In Pasifika, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander communities seek identity and independence

As she grew up and carved out a life in Washington state, Malie Chanel remembers filling out forms and applications and having to identify herself as Asian, or at best, Asian Pacific Islander.

The thing was, as a Samoan American, she wasn’t Asian and certainly didn’t feel that way. Asian Americans didn’t consider her such, even though much of larger society considered her to be.

“It really destroys who you are as your Indigenous self,” said Chanel, elder services director for the Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington in Federal Way. “It’s an honor to call myself Pasifika.”

The growing use of the term “Pasifika” reflects a push within the community to recognize Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders as distinct from Asian Americans – not only as an expression of identity but as a means of addressing inequities between the two populations. Lumping them together, advocates say, places Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders at a disadvantage when it comes to health and economic resources given the community’s small numbers and unique concerns.