Isles of Amnesia : The History, Geography, and Restoration of America's Forgotten Pacific Islands by 
The Ocean in the School: Pacific Islander Students Transforming Their University by
In The Ocean in the School Rick Bonus tells the stories of Pacific Islander students as they and their allies struggled to transform a university they believed did not value their presence. Drawing on dozens of interviews with students he taught, advised, and mentored between 2004 and 2018 at the University of Washington, Bonus outlines how, despite the university's promotion of diversity and student success programs, these students often did not find their education to be meaningful, leading some to leave the university. As these students note, they weren't failing school; the school was failing them. Bonus shows how students employed the ocean as a metaphor as a way to foster community and to transform the university into a space that valued meaningfulness, respect, and critical thinking. In sharing these students' insights and experiences, Bonus opens up questions about measuring student success, the centrality of antiracism and social justice to structurally reshaping universities, and the purpose of higher education.
Polynesians in America by
The possibility that Polynesian seafarers made landfall and interacted with the native people of the New World before Columbus has been the topic of academic discussion for well over a century, although American archaeologists have considered the idea verboten since the 1970s. Fresh discoveries made with the aid of new technologies along with re-evaluation of longstanding but often-ignored evidence provide a stronger case than ever before for multiple prehistoric Polynesian landfalls. This book reviews the debate, evaluates theoretical trends that have discouraged consideration of trans-oceanic contacts, summarizes the historic evidence and supplements it with recent archaeological, linguistic, botanical, and physical anthropological findings. Written by leading experts in their fields, this is a must-have volume for archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and anyone else interested in the remarkable long-distance voyages made by Polynesians. The combined evidence is used to argue that that Polynesians almost certainly made landfall in southern South America on the coast of Chile, in northern South America in the vicinity of the Gulf of Guayaquil, and on the coast of southern California in North America.
Reimagining the American Pacific by
In this compelling critique Rob Wilson explores the creation of the "Pacific Rim" in the American imagination and how the concept has been variously adapted and resisted in Hawai'i, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. Reimagining the American Pacific ranges from the nineteenth century to the present and draws on theories of postmodernism, transnationality, and post-Marxist geography to contribute to the ongoing discussion of what constitutes "global" and "local." Wilson begins by tracing the arrival of American commerce and culture in the Pacific through missionary and imperial forces in the nineteenth century and the parallel development of Asia/Pacific as an idea. Using an impressive range of texts--from works by Herman Melville, James Michener, Maori and Western Samoan novelists, and Bamboo Ridge poets to Baywatch, films and musicals such as South Pacific and Blue Hawaii, and native Hawaiian shark god poetry--Wilson illustrates what it means for a space to be "regionalized." Claiming that such places become more open to transnational flows of information, labor, finance, media, and global commodities, he explains how they then become isolated, their borders simultaneously crossed and fixed. In the case of Hawai'i, Wilson argues that culturally innovative, risky forms of symbol making and a broader--more global--vision of local plight are needed to counterbalance the racism and increasing imbalance of cultural capital and goods in the emerging postplantation and tourist-centered economy. Reimagining the American Pacific leaves the reader with a new understanding of the complex interactions of global and local economies and cultures in a region that, since the 1970s, has been a leading trading partner of the United States. It is an engaging and provocative contribution to the fields of Asian and American studies, as well as those of cultural studies and theory, literary criticism, and popular culture.
Reppin': Pacific Islander Youth and Native Justice by
Explores the critical insights and creative energies of Pacific Islander youth From hip-hop artists in the Marshall Islands to innovative multimedia producers in Vanuatu to racial justice writers in Utah, Pacific Islander youth are using radical expression to transform their communities. Exploring multiple perspectives about Pacific Islander youth cultures in such locations as Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Hawai'i, and Tonga, this cross-disciplinary volume foregrounds social justice methodologies and programs that confront the ongoing legacies of colonization, incarceration, and militarization. The ten essays in this collection also highlight the ways in which youth throughout Oceania and the diaspora have embraced digital technologies to communicate across national boundaries, mobilize sites of political resistance, and remix popular media. By centering Indigenous peoples' creativity and self-determination, Reppin' vividly illuminates the dynamic power of Pacific Islander youth to reshape the present and future of settler cities and other urban spaces in Oceania and beyond.
