Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

Unravelling Ghost Nets, Making Torres Strait Connections

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By Carol E. Mayer, PPP Board Member

From February 24 to March 16, 2019, ghost nets are the centre of attention at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (MOA) in Vancouver, British Columbia. This is when MOA is hosting Lynnette Griffiths and Florence Gutchen, two artists from the Island of Erub (Darnley), located in the Torres Strait between the northmost tip of continental Australia and the island of New Guinea. The Ghost Net exhibition will become a permanent MOA exhibition.

Carol with ghost net artists at the Erub Arts Centre, May 2018. Credit: Lynnette Griffiths

I first met Lynnette and Florence in May 2018 when I visited Erub to document the creation of Eip Kor Korr, a sculpture made of synthetic fishing nets. They and the other artists asked me why I travelled so far to see what they were doing. I told them the reason really goes back 15 years earlier, when I came to Erub to attend what was meant to be the celebrations for a successful Native title claim—a legal milestone that would have seen Native title recognized over all the outer community islands in the Torres Strait. However, at the eleventh hour the Australian Federal Court withdrew consent, leaving the islanders with nothing to celebrate.

On Erub, disappointment was replaced with the decision to go ahead and celebrate their traditional ownership of the Island despite the court proceedings being abandoned. I was privileged to witness and film the day-long event. A commemorative t-shirt had been made for the occasion; it is now on display at MOA. I left with a lasting memory of the islanders’ determined effort to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Indeed, Native title was granted two years later.

Now I journeyed back to Erub to witness this same determination as the islanders once again came together to turn a challenge into a victory. This time the challenge came from the sea. North Australia is one of the last remaining safe havens for endangered marine species. Marine turtles are especially vulnerable to entanglement in “ghost nets”: fishing nets that have been lost at sea, abandoned, or discarded when they become damaged. When these nets float on ocean currents they invisibly and silently entangle marine wildlife—hence the name “ghost.” Between 2005 and 2015, up to 10,000 turtles became entangled in such nets.

Eip Kor Korr being constructed by Racy Oui-Pitt, Florence Gutchen, Ethel Charlie and Ellarose Savage. Credit: Lynnette Griffiths

For Erub islanders, turtles are a traditional source of food and an integral part of their belief system and culture. The islanders began to gather these nets from the reefs and beaches, often with dead animals still entangled in the webbing, and started to take them apart to see whether they could be used for crafts. They discovered the multi-coloured strands that run through the centre of the ropes and began using them to weave figures of small animals. They then simply decided to go big, creating full-scale figures of turtles and other large sea creatures. These sculptures soon caught the attention of the Australian Museum in Sydney, and one was commissioned for the collection. The rest is history. Today, these ghost-net sculptures are part of a worldwide movement, in which the artists of Erub work with local and international museums to create powerful installations that oscillate between art and the living environment.

I encountered ghost-net sculptures for the first time in 2017, where they were installed in the exhibition Ghost Nets of the Ocean at the Ethnography Museum in Geneva, Switzerland. I was struck by the similarity of these powerful sculptures and the Native title t-shirt collected so many years before: both reflected the tenaciousness of a community in deploying its collective creativity to bring attention to outside challenges, whether political or environmental. The relevance of the ghost-net sculptures to MOA was emphasized for me by our commitment to exhibit contemporary art that speaks to similar challenges here in British Columbia and elsewhere in the world. With monies from MOA’s O’Brian Strategic Acquisitions Fund, we were able to purchase a hammerhead shark sculpture and to commission a giant turtle. I journeyed to Erub in May 2018 to document the making of our turtle and to talk with the islanders about the impact of the ghost nets on cultural life.

Jimmy J. Thaiday and Jimmy K Thaiday carry hammer head ghost net shark along an Erub beach. It is now on display at MOA. Credit: Carol Mayer

I arrived at the Erub Arts Centre, where the artists work, to see hundreds of metres of fishing nets strewn everywhere, all waiting to be unravelled and transformed into works of art. On the table in the studio the metal framework for MOA’s turtle had been welded together by Jimmy K. Thaiday in readiness for the women to start their work. During my time I saw the shell, flippers, underbelly, and finally the head take shape. I also met Lorenzo Ketchell, the designer of the t-shirt.

About halfway through the process, the decision was made that MOA’s turtle would be a middle-sized female specimen—a teenager—and her Erub name would be Eip Kor Korr. There was no question of her travelling home with me, though, as she first had another journey to make. She was wrapped, crated, and shipped to Cairns where she was exhibited alongside other ghost-net sculptures at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. She was then re-crated and flown more than 7,000 miles/11,000 kilometers to Vancouver, where she was unpacked at MOA in readiness for her installation in the Multiversity Galleries opposite the Erub t-shirt I collected so long ago.

Today Eip Kor Korr swims above museum visitors’ heads alongside the hammerhead shark, where she is, as Florence says, “a beautiful piece of art declaring the message that we must keep the water clean: we look after the sea and the sea looks after us.”

Florence Gutchen creating Eip Kor Korr’s flipper. Credit: Carol Mayer

Lynnette’s and Florence’s MOA residency is funded by the Andrew Fellowship, which also funded the 2006 MOA residency of Teddy Balangu from Palembei, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea. Since then, MOA and the Pacific Peoples Partnership (PPP) have worked with Teddy and others to raise global awareness about impending mining activities at the headlands of the river, and in 2017 co-hosted the visit of three artists: Claytus Yambon, Nancy Wani, and Edward Dumoi. During this visit the artists, PPP, and Elaine Monds (Alcheringa Gallery) gave presentations at an international symposium being held at UBC. These events, and more, point to the depth of commitment PPP has shown to Indigenous rights, especially as they pertain to the cultural and environmental damage caused by resource extraction, overfishing and the abandonment of fishing gear that has trapped and killed innumerable marine species, bringing many to the brink of extinction.

