Transnational Pacific Islanders: Implications for Social Work

Abstract

The Pacific Islander American racial group is smaller in terms of numbers relative to other racial groups and yet one of the fastest-growing in the United States. The complexity of their lives exceeds the implications of such small numbers, yet it reflects the contribution of their transnational ties and relationships in the Pacific and increasing multiple cultural identities as Pacific Islander Americans. Although this identity provides potential opportunities, challenges and struggles in navigating dual cultures and systems is a reality. Thus, commitment to culturally relevant social work practice with transnational Pacific Islander Americans is imperative. Social work practices that acknowledge and integrate indigenous ways of knowing and doing with consideration to the duality of their transnational identities will produce better outcomes. Emphasis on Pacific Islander cultural strengths is fundamental to generating positive health and mental health outcomes as these strengths have sustained Pacific Islanders through experiences of colonization, immigration, and historical trauma. This article discusses the multiple dimensions of the transnational experiences of Pacific Islander Americans and the implications for culturally relevant social work practice, policy, and research.

Community Resilience and Cultural Responses in Crisis: Lessons Learned from Pacific Islander Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA

“…The population of Pacific Islanders within the USA is incredibly diverse, made of individuals and their descendants from Hawaiʻi, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Aotearoa, Tokelau, Guam, Mariana Islands, Saipan, Palau, Caroline Islands, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands [ 7 ]. It has only been since 1997, however, that the USA Office of Budget Management separated out the category of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders from the Asian racial category.…”

“I Need to Get My Culture Back”: Youth and Provider Perspectives on Integrating Culturally Based Approaches into Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Youth Experiencing Homelessness

“…Within the concept of lōkahi , harmony among kānaka promotes health (Martin & Godinet, 2018 ). Thus, lōkahi promotes an orientation toward interdependence, a social norm also found in Pacific Islander cultures (Godinet et al, 2019 ; Kamaka et al, 2021 ). Youth participants demonstrated an orientation toward interdependence by asking for content that promotes healthy relationships and asking for more community members to be included as program participants, demonstrating care for community members and recognizing that the well-being of community members matters to their health.…”

“…Lōkahi emphasizes the importance of relationships between akua (God[s]), kānaka , and ʻāina to health (Martin & Godinet, 2018 ; Stanford Medicine, 2019 ). This holistic understanding of health also is part of other Pacific Islander cultures (Godinet et al, 2019 ).…”

Resilience and adversity among older Pacific Islanders in Southern California.

“…PIs endure cultural, historical, and racial trauma that can reduce their resilience and ability to recover between adverse events (Braun et al, 2015, 2021; Browne et al, 2009). In some cases, older PIs endure hardships as new immigrants to the United States, such as navigating novel social norms in the new country, contact with fewer social supports, and a loss of identity (Braun et al, 2021; Godinet et al, 2019). However, studies that focus on resilience and older PIs are rare, with those that exist in this area generally concentrating on Native Hawaiian populations.…”