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The Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawai'i promotes understanding of the Pacific Islands and Islander lives.

Congratulations to Dr. Tara on his selection as a Congratulations to Dr. Tara on his selection as a Transpacific and Asian Dialogue on China Fellow!

The fellowship brings together scholars from the U.S., Asia and the Pacific, to examine changing geopolitical dynamics due to growing Chinese influence. Associate Professor Tara said he hopes the initiative will lead to actionable policies for governments and other stakeholders to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by China.

“A lot of our discussions take place in academia but never make it into the policy space,” Kabutaulaka said. “This project is about creating mechanisms through which scholarly work can inform decisions made by governments and other institutions as well.”

He added that UH Mānoa’s unique role as an Asia-Pacific–facing institution strengthens the university’s relevance and importance in global conversations.

“My involvement in the project reflects not just my individual participation, it is the involvement of UH Mānoa, which gives the university and the islands we live in more prominence on the global stage,” Kabutaulaka said.

Check out the UH News piece: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/01/16/uh-manoa-professor-china-cohort/
🌊 The Inaugural Oceania Pacific Studies Associatio 🌊 The Inaugural Oceania Pacific Studies Association (OPSA) Conference Program is here! We are honored to share the schedule for the very first OPSA conference this January 2026. Join online for two days of critical talanoa (conversation) and community building.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: All times/days listed below and on the program are in FIJI STANDARD TIME. Please remember to convert these times to your local time zone so you don’t miss a session!

🗓️ DAY ONE: Thursday, January 29
Welcome Address by Dr. Tēvita Kaʻili
 * Session 1: Empire, Politics, and Identity
 * Session 2: Sounding Oceania
 * Session 3: The Future of the Oceania Pacific Studies Association
 * Session 4: Pasifika Engagement at the Australian Museum
 * Session 5: Opposing Seabed Mining in Moana Oceania
 * Session 6: Undercurrents of Creativity 

🗓️ DAY TWO: Friday, January 30
Welcome Address by Dr. Apolonia Tamata
 * Session 1: Indigenous Data Sovereignty
 * Session 2: Safeguarding Kava / ʻAwa
 * Session 3: Exploring Health: Public Health, Disease and Media
 * Session 4: Pacific Research
 * Session 5: Militarism / Demilitarization
 * Session 6: AI and Indigenous Knowledges
 * Closing Plenary

We look forward to seeing you online as we navigate the future of Pacific Studies together. Here is the link to register to this FREE conference:
https://forms.gle/PQqbadz1XPZiGwts9

#OPSA2026 #PacificStudies #Oceania
The “Ocean of Peace” represents a framework that w The “Ocean of Peace” represents a framework that was endorsed by Pacific Island leaders in 2025, envisioning a future for the Pacific region as a space of harmony and cooperation drawn from traditional values and cultural customs. 
The exhibition hosted at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center features six contemporary artists of Micronesian heritage: James Bamba (Guåhan/ Northern Mariana Islands), Carol Ann Carl (Pohnpei), Gillian Dueñas (Guåhan), Kalany Omengkar (Belau/Northern Mariana Islands), Anthony Watson (Belau), and Lissette Yamase (Chuuk). These artists integrate the beliefs and practices of their Micronesian cultures with lived experiences in the Hawaiian Islands to build connections across island chains, expressing ways we can collectively realize this future. 

ACTIVATIONS: After Hours at the Gallery | Friday, January 16 from 5 – 8 pm in the Gallery and Yokouchi Pavilion & Courtyard: Activations of dance, music, and poetry unfold throughout the night, expanding on the exhibition’s themes of Pacific Island connections. Food and beverage offerings are available for purchase during the event. Ticketed reservations required:  https://mauiarts.org/aahatgoc
The Ocean of Peace Gallery Exhibit is open until J The Ocean of Peace Gallery Exhibit is open until January 31, 2026! 🌊

Admire amazing work from contemporary artists of Micronesian heritage that imagine a Pacific future grounded in harmony, cooperation, and ancestral values.

🎥 Don't miss out on the FREE documentary film screening, Remathau: People of the Ocean, happening on Wed., Jan. 14th! This screening is in conjunction with the Schaefer International Gallery exhibition Ocean of Peace and will include a talk story panel following the film.