During their time in British Columbia, Lynnette and Florence will be giving public workshops at MOA, Musqueam Reserve, and schools in the Vancouver area. They will also be meeting representatives from Global Ghost Gear Initiative Secretariat and the Vancouver Aquarium, and will then travel to Vancouver Island as guests of PPP. There, they will participate in a video about their experiences, plus visit Alcheringa Gallery and the Royal British Columbia Museum. They will also host a public program organised by PPP. For this, they are bringing the frame of a large barracuda so that workshop participants can “dress” it with scales they create from fishing nets.

Underscoring its global relevance, this project was started in Geneva; it will continue in British Columbia and then be taken to England, carrying with it the ethos of collaborating across continents and countries. At the same time, the project will deliver new skills and create an opportunity for people to talk, discuss, and share. Both MOA and PPP consider themselves fortunate to work alongside such powerful advocates. We welcome the prospect of creating relationships that will reach into the future.

Carol welcomes Eip Kor Korr tot MOA. Credit: Nancy Bruegmann

Carol E. Mayer is the head of the curatorial and interpretation department at the Museum of Anthropology and an associate to UBC’s Department of Anthropology. In 2006 she began a long association with Alcheringa Gallery when she travelled with Elaine Monds to the Sepik River. Soon after that she joined the Board of the Pacific Peoples Partnership. Her research interests include the history of Pacific Islands collections in Canada, the exploration of intellectual property rights, and the building of collaborative networks between the Pacific and the Pacific Northwest. In 2013 she organised the PAA International Symposium in Vancouver, Canada, and curated the exhibition and authored the publication Paradise Lost? Contemporary Arts of the Pacific. She also co-authored (with Anna Naupa and Vanessa Warri) the book No Longer Captives of the Past: The Story of a Reconciliation Ceremony on Erromango. Her recent exhibition and publication, In the Footprint of the Crocodile Man, opened in March 2016. She has been granted numerous awards, including from the Canadian Museums Association and the International Council of Museums. She has also received the President’s Medal of Excellence and the Independence Medal from the Republic of Vanuatu.

 

Living in Tune with the Ocean – Vaka Taumako Project Strengthens Solomon Islands Traditions

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By Alison Gardner, Editor, Pasifik Currents

All images © to Vaka Taumako Project

“In the far western Pacific Ocean on the eastern edge of the Solomon Islands, Polynesian Voyaging is alive,” opens the engaging six-minute trailer on the Vaka Taumako Project website. “These vaka or voyaging canoes are built by hand using sustainable local materials, ancient tools and design knowledge, and uncommon craftsmanship by young and old.”

Traditional Taumako voyaging canoe.  Credit: Wade Fairley

Therein lies the mission of the project to revive something nearly lost. The Vaka Valo Association is the name of the Taumako charitable organization that runs this project. “Very appropriately,” says Dr. Marianne (Mimi) George, a Hawaii-based anthropologist who studies Pacific wayfinding cultures and one of the guiding forces documenting this initiative, “Valo means something like healing or growing or improving through customary ways. Maybe ‘rising up of customary life-unity’ would be a good translation.”

Transporting people and goods, these vessels are distinctive, complex, and designed to travel over long distances on the open ocean. An entire remote community is “rising up” to take a hand in reclaiming expert knowledge of traditional seamanship and star navigation before it is lost. People who know these techniques can use them to find their way even if modern navigational equipment fails them.

As community elders pass away, they ask who will guide them? Today these last living navigators reject modern instruments. Instead they call for a revival of natural navigation, teaching a new generation to use the methods of their ancestors to follow ancient sea roads to a more culturally-rich and sustainable future.

Paramount Chief and Master Navigator Koloso Kavela started the Vaka Taumako Project with this vision. Having spent much of his life sailing around the Solomon Islands, he had seen the disruptive effects of town life on people from small communities like Taumako. However, as part of his vision, he insisted that some young men and women of the community learn modern methods of documentation to share the natural phenomena such as weather patterns that could aid scientists, sailors and others outside Taumako. A remarkable three-part film is unfolding that is both inspiring and informative.

Dr Simon Salopuka is the lead director on the Vaka Taumako Project, and his story is an extraordinary one in its own right. He grew up on the volcanic island of Taumako with no electricity, phone, airstrip or harbour. At age 14 he left to further his education and didn’t return for 20 years. In the interim, he earned his medical degree in Papua New Guinea and worked at a hospital in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara. He recalls, “I felt something was missing, something deep from my culture.”

Simon Salopuka and Mimi George. Credit: Monte Costa

When Dr. Salopuka got a call from the Paramount Chief, Koloso Kavela, asking him for help with a project to revive his village’s distinctive voyaging traditions, he knew it was time to go home. His dedication to the project is strong as he himself learns all he can about the traditional culture and skills that are his heritage.

The Taumako-style canoe is one where most of the hull rides under the water. The visible platform where you sit or stand rests on the whole canoe which is submerged. Sails are woven from pandanus leaves that “catch the wind like a tropic bird.” There is no tacking, commonly associated with sailing. The crew lifts the slim mast and carries the entire sail from one end of the vaka to the other, a procedure known as shunting.

“It is an amazing design,” says Dr. George, who paid her first visit to Taumako in 1993. “These canoes are smooth, with quick acceleration and they’re easy to steer on many points of sail. And what’s so fascinating is that you’re basically riding on a submarine with an outrigger. They are fast and stable and can carry a lot of weight.”

In the early 1900s, as many as 200 voyaging canoes were reported to be sailing the waters around Taumako. Tragically, in 1918 the Spanish flu pandemic decimated the island population leaving only 37 survivors including a young Koloso Kavela. Today the population is about 450. Though he passed away in 2009, it is truly encouraging to traditional cultures around the world that this Paramount Chief is achieving his vision to revive natural navigation, restore his community’s pride in their skills, and celebrate what is being achieved on film.

Everyone in the community gets involved, even young girls expertly weaving sails for voyaging canoes.

Partly to raise money to fund Parts 2 and 3 of this documentary and partly to raise wider awareness of this unique initiative, Part 1 of We, the Voyagers has been globetrotting in 2018 and early 2019.

