May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI) which is a time to honor the heritage, culture and history of my fellow Pacific Islander people. Although there are great benefits to joining forces with Asian Americans in celebrating our heritage this month, there are also downfalls to it. Generally speaking, Pacific Islanders are often forgotten or not acknowledged in the media. It’s as if we are marginalized in the marginalized community. I’m a proud bi-racial Samoan and Caucasian woman and I’m honored to shine some light on our Pacific Islander heritage. The best way I know how I can contribute to that is by sharing the stories of 4 beautiful Pacific Islander women. I asked them each a series of questions and they so graciously opened up very honestly. It’s my honor to share each of their stories with you all (these Pacific Islander women will remain anonymous).
Q: Who has been an inspiration to you, helping you feel more confident as a Pacific Islander?
[SG] My Aunty – she never treated me differently. She never changed how she acted with me based on who I was. It was always the same and it was a lifetime transformation for me.
[LBW] My Dad – he didn’t know he was doing a lot of modeling. Being in the Samoan community, people often thought my Dad was White, and yet he is one of the best orators in our family. He was so engrossed in the Samoan community and eventually created a following where people would think “There’s that the Samoan–white guy”. Eventually, the community knew who he was by his name. Dad was a single dad raising two kids and he put himself through graduate school all the way earning a Ph.D.
[NP] My Mom – all the challenges she has faced and overcome. She’s very prideful of who she is and where she came from. She dropped out of school at 9th grade in Samoa to take care of her mom. She didn’t come to US until she was 18 years old without speaking any English. Mom is the most nurturing person I know!
[RA] My mom– I appreciate her sharing stories from her childhood of what she could remember from Nana’s childhood and beyond. Storytelling is sacred. Hearing elders gather around and speaking their language just pulls you in. Mom’s goal is to preserve her Chamorro culture and tradition.
Q: What are the top challenges you have faced as a Pacific Islander woman?
[SG] Because the world (mostly white people) is looking for one type of Hawaiian, commonization and appropriation is hard for me. It’s a challenge to want to be seen and feel very far from the origin of that truth. I don’t know how else to feel Hawaiian if you don’t look it, talk it, what else does it take to be and feel Hawaiian?
[LBW] Breaking through cultural stigmas – you’re supposed to be a great orator, live a respectable and obedient as the eldest daughter, stay home and take care of your parents.
[NP] Not only am I Samoan but I have to represent who I am, knowing there were other Pacific Islanders I went to school with. It wasn’t always easy to demonstrate representation to others. It was hard for me to explain let alone being understood by others. Being home was different than being at school – we could dress in Brittany Spears clothes at school but when we were at home we had to wear ie’s and RESPECT who we were around and what we were doing.
[RA] Not being recognized as Chamorro. When you come across someone who doesn’t know who you are, it’s easy to be stereotyped.
Q: What are myths about Pacific Islanders that you might offer truths about?
[SG] That they’re not petite and pale. Some are and some aren’t. Also that their hair isn’t long. – it’s nothing and everything. It comes in every form. Pacific Islanders are on a spectrum of petite, pale to tall, dark.
[LBW] This is what a “true Samoan” would look like, act like, talk like – regardless of how I talk, dance or walk, I know inside my blood ran Samoan. I can look however I want to look and talk however I want to talk I can BE however I want to be. In higher education, Pacific Islanders only belong as student–athletes and are not very smart. If you are a Samoan student–athlete, use it as a platform to receive your education. If you’re not an athlete, the world is your oyster! You are the smartest and capable human being no matter what you’re doing or who you are.
[NP] Having to prove that I’m Samoan because I’m not Samoan enough, I don’t look Samoan, or because I don’t talk a certain way. One of the reasons I didn’t hang out with the Samoans in junior high school is because it was exhausting to prove that I was Samoan.
[RA] That we live in huts – that’s just not true! People also look at everyone as being the same – big, fierce, overweight, and don’t take care of their health.
Q: For those who want to know and do differently right now, what are a few ways you can offer to preserve our heritage or culture?
[SG] Learn our language and start small. Learn a song, or a prayer, or something and use it every day. It keeps our ancestors alive on earth as long as we use language they understand.
[LBW] Read, find books written by Pacific Islander authors, not from a white lens. Talking and sharing stories (orating) is a great way to pass along knowledge. A step further would be to write it down – for yourself, for your kids, for your family. Let’s start documenting these stories.
[NP] Surround yourself with your people, good people. You’ll learn something from them, and it helps feel much more empowered to be surrounded by other Polynesians. Knowing the language better and speaking to it to children in whatever way you can, broken or not. Having the malu is also very important to me in preserving my Samoan heritage. My parents come to me for everything family related and culturally related; it comes with a lot of honor.
[RA] Teach it to the children through literature and storytelling. Even the small words we know is helpful to share or encourage kids to sit and listen to parents and elders. Taking the kids back home to Guam makes you humble to see what they are missing and what we have in America. Prayer is also important. Try and teach to pray and be grateful for what you have and know who you are.
What I love about each of these women is the vulnerability they had to share some of their hard truths without shame. As Pacific Islander women, we are expected to hold it down for our families and household, let alone what’s expected in the workplace or at school. It’s vital we take the time to give voice to our hardships, and stand in solidarity with one another. One thing Pacific Islanders excel at is the collective community – it’s the aiga (family) we lean into that makes us feel less alone and more connected.
Whether you identify as Pacific Islander or American Asian, know that we celebrate and honor one another each and every day. Take the time to check in on each other, ask how you can support someone, and definitely lean into your community for connection. Happy AAPI month to you all!
Light + Love,
Bev
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