Pacific. The first principle requiring nature conservation to be the primary objective of protected areas runs counter to the majority of functioning Pacific island protected areas that have been established with sustainable livelihoods as the major driver. Furthermore, the definition of conservation as perceived by most Pacific island cultures is inextricably linked with ‘sustainable use’. In this context, we offer suggestions for moving forward, including raising awareness of these issues, consulting on the appropriate definitions of protected areas that fit the legal and cultural context of each country, and avoiding incorporating the language of the 2008 Guidelines into definitions or wording for national policy and legislation until broad consensus and understanding is reached.

Transnational crossroads: remapping the Americas and the Pacific

The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented migration and interaction for Asian, Latin American, and Pacific Islander cultures in the Americas and the American Pacific. Some of these ethnic groups already had historic ties, but technology, migration, and globalization during the twentieth century brought them into even closer contact. Transnational Crossroads explores and triangulates for the first time the interactions and contacts among these three cultural groups that were brought together by the expanding American empire from 1867 to 1950. Through a comparative framework, this volume weaves together narratives of U.S. and Spanish empire, globalization, resistance, and identity, as well as social, labor, and political movements. Contributors examine multiethnic celebrities and key figures, migratory paths, cultural productions, and social and political formations among these three groups. Engaging multiple disciplines and methodologies, these studies of Asian American, Latin American, and Pacific Islander cultural interactions explode traditional notions of ethnic studies and introduce new approaches to transnational and comparative studies of the Americas and the American Pacific.