“We have done over 20 test screenings of Part 1 with very diverse audiences, and we have received very enthusiastic responses,” says Dr. George, “so we are confident that the film connects well with crossover audiences. We have screened it in the National Museum of Solomon Islands, Guam and Fiji Indigenous cultural gatherings, UNESCO meetings in Korea and Solomon Islands, the National Tropical Botanical Gardens Educational Series on Kaua’i, various sailing and paddling clubs, university classes, anthropology conferences and museums in California, Oregon and Washington State. And, of course, we were delighted to screen it at Pacific Peoples’ Partnership’s One Wave Festival in Victoria in early September 2018. During February and March 2019, we will screen at cultural gatherings, museums, and universities in Aotearoa, and in coming months, we will apply to film festivals happening later in 2019 and in 2020.”

Meanwhile, the documentary team is making a roughcut of Part 2 for test screenings in March 2019. The hope is that funding, including individual private donations, will permit completion of all three parts of the film. Part 2 is about selecting crew members, their jobs, how the vaka performs at sea and the ancient navigation system. “We are also excited to capture on film what happens when a crew arrives at a distant island and re-establishes long lost contacts,” adds Dr. George.

Donations to support the project and film production may be made by PayPal or cheque on the Vaka Taumako website.

At PPP’s One Wave Gathering in September 2018, Vaka Taumako guests screened Part I of their documentary at MediaNet’s Flux Gallery in Victoria.

The Vaka Taumako team is returning to Victoria on March 24 and 25, looking forward to showing Part 2 to anyone connected with PPP who wants to see it. Please contact the PPP director, director@pacificpeoplespartnership.com for more information about when and where.

 

Alison Gardner is a professional travel journalist and travel magazine editor living in Victoria, B.C. She has been part of Pacific Peoples Partnership for 28 years, serving on the Board twice and volunteering in writing, editing and communications roles throughout that time. She is currently editor of Pasifik Currents e-newsletter. www.travelwithachallenge.com.

 

HELP Resources and Pacific Peoples’ Partnership Collaborate to Strengthen Sepik Women Market and Street Vendors’ Collective Voice in Shaping Informal Economy Development

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By Elizabeth (Sabet) Cox

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), even when you live on customary land and subsist largely on the natural food resources available in your rural village, you will need cash. Outside informal trade, there are few alternatives to finding the money needed to meet the most basic needs and to pay for children’s education, family health and the community contributions that sustain informal social protection systems. With a population of about 25,000, Wewak town has at least fifteen ‘markets’ and many more informal, street trading hubs of various sizes, operating under different regimes. Only one is managed by local government.

Vendors Collective Voice – Local vendor, Lilian Wanaki, offers handicrafts and jewellery for sale.  Photo: Elizabeth Cox

Every day, an estimated three to five thousand women are trading under challenging conditions. While some women vendors can build viable, small enterprises, most live precariously from day to day, on small incomes derived from informal trade and many have done so for decades. Many women vendors have grown up alongside their grandmothers and mothers who were informal traders and now they follow in their footsteps. Returning home at the end of the day ‘empty handed’ increases the probability of children being deprived of adequate food or education and of family stress, conflict and domestic violence.

It is almost 45 years since PNG achieved independence. The PNG constitution aimed to guide equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, but a succession of male politicians has built an economy based on large scale extractive industries – mining, petroleum, gas, logging and fisheries.  Extractive industry projects have undermined the livelihood of a rural majority and failed to generate national revenues that translate into effective service delivery to meet the basic needs of the citizens. Promises of free education and health care are failing, the isolation and neglect of the rural majority persists, and poverty deepens. Markets are the workplace of so many women, and an important source of food security and good nutrition for the general population. Women trading in PNG’s massive informal economy are the lifeline for their families, but without visibility, voice and influence, street traders and women market traders are powerless and oppressed.

 

Vendors Collective Voice – A young mother cradles her month-old baby while she trades.  Photo: Elizabeth Cox

In the main Wewak market, with the largest congregation of vendors, the urban Local Level Government (LLG) collects daily taxes (gate fees) from women vendors. Local government has very few other regular sources of revenue as too many of the town’s wealthier residents and local businesses default on council rate payments. It’s far easier to collect taxes from poor women market and street vendors, who are punished heavily if they default. Wewak’s main market has 1000-1500 women vendors’ daily – 96% are female. The fees and taxes paid by market vendors provide substantial daily revenue for LLG operation – a fact that is invisible and ignored by both local government and the general public. No one is able to trace where these market revenues go and how they are spent. But very little of the revenues collected is reinvested into market management, maintenance, cleaning or improvement of the working conditions, facilities or services to tax-paying vendors.

Currently, Wewak town market, like so many other municipal markets throughout Melanesia, is a profitable operation but is oppressive, exploitative, and extractive of women vendors’ hard-earned, small incomes. The vendors endure daily ‘working conditions’ that are unsafe, unhygienic, and discriminatory on the basis of gender, class and rural commuters or urban residents.

Rural vendors fill the unsheltered spaces at the town market.  Photo: Elizabeth Cox

Wewak’s many other smaller and scattered street markets and trading hubs operate in ad hoc and gender discriminatory ways, usually personally benefitting an opportunistic local landowner, local politician or businessman who insist vendors pay ‘informal taxes’, often using extreme bullying tactics. Without information and organisation, vendors are unable to protest or voice their priorities, needs and concerns. They will remain vulnerable, invisible, marginalised and poor.

While the situation of markets and informal traders in Wewak is the similar across PNG and Melanesia, the country is unique in having legislation intended to promote and protect the Informal Economy (The Informal Economy Development and Control Act 2009). This IE Act provides an opportunity to return to the core principles of PNG’s Constitution, protecting the rights of the urban poor and the rural population alike. However, the PNG government has a poor track record in prioritizing, planning budgeting and delivering on social development, so implementation of the IE Act has been extremely slow. Most vendors know nothing about it.

Founded in 1999, HELP Resources (HELP-R) is currently led by a younger generation of development workers working in an extremely challenging development context. HELP’s mission is to work with local government and civil society to deliver more effectively on laws, policies and strategies for social protection and development. Focus areas are promotion and protection of women and children’s rights, community-based access to information and education, documentation and promotion of endangered material knowledge, and development and protection of the informal economy.

