OPEN MIC-- JAN 30, 2009

Please show your support for our local music artists...

Inspiring Young People-- Drew Vai

[Drew Vai --Poet/Spoken Word Performer]

I love coming across young people who use their talents to educate the general public about different aspects of our culture that are often misunderstood or misrepresented in the mainstream media.

One of the stereotypes that is always projected upon us time and time again is that we are nothing more than entertainers! We often see how our cultural dances have been used by outsiders (and sometimes by ourselves) to show that we are nothing more than moving bodies disconnected from the mind and heart and most of all from history.

We have been portrayed as museum pieces only to be looked at and admired but hardly ever asked to speak back or to discuss the meaning of the dances, the stories behind the dances, the significance of the chants and its movements! This is not to say that this is always the case, but it does happen way to often!

It's time that we make it known that our cultural dances are powerful (and sometimes sacred) and were never meant to be used purely for entertainment purposes, but it was intended as a vessel that would serve as a carrier of history, culture, genealogy and legends and most importantly it was the medium where we could interweave creativity with poetic visions!

Check out this amazing poet from the Bay area-- Drew Vai-- as he offers a different perspective about the traditional maori warrior dance--the Haka--a perspective that is hardly ever discussed in the mainstream!!! Speak on brother...

Filmed by Tama Irie Films

Drew Vai: Spread The WORD

Inspiring Young People-- Tammy Vaitai

A new section of my blog will be dedicated to Inspiring Young People.

Check out this young Tongan woman who is using her poetry to bring about awareness regarding the genocide happening in Darfur! Not only is she Pacific Islander but she was also filmed by another talented Pacific Islander filmmaker--you can check out his work HERE!!! LOVE IT!!!

Educate yourself about what's happening in Darfur

Save Darfur: Spread The Word

Words from the Wise--Farewell Dr. 'Epeli Hau'ofa

[Picture borrowed from Color Me Fiji's Blog.

I discovered 'Epeli's writings at a very critical time in my academic career when I was trying to make sense of writings by non-Tongan scholars about Tongans. At the time I couldn't fully articulate why their writings never really spoke to me and I had a hard time identifying with their analysis of the experiences of my Tongan people.

Then I came across 'Epeli's words which boldly spoke to me that "human reality is human creation, if we fail to create our own reality someone else will do it for us"...I decided then that I was going to work in constructing my own reality and in creating a platform for us to retell our own stories and reclaim our legacy as Pacific people!

It was 'Epeli who put forth the idea that the Ocean is in Us that we are not just Islands in the Sea but rather that we are a Sea of Islands and that the Ocean doesn't divide us as Pacific people but rather it connects us!

He stressed that the terms Pacific Islander/Polynesian were all terms made up arbitrarily during the time of colonization to conquer and divide the Pacific. Before those terms were invented by outsiders to describe us, we were always the Moana people--the people of the ocean!

"there are no more suitable people on earth to be the custodians of the oceans than those for whom the sea is home...we seem to have forgotten that we are such a people...our roots...our origins are embedded in the sea...our ancestors were brought here by the sea...the sea is our pathway to each other and to everyone else, the sea is our endless saga, the sea is our most powerful metaphor...the Ocean is in Us..."
--Epeli Ha'uofa

Farewell Dr. Ha'uofa! Thank you for inspiring even those of us who have lived away from the Ocean for so long...that even we could carry on the legacy of the Moana people!!! 'Ofa lahi atu!!!

Hefa Tuita-- HYPE in Action...

[Hefa Tuita Jr. Reppin' HYPE]


I have received many emails inquiring about my process in choosing who would be part of the HYPE Photoshoot.

There was really only 3 simple criterias:

1) They needed to be from here in Utah (mainly for logistical reasons)
2) They had to be Pacific Islander
3) Their lives had to fully reflect the meaning behind the HYPE Movement

Many of these young people I had previously known and had worked with on various projects; some had been my students, others I have written about or have worked with in some type of capacity.

However, there was only one, who I actually never really formally met (well only once, but it was just in passing), but it was a conversation that I had with his father about a year ago, that fully convinced me that his son had to be part of this photoshoot.


[Hefa Tuita Jr.]