Gallery Hours: 
Tues-Sat: 10 am - 4 pm
FREE admission
For more information, visit mauiarts.org: https://bit.ly/3Kwrspj
“Ocean of Peace” Exhibition Opens at Maui Arts & C “Ocean of Peace” Exhibition Opens at Maui Arts & Cultural Center Featuring 6 Micronesian Artists — Including Two CPIS MA Students: Gillian Dueñas and Carol Ann Carl | 6 Dec. 2025-29 Jan. 2026

The “Ocean of Peace” represents a framework that was endorsed by Pacific Island leaders in 2025, envisioning a future for the Pacific region as a space of harmony and cooperation drawn from traditional values and cultural customs. The exhibition hosted at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center features six contemporary artists of Micronesian heritage: James Bamba (Guåhan/Northern Mariana Islands), Carol Ann Carl (Pohnpei), Gillian Dueñas (Guåhan), Kalany Omengkar (Belau/Northern Mariana Islands), Anthony Watson (Belau), and Lissette Yamase (Chuuk). These artists integrate the beliefs and practices of their Micronesian cultures with lived experiences in the Hawaiian Islands to build connections across island chains, expressing ways we can collectively realize this future. The exhibition runs from December 6, 2025 - January 29, 2026.  Read more here: https://mauiarts.org/exhibit-details/ocean-of-peace

Please consider joining for one of the public events or by visiting the exhibition:
🌊 OBSERVE & PLAY FAMILY DAY – In Honor of Shirley Yokouchi | Saturday, December 6 from 10 am – 12 pm: We invite families to visit the gallery and meet each of the artists at activity stations exploring various forms of Micronesian artistry! No pre-registration needed. 

🌊 Remathau: People of the Ocean | Wednesday, January 14 at 7 pm in McCoy Studio Theater: In this documentary film, Nicole Yamase, a young marine biologist from Micronesia, ventures to the deepest part of the ocean and reconnects with her people’s oceanic roots. A panel with the artists will follow. Tickets required via MACC Box Office. (Reservations open January 2).

🌊 ACTIVATIONS: After Hours at the Gallery | Friday, January 16 from 5 – 8 pm in the Gallery and Yokouchi Pavilion & Courtyard: Activations of dance, music, and poetry unfold throughout the night, expanding on the theme of Pacific Island connections. Food and beverage offerings available for purchase. Tickets required via MACC Box Office. (Reservations open January 2).
Final FIFO Screenings of "Te Puna Ora" | Wednesday Final FIFO Screenings of "Te Puna Ora" | Wednesday, 10 December 2025 at 6:30 PM at Kamehameha Schools | Thursday, 11 December 2025 at 5:30 PM at Bishop Museum Atherton Hālau (check Bishop Museum events page for updates!)

Te Puna Ora, « the source of life » is an artful storytelling of a burgeoning environmental movement in French Polynesia. Three indigenous women - a community leader, a spearfisher and a teenage activist - cultivate an alliance and unfold a gripping story of resistance to protect their island home from privatization and tourism.

Created in 2004, the International Oceanian Documentary Film Festival (FIFO) aims to make Oceania more visible through the sharing of documentary films. CPIS is excited to close out an exciting FIFO 2025 with two final showings of Te Puna Ora. On Wednesday 12/10, join us in partnership with Kamehameha Schools to a special screening and discussion. On Thursday 12/11, join us for a screening and discussion at the Bishop Museum Atheron Hālau.
The Ecotone Presents Gillian Dueñas on “ʻReally Se The Ecotone Presents Gillian Dueñas on “ʻReally Seeingʻ a Climate-Just Future: Pasifika Climate Solutions, Artivism, and Inagofliʻe” | Wednesday, 3 December 2025 from 12-1:30 PM in Moore Hall 319

Climate change impacts, including sea-level rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, and extreme weather, are becoming increasingly severe, particularly for Indigenous populations who contribute the least to the rapidly changing climate but are disproportionately affected by it. These impacts, which threaten Indigenous livelihoods and cultures, are compounded by colonial forces such as militarization and the nuclear legacy. Pasifika artists wield their ancestral knowledges in the form of visual art to amplify their stories of climate change impacts and advocate for solutions that center demilitarization, Indigenous sovereignty, and traditional knowledge. This talk explores Pacific Islander climate action and art activism (artivism) at the global, regional, and local levels as practices of inagofli‘e, a Chamoru cultural concept of love and care that translates to “really seeing each other.”

Lunch provided! Register here: https://go.hawaii.edu/kpm
Congratulations to CPIS MA Student Alec Weiker on Congratulations to CPIS MA Student Alec Weiker on his article, “Trump’s Deportations Threaten the US Relationship With the Pacific, and China Seeks to Capitalize” in The Diplomat!