Jill Bosro, Manager of HELP Resources, checks in with a vendor at the town market.  Photo: HELP Resources.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership and HELP Resources Team Up

In 2017 Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) and HELP-R planned a pilot project to demonstrate effective, district-level implementation of the IE Act, and associated government policy and strategy. The pilot project aims to facilitate education, information and training that will motivate and support emerging vendors organisations and their leaders to find their collective voice and influence planning, budgeting for effective Development.

Staff and associates of both PPP and HELP-R have previously worked together to facilitate PPP links with Sepik artists. HELP-R is based in Wewak, the provincial capital of the East Sepik Province, the gateway to the Sepik River, where PPP has well-established links with women and men carvers, weavers and painters. HELP-R has facilitated the communication and cooperation links between PPP and remote communities on the river and most recently has enabled one village to set up safe water supplies. However, the ‘Vendors Voice’ partnership is a new and exciting joint venture to realize a transformative process conceptualized and drafted by HELP-R.

The project is about making vendors aware of the PNG Constitution, the IE Act, and PNG’s commitments to global human rights and gender equality norms and standards and sustainable and inclusive development. It is about engaging vendors in participatory research to become more aware of the injustice of their ‘working conditions’ and the current governance of markets and street trade. The project aims to strengthen women vendors’ organisation, leadership, confidence and capacity to advocate for change and shape informal economy development as it was envisaged in the constitution and in the new IE law. On the supply side, the project will also contribute to the gender and rights awareness and sensitization of local government leaders and administrators, so that constructive engagement of vendors with local government is possible and effective.

The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is the Commonwealth’s agency for civil society, supporting participation in democracy and development. It supports ‘civic voices’ to act together and influence the institutions that shape people’s lives. The Foundation works to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development with effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels of participatory governance, which implies creative and constructive engagement between civil society and other governance stakeholders. CF awards funding for sustainable development projects that contribute to effective, responsive and accountable governance with civil society participation.

In early 2017, HELP-R prepared a project proposal to submit to the Commonwealth Foundation and PPP agreed to act as the fiscal agent, assisting with the monitoring of project implementation, preparation of annual narrative and financial reports. HELP Resources is the lead NGO in frontline project implementation and is engaging and working alongside several other local NGOs.

In 2017 CF awarded a grant for the Vendors’ Voice 3-year project which aims to support women market vendors and street traders to negotiate for decent work conditions and fairer and transparent informal economy development and governance. The project supports women vendors and informal street traders to achieve this through effective organisation, mobilization and empowerment to raise their ‘Collective Voice’ and shape the application of the Informal Economy Act to market and street trade planning, budgeting, governance and development. Constructive Dialogue between vendors and local government and the development of participatory governance structures, mechanisms and processes for market and informal economy development, are at the heart of the project. Recognition of informal trading as legitimate ‘work’ that is the backbone of the local economy, ensuring a decent and safe workplace for women vendors – free from violence and exploitation – bring important anticipated results.

Sago and coconut sticks are favourite snacks in Sepik region.  Photo: Jill Bosro

Year 2 Builds on New Evidence and Opportunities

Year One of the project was completed in September 2018 laying the foundation for targeted training of women market and street vendors and local government leaders and administrators. From August to November 2018, HELP-R established a daily presence at the market, working through selected vendors to conduct daily tallies while also logging common daily problems. Hundreds of vendors were consulted and provided information at a booth operated daily at the market. Operated by HELP-R and other local civil society partners, the booth provided preliminary information about the project and its focus on good governance, rights and responsibilities in the working context of market and street trading. Information was offered, mainly through public talks at the main market, as well as through several local radio programs.

In October 2018 HELP-R with a team of vendors and local community development leaders, completed a baseline survey across Wewak’s only government-managed market and twelve more informal markets.

In a new development at the start of Year 2, PNG’s national government decided to include the East Sepik Province in a National Audit of the Informal Economy and UN Women announced that it will launch a market-based project in another rural district of East Sepik Province. In addition to the government statistical audits and the UN’s large-scale project scoping, HELP-R’s more in-depth qualitative baseline survey brings a strong gender analysis and rights framework that will inform and complement these new efforts to roll out government informal economy policy. In Year 2, HELP-R will focus more on women vendors ‘education and organisation for constructive engagement with local government, based on its comparative advantage in working with women vendors, informing and educating them through a range of popular education strategies and tools.

 Inside the craft hall of Wewak town market.  Photo: Jill Bosro

Once tested and refined in Wewak, it is likely that the knowledge, tools and trainers resulting from the project can be replicated to serve women vendors in other districts of the East Sepik Province and other provinces of PNG. This will be a significant contribution to translating PNG’s Informal Economy law, policy and strategy into reality, and to making the daily trading by women visible and valued.

You may also visit, ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ the HELP Resources Facebook page, Sepik Market Vendors and Informal Traders.  Results of the baseline survey and project progress achievements will be uploaded on this site throughout 2019.

 

Elizabeth (Sabet) Cox  (email: sabetcox.png@gmail.com) has lived and worked in the East Sepik Province of PNG for 4 decades, in various sectors of social development. She founded HELP Resources with a group of Sepik activists in 1999, and later went on to work with the PNG Government and the United Nations. As Pacific Regional Director of UN Women, she designed projects to improve the status and conditions of women vendors and the governance of municipal markets across Melanesia. Elizabeth continues to provide technical support to HELP-R and several women’s rights and rural development organisations in the Highlands of PNG.

PPP Featured Partner Victoria Foundation

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PPP Featured Partner Victoria Foundation

In 2012 with the support and assistance of the Victoria Foundation, PPP was able to finalize realize our long time goal of creating an endowment fund to contribute towards our future sustainability.  The fund was set up in honour of our first PPP Executive Director Phil Esmonde, who died in 2011, out of respect for his lifetime of contributions to peace and humanity.  Our Esmonde Legacy Endowment fund was made possible through the generosity of PPP donors, which was matched by an anonymous donor through the Victoria Foundation.  Recently PPP was able to grow our fund by another $9,000 thanks to the generosity of PPP Board Director Lorna Eastman, and another anonymous match made possible through the Victoria Foundation. Our fund currently sits at just under $40,000.  Earlier this year PPP was a proud recipient of a Victoria Foundation grant towards our One Wave Gathering 2019 program from the Foundation’s Community Grants program, and we have been pleased to work with them as they present community-based workshops around the Global Sustainable development Goals.

