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Oceania Currents

Oceania Currents

by CPIS

16. Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025: “Aloha Nō”

The Hawaiʻi Triennial is Hawaiʻi’s largest, thematic exhibition of contemporary art from Hawai‘i, the Pacific, and beyond. Last year’s Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025 (HT25) shared the work of 49 artists and artist collectives around the theme "Aloha Nō." In this episode, we hear from one of the three co-curators of HT25, Noelle Kahanu, as well as three HT25 artists: Gisela McDaniel, a diasporic, Indigenous CHamoru artist who explores the effects of trauma, displacement, and colonization through portraiture and oral histories; John Pule, the celebrated Niuean painter and poet based in Aotearoa New Zealand; and Brandy Nālani McDougall, the Kanaka ʻŌiwi poet and educator who served as Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate 2023-2025.

15. The Blue Pacific: A Narrative for Pacific Regionalism

The concept of the Blue Pacific is central to Pacific regionalism. It serves as a narrative for rallying Pacific Islands countries to commitment to regionalism and collective diplomacy as well as a counter narrative to global geopolitical mappings. The Blue Pacific empowers Pacific Island countries by giving them agency to frame and tell their own narratives and map their region in context of increasing geopolitical competition. In this episode we talk story with Dame Meg Taylor, the former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and Sione Tekiteki, a senior lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology. We talanoa about the concept of the Blue Pacific, how it emerged, and what it means to the region.

14. Guåhan in FestPAC: Renewing Ancestral Connections

In this two-part story, Oceania Currents dives into Guåhan’s rich and complex relationship with the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC), produced with guest host Eva Aguon Cruz. In episode one, we hear from three leading CHamoru cultural practitioners as they reflect on their journeys through FestPAC, from Guåhan’s first participation in 1976 to today: Leonard Iriarte, master chanter and founder of I Fanalai’an Oral History Project; Julie “Mama Jill” Benavente, master carver from artist co-operative Guinahan CHamoru; and Raphael Unpingco, multidisciplinary artist based at Sagan Kotturan CHamoru.

13. Geopolitics in Oceania: Pacific Islands' Security in an Era of Great Power Competition

After the Cold War, US interest in the Pacific Islands waned. Assistance to Pacific Islands declined, and the US closed its embassies and consular offices in several Pacific Islands. However, China’s presence and influence in the Pacific Islands has triggered renewed interest from Western powers and a new geopolitical competition. In this episode, we speak with Prof. Kenneth Gofigan Kuper (University of Guam) about militarization and US strategy in Guåhan and the broader Micronesian subregion and with journalist Nic Maclellan about European and Australian engagement with Oceania.

12. Nuclear Testing in the Pacific: Truth-telling and Collective Memory

Between 1946 and 1996, the US, Great Britain and France tested over 300 nuclear weapons in the Pacific. The legacies of those nuclear weapons tests continue to affect Pacific Islanders and Islands today. In this episode, we speak with Nic Maclellan, an Australian journalist who has worked on nuclear issues in the Pacific for decades. After that, we talk story with Mililani Ganivet and Marie-Helene Villierme from Tahiti about their audio-documentary podcast project Nu/clear Stories, which shares stories of everyday life and grapples with the legacies of the period of nuclear testing in French Polynesia.

11. Papua Merdeka: Voices of the Free West Papua Campaign

West Papua's ongoing struggle for independence is the longest and most violent independence struggle in Oceania. In this episode, we speak with Raki Ap and Koteka Wenda, two West Papuan activists who are spokespeople for the Free West Papua Campaign. They share their personal and family stories of struggle, their dreams of a free West Papua, and why this struggle is important to the region.

10. Poetry and Climate Activism with Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner

Climate change is the most important existential threat to the Pacific Islands, and Pacific Islanders have actively campaigned to address climate change issues, taking leadership at international forums such as the United Nations Conference of the Parties. In this episode, we talk with Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, one of the most well-known Pacific Islander climate activists. She uses poetry, film, and other media to create awareness about the impacts of climate change in her home, the Marshall Islands, and the Pacific Islands region. She currently serves as Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands Ministry of Environment and is an alumna of the CPIS MA program. You will hear two of her poems in this episode. We close the episode with a group poem written by current CPIS students Carol Ann Carl and Taylor Bungelkelau Vitarelli.

9. Oral History in the Pacific, Part 2: Reclaiming Stories for Collective Futures

Part 2 of a talk story about oral history with three leading scholars: Nepia Mahuika (Massey University), Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor (UH Mānoa), and Ty Kāwika Tengan (UH Mānoa). "Oral History in the Pacific" features our three guests in conversation about storytelling practices in their home communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. In Part 2, they share about how they came to oral history and reflect on building relationships in, across, and in spite of institutions.

8. Oral History in the Pacific, Part 1: Storytelling in Aotearoa and Hawaiʻi

Part 1 of a talk story about oral history with three leading scholars: Nepia Mahuika (Massey University), Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor (UH Mānoa), and Ty Kāwika Tengan (UH Mānoa). "Oral History in the Pacific" features our three guests in conversation about storytelling practices in their home communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. In Part 1, they talk about kōrero tuku iho and moʻo ʻōlelo; share different stories about Māui as a trickster, advocate, and ancestor; and discuss the relationship between storytelling and the written word.

7. Pacific Stories on Stage: "Nothing Micro About Micronesia"

Nothing Micro About Micronesia is a new play created by TeAda Productions and members of the Micronesian community in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, through a series of community workshops. It is a coming-of-age story about two Micronesian boys who encounter an unlikely place after a series of conflicts between them. In this episode, we speak with three cast members: Ova Saopeng (co-writer, co-director, cast), Kathy Martin, and Kealaula Faifili. They discuss the devising process behind the play and the impact it has had for their audiences here in Hawaiʻi. Nothing Micro About Micronesia premiered at Honolulu Theater for Youth in March, 2024, and will be performed again on May 25, 2024, at the Kennedy Theater at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for the CAATA ConFest. Tickets for the upcoming performance at CAATA ConFest 2024 are available at www.caata.net/confest24-nmam.

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