I am of course talking about Hefa Tuita Jr. the star dancer on Nickelodeon's new dance show, Dance On Sunset. He was also in High School Musical 2 and Unaccompanied Minors and has shared the stage with many amazing dance choreograpahers and superstars; singer Rihanna being one of them.


[Hefa Tuita Jr.]

However, it wasn't just his great resume of success that made me track him down for this photoshoot (I was almost borderline stalking by the time I finally was able to secure a date/time/location for the photoshoot... we literally confirmed everything between the hours of midnight to 3am...hahaha...yes, that's how much I wanted him to be part of this photoshoot)!!!


[Hefa Tuita Jr.]

In December 2007, I was organizing a Bone Marrow Registry Drive in our Pacific Islander Community, which was connected to a concert that featured various Pacific Islander music artists.


[Hefa Tuita Jr.]

At an informal dress rehearsal held a couple of days before the concert, Hefa Sr. (Hefa's father) had brought his sons to the University of Utah for a quick rehearsal. I had never heard of the Tuita boys, but was assured by everyone present that they were the real deal--talented, handsome, and most of all humble-- and they proved to be exactly that!


[Hefa Tuita Jr.]

Immediately after the dress rehearsal I met their father and we talked for a short while about our Tongan community and some of the things I was hoping to do in the community. I specifically remember him talking about how proud he was of his sons and how he had raised them with the two most important values in the Tongan culture--Respect and Service!!! He then said to me "my boys are very proud to be Tongan and I hope they do good things for our Tongan community"! Our conversation lasted for probably only ten minutes, but I knew then that this father had instilled in his sons not only a fierce love for their Tongan culture but also a sense of responsibilty in regards to the power of service!


[Hefa Tuita Jr. Reppin' his father's Firefighter Uniform]

When I decided that we would do a professional HYPE photoshoot, Hefa Jr.'s name was one of the first on the list because I knew he represented everything that the HYPE MOVEMENT is about, but mostly because of my brief conversation with his father about a year ago.

Unfortunately, his father passed away before we could actually do this photoshoot, but I hope that through the HYPE Movement, a new generation of Pacific Islanders will be able to actualize the yearnings of many of our grandparents and parents, who had always envisioned a future of endless possibilities for us!

Rest in Love Hefa Tuita Sr., even in your absence, you still continue to inspire us!


[Hefa Tuita Jr. in his father's Firefighter Uniform-- and the Legacy Lives On...]



[Tuita Boys Tribute to their father the late Hefa Tuita Sr.]

**Many thanks to Karley Tuita, Teresa Tuimaseve, Lavinia Taumoepeau, Abby Langi, our amazing photographer Naomi Masina --and of course Hefa Jr. and all others who were there for making this photoshoot possible...***

Always Livin' the HYPE!

I met today with some awesome Samoan brothers (and our Latino brother! love you too bro!) who are the masterminds behind the Bolonga Fungi Film Company!!!

They will be doing some film work for the HYPE MOVEMENT and are a great example of what it means to live the HYPE on a daily basis!!! They are completely rooted in community and are all about helping Pacific Islanders to reach their greatest potential! Always inspiring to meet such great individuals!

Here is a sample of their work (and this was something they just threw together last minute...so awesome!)



Check out more of their work HERE

Drum Roll Please...

Congratulations to Tevita Uesi, (a Tongan student majoring in Music at the University of Utah) for becoming the first ever student of color at the University of Utah to become next year's Drum Major!!!


[Tevita Uesi, University of Utah's 2009 Drum Major]

Tevita is an amazing student who has consistently remained on the Dean's List and currently serves in student government as the Senate for the Fine Arts Department!

Congratulation Vita!!! You are going to be awesome!!! We all love you!!!

Coach Kalani Sitake-- Utah's UTES New Defensive Coordinator

[Coach Kalani Sitake accepting his new position as Defensive Coordinator for the Utah UTES]

It is another beautiful day in the neighborhood waking up to more positive media coverage on Tongans! It's so long overdue!

Kalani Sitake has just been named the University of Utah's new Defensive Coordinator for the undefeated UTES football team! The first Tongan to ever hold such a position in collegiate/professional football! So very deserving for such an awesome and humble man!

Congratulations Kalani, we all love you!!!

Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham announced Sunday he is promoting inside linebackers coach Kalani Sitake to defensive coordinator, replacing Gary Andersen, who is leaving the Utes to become the head coach at Utah State.