Learn more about this important organization HERE 

Pacific Resilience Fund in Toukou

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Photo by April Ingham

In February of 2016, the strongest and costliest cyclone in the history of the South Pacific swept across Queensland, Tonga, Vanuatu, Niue, and Fiji. Tropical Cyclone Winston illustrated the widespread damage an extreme climate event can inflict upon island nations and its communities.

For Tokou village, on the Fijian island of Ovalau, the cyclone resulted in the loss of many local residences and the destruction of the Loreto Catholic School.

One school building, rushed by storm surges of up to seven meters high, floated off its foundations before coming to rest across the schoolyard. That same building began to serve as a temporary schoolhouse and meeting space for the community at its unanticipated new location.

The entire Tokou village, including the site of Loreto school, had been previously marked by the Fijian government for relocation. But in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston the Fijian government began reconstruction in the exact location Loreto was destroyed: adjacent to a steep hillside, flanked by road, river and ocean.

Disasters such as cyclones can reveal poorly informed and supported foundational frameworks—whether in architecture or in the disaster relief system.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Winston, international support channelled through the Fijian government provided funding for temporary classroom tent structures. These classroom tents baked in the tropical heat and became soaked from the ground up in the rain.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership became involved with rebuilding a more resilient Loreto School in this shifting landscape. We had pinpointed Loreto School as a strong candidate for support through consultations with hereditary Fijian leaders living in Victoria, BC. This oversight proved to be critical, as  a strong understanding of the community was needed to navigate multiple sources of funding rushing in to support insufficient temporary infrastructure in the community. 

Together with a variety of donors—including the local Pacific Islander community of the Victoria area—Pacific Peoples’ Partnership raised $15,000 for rebuilding Loreto Catholic School. The funding was channelled through the Pacific Resilience Fund, a flexible funding mechanism designed to promote medium term climate resiliency programming in communities as a supplement to the short term disaster relief system.

In 2017, Executive Director April Ingham travelled to Tokou Village to determine the full scope of Loreto School’s needs. Through consultations with elders, teachers and the broader community, April determined that PPP funding would be most useful to support the ongoing repairs, materials and labour needed to repair the Headteacher’s house. The school’s structural issues were being addressed by the Fijian government, and the Headteacher’s house proved to be a central meeting and community space for the school and village. Any additional funds would support the associated costs of a seawall to protect the school, incorporating recommendations of restoring coastal mangroves to protect against storm surge.

The Pacific Islands region is among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Geographic isolation, small size, and narrow resource base—coupled with the increasing magnitude and impact of existing natural hazards—threaten the lives and livelihoods of Pacific Island countries and territories.

The clear overlap between risks related to climate change and disaster management inspired the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific: An Integrated Approach to Address Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (FRDP). The FRDP provides guidance and critical insights for community stakeholders, from grassroots to government initiatives, to private interest investment.  The shift from a vulnerability based framework to a resiliency based framework is an important recognition of the leadership and strength of Island communities.

Through the efforts of local leaders and collaboration between community stakeholders, Pacific Islanders have the opportunity to develop more resilient communities and a stronger climate and disaster response framework. Extreme weather events will only continue to increase in frequency and severity. We need not wait for the next disaster to begin addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability, predominantly poverty, resource scarcity, ecological degradation, and land loss.

Please donate today to grow our Pacific Resilience Fund for communities in the South Pacific.

FrancOcéan Pacifique Program a Great Success

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We are incredibly thankful for the help of our partners and all those who had a hand in making our FrancOcéan Pacifique program possible. This project was a collaborative initiative taking place between Francophone youth in British Columbia and in New Caledonia. The province-wide project engaged students in grades six to nine in British Columbia and sixth to third in New Caledonia.

The idea of FrancOcéan Pacifique was to connect British Columbia and New Caledonia youth via a collaborative, interactive ocean study program, which included educational booklets, exchanging of Indigenous knowledge, and preparatory worksheets and videos. In support of these educational activities, a website was created to promote and to prepare the youth for the central events: the live dives.

Two live dives took place—one in B.C. and one in New Caledonia. These were designed to be interactive, educational and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. There were over 793 views of our live dive in Campbell River and 325 views of the dive in New Caledonia. However, a large amount of these views may represent an entire classroom of students!

The first dive on September 26, 2016 took place at the mouth of Campbell River on Vancouver Island—the salmon capital of the world—during the time of year that salmon travel back upstream to reproduce. It was conducted entirely in French. Project team members Julie Holsworth and Céline Modschiedler fielded students’ questions from across B.C. as well as parts of New Caledonia such as Dumbéa, Paîta and Ouvéa.

The thirty minute livestream was packed full of educational material about salmon. It carried valuable lessons about the unifying properties of the ocean—not only between British Columbia and New Caledonia, but all oceanic communities.

The second dive happened on November 17, 2016. It was hosted by Cécile Fauvelot from the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Joanna Mara and Nicolas Rafecas from the Centre de l’Initiation à l’Environnement. The stream took place from an aquarium in New Caledonia with footage of aquatic life interspersed throughout.

In order to protect, one must first be knowledgeable about what one is protecting. As such, we dove right into the process of photosynthesis to the dynamics of the ecosystems of the Coral Sea (off the west coast of New Caledonia). The power and importance of the sea and the necessity of taking care of the ocean animals and their habitat was stressed during this live stream, interspersed with beautiful shots of coral and sea life from the dive. You can view both of the dives on the project website here.

FrancOcéan Pacifique has been a very successful educational program connecting Francophone youth with each other and with the ocean. The program has been delightfully captured in a special French language edition of PPP’s Tok Blong Pasifik Journal that will be sent out to all the students who were a part of the initiative. This magazine is also available in a PDF format on the website for anyone to view.

