Pacific Islanders—What does Tyson Farm have to do with all of this? (Joseph Seia, S1, Ep 6)
Joseph Seia is the Co-Executive Director of the National Association of Pasifika Organizations (NAOPO) and the founder of PICA-WA (Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington). He has 15 years of experience in direct service, youth development work, and nonprofit leadership & administration. He labors against the political erasure of Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (NH/PI) communities in data and policy by re-envisioning what it means for Pasifikans to feel cultural belonging in the U.S. Diaspora.
In Part 1 of this conversation, we talk about
- Melanesia
- how unhealthy food is dumped in pacific island market, affecting their health
- the idea that pacific islanders are primarily a black race and how anti-blackness has infiltrated the community
- Micronesia
- the harms of Japanese and us colonialism and COFA, Compact of Free Associations
- the targeted recruitment of Pacific Islanders for food factories to avoid immigration barriers
- the poisoning of the environment through nuclear waste plants and climate justice champions fighting this violation
- Polynesia
- the concern of viewing islands’ existence as entertainment for Asian and American tourists
- how Christianity was Samoanized when it arrived, emphasizing the idea of holding multiple beliefs in contrast to western society’s belief that things can’t coexist
- Joseph’s favorite food
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