Abstract:
I open this discussion paper by first introducing myself by way of pepeha; this is integral to who I am, my way of being, connecting and knowing the world. Ko Tiavi tōku maunga, ko e Loloa tōku awa, ko Hāmoa toku iwi, ko Siumu tōku hapu, ko Jacoba Matapo tōku ingoa. I am a Sāmoan, New Zealand born Pasifika scholar and I intentionally share with you my pepeha, honouring the reo (language) of the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa as well as sharing my ancestral connection to people and place. The term Pasifika is a collective reference to Pacific Island peoples who have made Aotearoa their home and is also inclusive of New Zealand-born Pasifika people (Matapo, 2017). Pasifika as a term can be framed in various ways, as a transnational concept it allows for Pacific ethnic-specific ties to ancestral lands in the Pacific regions, including collective responsibility that traverses oceanic boundaries. Pasifika has also been defined by Pacific scholars within Aotearoa as a diasporic notion, one that influences emerging identities and new relations to places, keeping ties to Pacific homelands and genealogy (Matapo, 2018). This is not to say that the concept of Pasifika is not contested. Pacific scholars have also documented the homogenising effect of Pasifika as an umbrella term, which disregards ethnic-specific identities and cultural differences.