If these young students can understand the natural balancing act that takes place in different ecosystems, not just in the ocean but all environments as well, then they can also see how the actions of humans can upset these balances. Connecting youth to the ocean and teaching the importance of protecting the environment and the life that it supports is of great importance. We are at a critical moment for our climate and for our ability to prevent irreparable damage to our environment.

FrancOcéan Pacifique was a wonderful part of doing just that: it not only connected students with other students from around the world, it helped connect students to the ocean and the incredibly diverse environment and life that it supports. The more that young people grow up caring for and connected to the natural world, the more we can hope future generations will strive to protect it.

We rely on donations to make programming like this possible. Please donate today to support our climate change and education programs.

Connections: South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Peoples of Canada

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Guest blog by PPP intern Kiana Swift

I am half Tongan. I take immense pride in the values of my people. As a child, my mother taught my sister and I to dance in Tongan culture and immersed us in the customs of the Polynesian people. These lessons gave us a deep understanding of how to respect one’s elders and the importance of family. Through these experiences, I am able to reflect on myself and feel part of a greater purpose.

This summer I had the opportunity to begin working for the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership as a cultural liaison and media assistant. Pacific Peoples’ Partnership deeply believes in the power and value of bringing Indigenous peoples of the North Pacific into community with South Pacific Islanders. From stories told along the Coast of pan-Pacific relationships to similar patterns in culture and protocol across the ocean, we see much that suggests a connection between these distinct peoples.  

But what do people and communities today have to say about this relationship? As a summer student with Pacific Peoples’ Partnership, I sat down to learn more.

It was exciting for me to discover how Indigenous peoples of Canada pass on the stories of their ancestors through song and dance, much like our own people. Indigenous peoples have an embracing and appreciative belief toward the land on which they live, grow and learn – as do South Pacific Islanders.

On Vancouver Island, we have many individuals with deep ties to both territories. I sat down with two of these individuals, Mua Va’a and Tina Savea, to discuss the possible relationships between the South Pacific Island community and local Indigenous communities.

PPP’s President Muavae Va’a was born and raised in Samoa. He immigrated to Canada where he met his wife Marie, a member of the Tsartlip First Nation. Tina Savea is Saulteaux Cree from the Keeseekoose community in Saskatchewan.  She is married to Niu Savea, a Pacific Islander from Samoa. Both provided insightful reflections and had similar views regarding the possibilities between the two communities.  

The first connection made by Mua had to do with each community’s relationship to the sea. “When we talk about the connections, we look to the sea,” he said. “The Pacific Islanders and here [Indigenous peoples of Canada] have respect and protocol for the land and waters.” The Pacific Ocean has provided beyond measure to our ancestors – and this is sacred in both territories.

Kiana Swift

Customs around valuing and embracing our elders is a big part of both peoples’ priorities, and both Tina and Mua agreed on this shared value. “The way we treat elders is very similar… they are very highly valued in our cultures,” said Tina. “We take care of them, serve them, and they are known to be the biggest people that we learn from.” Elders play an essential role in societies like ours – they carry knowledge, and it is through them that we discover the wonderful history of our people.

As a Tongan living in T’Sou-ke territory, I live away from my home territory. Likewise, both Tina and Mua resonate with a faraway territory. I posed a question to each of them about this dynamic.

“In being so far away from where our creation stories are rooted, where do we look for guidance while living in a different territory?”

Tina explained: “Even though we are from different places, we are still able to build bridges and connect. In Polynesian communities there is an automatic acceptance… they adopt you in, and don’t look at you as an outsider.”

By learning about the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, I am reminded of home. These two cultures have had diverging histories in their experience of colonialism and globalization, which has created vast differences in communities today. For example, Pacific Islanders have always been able to learn about and take pride in their culture – whereas Indigenous peoples of Canada have been forcibly prevented from learning and practicing the teachings of their elders.

But by building relationships between the two, we are creating opportunities for cultural growth in the face of Western pressures.

“We need to make ourselves available and read how people live here…” Mua said, “I really hope as islanders we will come to that place and be able to support the people locally.”

“Sometimes the world isn’t open to us,” said Tina. “By being connected with each other, we can open up new places.” This posed an enlightening concept especially to me as a youth looking to travel the world. By seeking to understand and value another’s culture, I’m able to be reminded of my roots and to create opportunities to further my life experiences.

Despite the little amount of research done on links between the two cultures, there is a significant association. A question suggested would be: how do we further develop the relationship?

Tina explained, “ Actually seeing value in other cultures…sometimes we focus on ourselves but  being able to see value in other cultures will able us to connect. Valuing someone as friend and make yourself aware of their culture. Look at the value of each other and then there can be a connection because if we think it has to be something huge it doesn’t have to be.”

This is an informative statement because when thinking of bridging a gap between two peoples, it can seem like an intimidating feat. However, as Tina stated, it can be as simple as letting someone into your life and having a willingness to understand their culture.

I think those of us who are blessed to be able to connect with our personal history and still practice those activities are always willing to share their knowledge. I say that because as being half Tongan I love informing people of my culture and how grateful I am to be a part of that. By spreading knowledge about my culture, I’m able to feel closer to my heritage.

The developing relationship between South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous people of Canada is a new community to look forward to. The positive outcomes this connection can achieve are beneficial not only to these two diverse groups but also to individuals in surrounding communities. The awareness of culture, traditional practices and humble attitudes of these groups enable respect the land, our elders, and a continued embrace of the customs of our ancestors.   

Protecting Indigenous Cultural Property: Is Intellectual Property Law Actually the Answer?

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Photo by Leslie Butt

As a small not-for-profit organization, we’re always racing to keep up with our own ideas. A new program requires strategic planning and fund sourcing before the details of the project can be finalized.

It sometimes feels like trying to assemble a thousand-piece puzzle without knowing what the overall picture is, but this is when the most exciting ideas and challenges come to light.

Currently the whole PPP team is planning a multi-year policy and curriculum building project focused on Indigenous experiences of climate change. Using innovative research technology, we will be collecting personal experiences of climate change from Indigenous individuals and communities across the Pacific. These narratives will be bundled and analyzed by the contributors themselves to create a large-scale picture of climate change in Indigenous communities.