Published on 26 November 2025, the article addresses how increased deportations and unequal and growingly restrictive visa policies are jeopardizing the trust built by decades of hosting Pacific Islanders – while China moves in the opposite direction.

Read it here: https://thediplomat.com/2025/11/trumps-deportations-threaten-the-us-relationship-with-the-pacific-and-china-seeks-to-capitalize/
Inaugural Conference of the Oceania Pacific Studie Inaugural Conference of the Oceania Pacific Studies Association (virtual) | 28-30 January 2026 

The Oceania Pacific Studies Association is hosting its Inaugural Conference from 28 to 30 January 2026, and you are invited to be part of the first wave. This is your chance to connect with Pacific thinkers, practitioners, creators, organizers, activists, and community leaders across the region.

Join us virtually or in-person from hubs including Brisbane, Sydney, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Fiji, Hawaiʻi (Honolulu & Lāʻie), Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City. Two days of discussing critical issues that are currently impacting Moana Nui.

If you care about Oceania, its stories, its people, its environment, and its path forward, you’ll want to be part of this conference. This conference is FREE.

Save the date. Spread the word. Let’s make history together.

Here is the link to register: https://forms.gle/PQqbadz1XPZiGwts9

With appreciation for in-kind support from the Australian Museum, BYU-Hawai‘i Culture, Language & Performing Arts, University of Auckland Pacific Studies, UCLA Asian American Studies, University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Hilo History and Pacific Islands Studies, UH-Mānoa Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of the South Pacific-Suva Fijian Studies.
Hawaiʻi Review's 97th issue is officially in the w Hawaiʻi Review's 97th issue is officially in the works! CPIS & MLP are excited to partner with Hawaiʻi Review to bring you our first writing workshop this semester surrounding the theme “Our Sea of Islands” ✨🌊

We’re calling all Pasefika & Local creatives to join us this Friday @ Moore Hall from 12-3 PM, we hope to see you there!
In collaboration with NREM come learn from Ulu Chi In collaboration with NREM come learn from Ulu Ching about "Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance - Convening & Collaborating in Service to ʻĀina" | Wednesday, 19 November from 3-4:30 pm in ITC 105A and on Zoom

The Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance (HCA) is a cooperative collaboration of conservation partners representing twenty-eight government, education, and non-profit organizations working together to provide unified leadership for Hawaiʻi’s most critical conservation issues. Many associate HCA with the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference, held annually to highlight conservation research, resource management, environmental education, and community-based efforts. Indeed, HCC is our single most visible and impactful effort in our service to Hawaiʻi nei. HCA continues to grow as a space of conservation innovation and collaboration, where ideas can be transformed into actions that protect and maintain healthy native ecosystems and the unique biocultural resources that depend on them. In 2025, we have seen unprecedented changes to local and regional environmental conservation systems, many that you may or may not have experienced personally, but that we all have a vested interest in. At HCA, we are embracing these times of change to reactivate efforts and bring the necessary radical thinking into the mainstream conservation consciousness.
Join us for an exciting Ecotone with Dr. Micah Fis Join us for an exciting Ecotone with Dr. Micah Fisher on "A Theory of Inheritance: Plantations, Forests, Small Farms, and the Empirical Problem of Shared Land" on Wednesday, 19 November from 12-1:30 pm in Moore 258.
 
Much of the land question centers on the past for the claim of the present, but ideas of inheritance connect past and present to future. To inherit weaves together a generational process of care that operates around release and receipt through a framework of rights and responsibility. In this presentation I extend theories about property and the commons, along with the powers and mechanisms of access and exclusion, to examine land from a geographic, temporal, and intersectional vantage point. Reflecting on more than a decade of initiatives to claim Indigenous land rights recognition in the middle hills of Sulawesi, I describe the mosaic tapestry of how a plantation and a forest came to be, and how small farmer livelihoods continue to persist. Each plantation, forest, and small farm revolve around the persuasions of land and all it represents. Each connects legacy, improvement, and possibility.
We are so excited to welcome friends, colleagues, We are so excited to welcome friends, colleagues, community, and classmates to join us for a celebration of 75 years of Pacific Islands Studies at Mānoa from 5-7 November 2025. Our conference theme reflects our longstanding commitments to community and the ongoing work of envisioning the field of Pacific Islands Studies, for yesterday, today, and tomorrow! Highlights of the next few days include:

➡ the conference keynote: "Shifting, Shaping: Pacific Studies Foundations and Futures" provided by Dr. Lisa Uperesa (Associate Professor, UCLA) at 10:00 am on Wednesday, 6 November in the Campus Center Ballroom
➡ a tok stori on AI and Indigenous Knowledge at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, 6 November in the Campus Center Ballroom
➡ "Our Sea of Dreams" exhibition from 11:00 am - 4:30 pm, Wednesday & Thursday, 5-6 November 2025 in Campus Center 208 | Coordinated by: CPIS MA Graduates Gabrielle Langkilde, Kenji Cataldo, and Lauren Taijeron
➡ "PACS 108 Creative Works" exhibition from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm, Thursday, 6 November 2025 in Campus Center 207, 209, and 210 | Coordinated by: Dr. Tammy Tabe and Dr. Lola Quan Bautista
➡ pupus and kava in the Pacific Collection at Hamilton Library from 5:30 - 7:30 pm on Thursday, 6 November 2025
➡ a day dedicated to engaging with community partners at Susannah Wesley Community Center from 9:30 - 3:00 pm on Friday, 7 November
➡ & compelling panels on the History of Pacific Islands Studies, Pedagogies, Home, Hawaiʻi, Diaspora, Community Leaders & Feedback from Community Members featuring 14 scholars and a number of community partners and leaders!

We also invite you to refer to our conference website for program timing, parking information, conference abstracts, and presenter bios: https://go.hawaii.edu/J4r
We are pleased to announce our "Pacific Islands St We are pleased to announce our "Pacific Islands Studies Continuity & Community: 75 Years at Mānoa" anniversary conference keynote!

The keynote, “Shifting, Shaping: Pacific Studies Foundations and Futures," will be provided by Dr. Lisa Uperesa (Associate Professor, UCLA) on Day 1 of the conference (Wednesday, 5 November 2025) at 10 am HST in UHM's Campus Center Ballroom.

Learn more about how we are celebrating 75 years of Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi on our conference website here:  https://go.hawaii.edu/J4r

Lastly, if you have not registered to attend in person but would like to, please email cpis@hawaii.edu with the subject line "Continuity & Community" for more information!
Check out the Pacific Showcase films at the Hawaiʻ Check out the Pacific Showcase films at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival in the coming week! Book tickets directly through HIFF: https://hiff.org/2025grid/?_sections=pacific-showcase

Remathau | 21 October at 2 PM
Nicole Yamase begins her journey of discovery by diving to the deepest part of the ocean, an area within the Marianas Trench named “Challenger Deep.”

A Paradise Lost | 21 October at 1:30 PM
An enchanting, yet harrowing tale of the yellow finch of Palila v. Hawai‘i, a landmark case where nature took humanity to court to stave off extinction. 

Nā Wāhine Buda Kiakahi | 22 October at 2:30 PM
This documentary begins with the life of Mary Mikahala Robinson Foster, lady in waiting to Queen Liliʻuokalani. 

Mārama | 22 October at 7:30 PM and 23 October at 6:30 PM
In 1859 North Yorkshire, a young Māori woman, torn from her homeland, struggles to reclaim her identity against the suffocating weight of colonial oppression. 

Pacific Islander Showcase Shorts | 24 October at 7:15 PM
The premiere showcase of new Pasifika short films, presenting Sundance selections, international premieres from across the Diaspora.

Tangata Pai (GoodPeople) - Part 1 and Tangata Pai (GoodPeople) - Part 2 | 24 and 25 October at 6:30 PM
Set in the heart of Aotearoa, a Māori land occupation at Puke Ariki ignites a volatile clash between activists, police, politicians, and whānau.

Kōkā | 25 October at 10:30 AM
KŌKĀ opens with a sequence of intertwined events. 

Māhū + Shorts | 26 October at 12:15 PM
This is a short documentary which aims to reclaim and celebrate the traditional place of honor and respect given to māhū (transgender) people. 

Mālama Mākua + Shorts | 28 October at 6:30 PM (Kapolei)
Nestled on the western shore of Oʻahu, Hawai‘i, Mākua Valley is a sacred place where Native Hawaiian creation stories speak of earth and sky deities giving birth to the first people. 

Before the Moon Falls | 30 October at 6:15 PM (Kapolei)
In May 2024, the Pacific was shaken by the shocking news of a murder in Samoa. The perpetrator was Sia Figiel—a groundbreaking novelist and poet, celebrated worldwide as the first to give voice to the struggles of Samoan girls and women.
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University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
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