On Writing Pasefika Presence: The Pressures of Representation

I continue to write in the hopes that one day, Pasefika presence will not have to be continuously and forcefully asserted in order to remain visible.

Pasefika Presence

Pasefika Graduates, We See and Celebrate You

We see you, and we will continue to celebrate you, because your graduation means so much more than just a culmination of the tests that you have passed and the assignments you’ve completed.

Using Social Media To Uplift, Not Tear Down

During these unprecedented times, we need to be using social media to support and uplift each other, especially those most vulnerable, not to re-trigger and tear each other down.

Holding Each Other from a Distance

Now more than ever we must hold and take care of each other, but the best way to do that is from a distance.

Football Island: The Hunting Ground for Our Samoan Brothers

While football has undoubtedly provided a pathway towards success and upward mobility for many in our community, we must reevaluate the effects of this dominant narrative of American Samoa as “Football Island."

Dissent: We Shouldn’t Stop Listening — The Case for Prison Divestment

Arguing that the conditions in prison prisons do not reach the standard of degrading human life or harming the systematically disadvantaged is illogical and facetious.

A Love Letter to My Pasefika Sisters

My Pasefika sisters, all I can say is thank you, fa’afetai tele lava. Thank you for creating a vision of beauty and true love that includes all of us.

Education or Indigenous Erasure?

The American school system, curriculum, and methodologies for measuring intelligence do not capture the genius of my community.

Transforming a Community into a Family: What Harvard Could Learn From Home

As far as community building goes, I think that Harvard could learn a lot from Pasefika communities and their dedication to the value of family.

When Discipline Becomes Silence

It is our place to speak, whether it’s about what we are struggling with or what we don’t agree with. Having respect, discipline, and appreciation in everything we do is not mutually exclusive with speaking up.

The Militarization of the Pacific

We belong — and are in fact desperately needed — in higher education and other professional spaces, and those pathways need to be made more accessible to us.

My Culture is Not Your Costume

When you make our traditional wear into costumes, you are not celebrating us — you are making our histories into myths to tell around the campfire, our cultures into popular trends in the media.

This Land is Not Your Land — It’s Our Land

With next week Monday being Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I push you to not only participate in the celebration of all indigenous people and their beautiful cultures, but also reflect deeply about the oceans you have traversed and the land you are currently occupying.

Being an ‘Exotic’ Island Girl

Being “exotic” can mean a lot more than just being “stunning” or “beautiful.” In fact, the word is used to signify that you are, not just different, but deviant.