While planning this data collection process we needed to address what has recently become a high-profile issue in Canada. How can we collect Indigenous knowledge and experiences while ensuring that only the participating communities and individuals have the legal rights and access to them?

This year in particular, cultural appropriation and cultural property theft have made headlines in mainstream media. In Canada, the editor of a well-known literary magazine called for an award for cultural appropriation. Internationally, the United Nations (UN) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) hosted a conference in Geneva on cultural property without consulting Canadian Indigenous groups.

While this visibility is novel, the theft of Indigenous property is obviously not a recent development. As American Indigenous scholars Angela R. Riley and Kristen A. Carpenter have discussed, what we now know as “cultural appropriation” is simply the continuation of the colonial process – taking from Indigenous groups for the consumption of colonizers. Despite being an age-old issue, it remains seemingly unsolved. Accordingly, the question across the world and in our office remains: how can the knowledge, experience, and creativity of Indigenous groups be protected from colonial exploitation and appropriation?

Internationally, groups like WIPO have proposed the application of intellectual property law (IP law) to cultural property issues. Trademark, copyright, and patent law are the three most commonly suggested IP tools. These have been used with some success by Indigenous communities. For example, the Cowichan First Nation has registered the trademark “Genuine Cowichan Approved” to separate authentic Coast Salish hand-knit sweaters from mass-manufactured counterfeits.

However, these laws were not built with cultural property and Indigenous ownership in mind. Built in limitations prevent them from meeting the needs of many Indigenous communities.

Trademarks, for example, prevent other manufacturers from using the “Genuine Cowichan Approved” label. Counterfeit sweaters will therefore be more easily recognizable. However, trademarks cannot actually prevent the exploitative use of Indigenous ideas or knowledge. For example, other clothing companies will still be able to produce sweaters using the techniques and patterns of the Cowichan Nation. They just cannot call them “Genuine Cowichan.”

Trademarks also fully adhere to and impose traditional settler understandings of ‘property’ and ‘ownership’ which do not reflect or accommodate the approaches of many Indigenous peoples who practice community ownership. Nations are not corporations—they are not legal persons—and some person must always own the rights to a trademark. When a trademark is used to certify community-owned knowledge, who should hold that title?

Patent laws as well are problematic. They grant the owner a bundle of exclusive rights, such as the right to produce, market, or sell a product. While the scope of patent law means it cannot protect Indigenous arts or creative works, hypothetically this law should be able to protect Indigenous knowledge, products, and discoveries from exploitation. For example, the Dene Nation’s spruce gum medicine has been stolen and internationally marketed by large cosmetic companies. In theory, such an invention should be protectable with patent law.

However, while utilizing patent law in this way may be more feasible for future inventions and discoveries by Indigenous peoples, the law contains limitations that prevent it from effectively protecting previous traditional/historical inventions, discoveries and designs. Firstly, patents registered in Canada only apply within Canadian borders. In order to protect an invention internationally, multiple international patents are necessary. As well, because of this, to rely on the system of patent law is to rely on a system that enforces borders that do not reflect the territorial boundaries of Indigenous nations.

As well, patent law in Canada has strict “novelty” requirements. The basic idea is that once an invention becomes available to be possessed by the public, no matter by what means, it cannot be patented. So, now that the Dene recipe for spruce gum medicine has become internationally known and available, under current patent law, the nation cannot patent the invention. Once made public, an individual has only a year to patent their invention before it becomes public property. This excludes traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples that have been shared (or stolen) over time from being protected by patent law today.

Furthermore, patent law currently requires a detailed written documentation of the ‘invention’ for which a patent is being sought – essentially blue prints and instructions for the creation of the product or process. This embodies the colonial notion that only written history and knowledge is valuable, and leaves no room for the continuation and protection of oral culture.

Unlike patents, copyright law does protect artistic works including written stories, visual arts, performances, and music. Holders of a copyright have the sole right to produce or reproduce the copyrighted work, and have surrounding “moral rights” which prevent the distortion, or modification of the work in its reproduction. But what about those elements of a culture which do not fit neatly into the categories protected by copyright? What about the oral histories or ceremonies integral to many Indigenous communities? These are not written works or performances in the strict sense, and therefore are likely to fall through the cracks of a copyright system.

Copyrights are also limited in duration, lasting only the life of the author and a further 50 years after their death. With knowledge and designs held together by a First Nation, the desire is to protect these resources indefinitely for their continued enjoyment by future generations.

Thankfully, no one seems to be suggesting that IP law in its current form is a reasonable solution to issues of cultural appropriation. There are certainly ways in which said law can be altered and supplemented to better protect Indigenous knowledge, such as limited exceptions to novelty requirements in patent law, or accommodation of Indigenous community in definitions of “originality” in copyright law.

However, the larger question is whether mere alterations to an imposed, colonial legal system are an appropriate or effective response to the exploitation of Indigenous peoples. To address the theft and commoditization of Indigenous peoples through the standing system of IP law is to try to fix the issue of colonial imposition with the continued imposition of Anglo value and legal systems. To accept IP law as the solution is to accept traditional settler understandings of “property” and “ownership” as correct, and to continue to enforce these values on Indigenous peoples.

In its 14th call for action, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission acknowledges that “the preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of [Indigenous] cultures are best managed by [Indigenous] peoples and communities.” The Canadian government has a recognized fiduciary duty to consult Indigenous peoples in matters that affect them. However, at the international WIPO convention in Geneva this year, none of Canada’s representatives were from Indigenous communities.

So, what of our work here at PPP? We are dedicated to ensuring that the communities contributing to our research maintain substantive control over the information they volunteer. We will ensure each community is the safe keeper of their members’ stories, giving them exclusive control over the future use of the data.

We can only hope that national and international policies on cultural property begins to do the same.

Please donate today to support our climate change work.

Kia Ora from Aotearoa

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Kia Ora Friends!