For more books on Pacific Islander American History:
Pacific Islander -- History , Social, and Customs (OneSearch list)
Native Hawaii -- History, Social, and Customs (OneSearch list)
Fijian American -- History, Social, and Customs (OneSearch list)
Samoan American -- History, Social, and Customs (OneSearch list)
Guam American -- History, Social, and Customs (OneSearch list)
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Fiction S571 c
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; 398.2 RAT
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Fiction H7583 k
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Easy G9215 l
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; 996.9 STA
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Easy S3325 w
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Fiction B879 b
Dr. Armin Schulz Children's Literature Collection (1st Floor, Compact Shelving Area) ; Easy M134p
The Healers by
With roots firmly in the oral storytelling tradition, Kimo Armitage's The Healers weaves multiple narrators and time periods into a novel of remarkable breadth, giving insight into Hawaiian culture where nature, man, and the spirit world coexist seamlessly. Echoing the voices of long ago, the book celebrates the connection to stories of Hawaii as once told by grandparents and great-grandparents. In the world of The Healers, family and place are revered and aloha is heartfelt. Cousins Keola and Pua, chosen as the next generation of healers by their family, initially have an idyllic life as respected apprentice healers. Their days are spent training with their grandmother, investigating the healing properties of plants, and treating ailments of community and family members. Troubling dreams, however, foreshadow a sea change to come. One day, Pua meets and is immediately attracted to Tiki, a descendant of a powerful healing family from Tahiti, who has been mysteriously abandoned by his parents. Months later, Keola is sent across the island to train with Laka, the family's most knowledgeable healer, who was born with no arms or legs. A life-threatening challenge awaits this close-knit unit, and they must call upon generations of ancestral knowledge and skill to save those that stand at the precipice of death. This compelling novel fills a gap in the Hawaiian literary canon of works for young adult readers.
The House Without a Key by
The House Without a Key is the classic novel in which Charlie Chan makes his debut as Inspector of the Honolulu Police Department. Earl Derr Biggers brings Honolulu to life with deft descriptions of the landscape and of its hybrid ethnic communities. With the creation of Detective Chan, Biggers also shatters stereotypes and is ahead of his time in highlighting the positive aspects of Chinese-Hawaiian culture, just as his skillful rendering of San Francisco is noteworthy of its modernity and keen sense of place.
The Charm Buyers by
The Charm Buyers describes extraordinary beauty and turbulent change: Tahiti during the last years of French nuclear testing in the Pacific in the 1990s. Marc Antoine Chen, the troubled heir of black pearl cultivators, narrates his journey through a labyrinth of elusive truths. As a child, Marc lives in a dreamlike world with his great-grandmother A-tai and her stories of a semi-nomadic Hakka culture that no longer exists. The Hakka, originally brought from China to Tahiti to work in cotton in the nineteenth century, settled in communities throughout the South Pacific. On the verge of adulthood, Marc falls in love with the calm and confident Marie-Laure Li, but when she leaves to study in France, Marc drifts, becoming the lover of the enigmatic painter Aurore du Chatelet. Years later, Marie-Laure returns, suffering from a debilitating malady--one of many illnesses surfacing in the wake of nuclear testing--and Marc is offered a strange, magical proposal in exchange for the life of his once beloved. A supernatural, shamanic reality exists together with the traditions of the Hakka, set against the background of the French colonial past and the Ma'ohi struggle for independence. The Charm Buyers presents a world in transition and its people--black pearl cultivators, artists, taro farmers, politicians, smugglers, and shamans.
Murder Casts a Shadow by
New Year's Eve, 1934. While Honolulu celebrates with champagne and fireworks, someone is making away with the Bishop Museum's portrait of King Kalakaua and its curator. A series of brutal murders follows, and an unlikely pair, newspaper reporter Mina Beckwith and visiting playwright Ned Manusia, find themselves investigating a twisted trail of clues in an attempt to recover the painting and uncover the killer. Honolulu in the 1930s is a unique (and volatile) mix of the provincial and the urban, East and West, islander and mainlander. Mina and Ned, both of Polynesian descent, confront the complexities and contradictions of Island life as their investigation takes them into the heart of Honolulu society and close-knit local families, whose intricate histories and relationships will have a direct impact on future lives and events. A lively cast of characters aids Mina and Ned in their search for answers: Cecily Chang, an antiques and explosives expert, steers them through Chinatown's back alleys; Hinano Kahana, a hula chanter and dancer, brings Ned closer to solving an ancient riddle; Mina's grandmother, Hannah, helps them unlock a secret from the past. Prewar Honolulu comes to life in this thoroughly entertaining mystery that evokes a colorful bygone era. The Mina Beckwith and Ned Manusia series continues with Murder Leaves Its Mark, available September 2011.