Andersen will continue to coach the Utes' defense through their bowl game, when they face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans on Jan. 2. Read more here...

Mover and Shaker

I recently interviewed Paul "Big Paul" Tu'ivai for an article written for Spasifik Magazine.

Our latest MOVER AND SHAKER is Paul Tu’ivai, known widely as BIG PAUL, a Tongan, who has been at the top of the music industry as an executive at Universal-Motown for the past decade. He tells his story to US correspondent ‘ANAPESI KAILI; from humble beginnings as a child growing up in Tonga, to emerging radio jock in San Francisco, to the man behind the successful careers of international artists such as Nelly and Lil’ Wayne. His inspirational story and words of wisdom make this feature a must read for all SPASIFIK fans. (quoted from Spasifik Magazine)

Subscribe to Spasifik Magazine to read the article.

Blood Thicker than Water... GO UTES!

It's been a wonderful morning! I woke up and read something positive in the media about brown folks...wow imagine that! lol! Check out this awesome article about my uncle Tom Sitake!

Sitake has been a BYU fan all of his life — as loyal as you'll find on the planet. But his son, Kalani Sitake, a former Cougar fullback, draws a paycheck from the University Utah as the Utes' linebackers coach. It's his son's job to find a way to disrupt and ground Max Hall and the Cougar offense come Saturday.

"It's pretty simple," Sitake said Monday as he prepared for this week and a game he calls the most dramatic in rivalry history. "My loyalties are with my son. I love my son, I support Kalani, I have his back and he can count on me, win or lose.

"I am a BYU fan, I always will be, but my son has my love, my loyalty, and I want him to succeed."

Read more HERE

Gotta love the fierce love of a father for his son!!! Now that's more reflective of our Pacific culture than all the crazy crimes they love to highlight in the media!

UTAH UTES ALL THE WAY!!! GO UTES!!!

PALE (Parental Awareness Leading to Education)

My colleague Bryant Masina and the PALE (Parental Awareness Leading to Education) Organization has just launched their new website

It's always wonderful to see Pacific Islanders dedicate their time and resources to give back to our communities!!!


[PALE BOARD MEMBERS)

PALE's mission is to:

Help Pacific Islanders realize and unlock their potential in social, cultural, and academic environments by supporting the increase of parental awareness and involvement in the areas of academics, life skills, health, fitness, and cultural arts. Our vision is that through this service we will build, sustain and contribute positively to the health, vitality, and productivity of our communities.

Check out their website here

Congratulations to all involved with PALE!!!

Keep up the great work!!!

Intelligent and Beautiful...

The newly crowned Miss South Pacific 2008-09-- Miss Vanessa Toriana Tracey Marsh from Niue exemplifies intelligence and beauty!



Here was her answer to the two questions that was posed to her during the Miss South Pacific Pageant.

MC: With all the the problems we are facing internationally, due to the fight for human rights and difference in opinion, what rights do you think all man should have and why?

Vanessa: Does 'man' include women and children?

MC: Yes.

Vanessa: Just checking to make sure. Every individual is placed here on this earth and are given an unduly right for life, for education, for their own religious beliefs and it's their utmost respect, that we as people should cultivate that and of course, in this ever changing society of global tension, of increasing fuel rates, there is such a wide need to recognize that these human rights are practiced and enforced...Children have their rights, women have their rights, men have their rights.

MC: Studies show that poverty is a major problem in the Pacific; what are the causes and what are some of the solutions?

Vanessa: Poverty in the Pacific is due to the failure to meet basic needs such as access to shelter, clean and adequate food and water. Also evident in the Pacific is poverty of opportunity where people’s opportunity to services, education and personal development is limited...in the last decade...poor economic performance of Pacific island developing countries, political instability and ethnic tensions have surfaced which has led to increasing levels of youth unemployment and emerging social problems that raises questions about the extent of poverty and its existence in the region

The article goes on to explain that:

Her (Vanessa Marsh) solutions include: good governance to provide reduction in poverty inclusive of all stakeholders to promote equal access to opportunities to invest and improve healthcare; emphasis on expanding knowledge of people and collaborative regional efforts to address the concerns for governments to address the issue at regional forums..

You can also read more here.

Congratulations Vanessa!!!