It is not often enough that Pacific Peoples’ Partnership can travel to meet with our friends and partners in the South Pacific.  Resources permitting, it is something we should aspire to do more often.  Being present in real time helps to deepen relationships north-south and leads to stronger programming outcomes.  But this travel comes at a real cost to both the environment and to our bottom line, so such trips are always designed to maximize this precious time and opportunity.

For the last week, I have been a fortunate guest in the lands of the long white cloud, Aotearoa.  Here on the north island along with partner Ora Barlow Tukaki of Toitoi Manawa Trust, we travelled to Ōtaki to participate within the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) Pacific Regional Hui hosted by the JR McKenzie Trust.  Ora and I presented “Rising Tides – The Power and the Potential of Indigenous Collaboration.”  This centered on how Indigenous peoples of the north and south Pacific are journeying together to gather and share knowledge for the betterment of our communities, building solidarity in response to the critical global issues facing us all.  We also announced our upcoming partnered conference: “Red Tide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit” which will be held in Te Kaha, New Zealand in May 2018 and are currently working together on the logistical elements of this important gathering through to the end of the week.

Our time in Ōtaki was truly inspirational, approximately 175 participants explored the conference theme: Remembering Our Past, Reclaiming Our Future.  Central to this topic were presentations from Māori Iwi (tribe) members from the local host community, they shared the struggle and triumph to reclaim their language and culture, their results are nothing short of a cultural renaissance.  Keynote presenter Mereana Selby shared how in 1975 there were no fluent Māori speakers under the age of 30 in their Iwi, and how they determined to radically shift this reality.  They launched Generation 2000 a 25-year strategic intervention with underlying principles that recognized: our people are our wealth; our languages are a treasure; the Marae (spiritual and cultural house) is our home and that self-determination is essential.  Their self-correcting mechanisms included: an educational model, strategies for economic impact, and renormalizing the language.  Factors to success included: clear tribal authority, the establishment of a Māori Centre for Higher Learning, recognition that children are their most effective marketers, the product is bilingualism, and it is benefited by a solid infrastructure, that is grounded in the environment, all Māori designed, built and controlled.  The result is northing short of their survival as 50% of their under 30s Iwi members are now fluent in the Māori language.  This major accomplishment will soon be recognized with Ōtaki`s designation of the first bilingual town in New Zealand!

Presentations and experiences varied over the course of the Hui, with sessions grounded in the principles of IFIP’s values of Respect, Responsibility, Reciprocity and Relationship.  They covered topical and political subjects such as how foreign investment is exploiting Oceania’s resources including experimental sea bed mining that threatens Pacific  peoples and our ocean, and further how in response to climate change, Islanders are not advocating to keep the global temperature below a 2 degrees increase, but rather 1.5 as this is the bare minimum of what is required to ensure the survival of South Pacific peoples (Maureen Penjueli, Pacific Network on Globalization); we also learned about tactics to increase participation in remote schools in Australia through finding intercultural spaces and mutual ways that respect Aboriginal values, traditions and cultures with transformative strategies for deeper engagement of parents and caregivers in the school systems… a journey towards the in between worlds (by Arama Mataira); several sessions reviewed the importance of Indigenous food sovereignty and showcased values of Māori food production through Hua Parakore certification program (Dr. Jessica Hutchinson).  What was clear from all these rich sessions was the importance of sharing our diverse journeys and in building solidarity.  As we are all so much stronger for the shared experiences and learnings.

On the heels of this inspired experience I sit in reflection at Te Kaha`s seaside now in the dark.  The power is out and a tropical storm is blasting us.  In a few days, I leave for Fiji which is also currently threatened by Cyclone Donna, a most unseasonable storm and weather permitting, I will visit the Loreto School for which we have raised funds in support of their recovery from Cyclone Winston in 2016.   

It is indeed timely that we set the groundwork for Red Tide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit.  Climate change is real, and affecting the most vulnerable nations, those that had no significant contribution towards its realization.  Canada must step up and address our part in this crisis, as noted by Dr. Rhys Jones at the regional hui “climate change is the intensification of colonization“especially given our north American carbon footprint and 150 years of colonization experience in Canada, it is time to accept our responsibility in this international crisis and do what is right, this means more than talk… it is time for action.

Enclosed in this edition of Pasifik Currents are updates, reports and articles on our Pacific Stream event, Red Tide, the Stand For Truth campaign, Intern reflections and our featured partner MediaNet. Happy reading to you and please do not forget to continue your ongoing support. 

We cannot journey without you!

April Ingham

Executive Director

  

Red Tide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit

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By Pawa Haiyupis

Since 1988 Pacific Networking Conferences have been a place of knowledge sharing for Pacific Peoples’ Partnership. Next year’s conference, Red Tide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit, will bring together leaders from across the Pacific to share experiences and learn from each other.

When: May 2018.

Where: Hosted in the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand’s North Island.

What: Indigenous scholars, activists, knowledge keepers and artists from around the world will connect, co-create and share stories related to Climate Change and resilience.

The Symbolism of the Spiral

The spiral is one of the oldest symbols used by humans. It represents the search for the centre of truth. The spiral also represents the current of the Pacific  Ocean, which will bring together Indigenous peoples from all over the world to the Summit in New Zealand.

Tohu

Indigenous Peoples throughout the world are the closest observers of their environment. A body of knowledge has evolved over centuries to ensure survival. This knowledge includes an awareness of tohu, or signs; environmental indicators that are studied and measured regularly to show trends or changes in the health of the environment.

In today’s world, there is less awareness of the dependence between people and the environment. This translates to less participation, less listening, watching, doing and learning about the world of indigenous environmental science. What is clearly being said by scientists, activists, Indigenous prophesies and people who still study and live with their environment is that climate change is occurring.

The goal of the Summit is to develop an Indigenous informed and designed Climate Action Toolkit that communities can start using immediately to combat their climate change realities. Both solutions and wiser action will emerge from the collective wisdom of each indigenous participant, and their representative communities.

Let us weave together stories from the north and south in search of the next best step for Climate Action.

To stay up to date with the Summit, visit: https://archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org/pacific-networking-conference/.

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For 45 years, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has supported the aspirations of South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples for peace, environmental sustainability, social justice and community development.

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