Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

Reflections on Potential Canada-Indonesia Economic Partnership

by

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership along with its allies are deeply concerned with the possibility of a signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the nation of Indonesia.

PPP was alerted to this potential agreement by one of our allies. The Canadian Government made a call for consultations on a potential free trade agreement (also referred to as a CEPA but they are fundamentally very similar). PPP decided that we would send our reflections and critiques to the call, given our long relationship with the people of West Papua as well as our commitment to environmental stewardship and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

You can read our official letter here:

PPP CEPA Consultation Letter

Our letter highlights the need for the Canadian government to commit to fundamental environmental and human rights standards in all its foreign policy agreements, trade-related or otherwise. As our ally Dr. David Webster of Bishop’s University eloquently put it in his recent opinion piece:

…trade alone does not a relationship make. Canada will be better understood if it honestly and consistently advocates for human rights, including LGBTQ+ rights, religious freedoms, and improved treatment of Indigenous Peoples in West Papua and elsewhere.

We continue to monitor the situation in West Papua as well as the environmental and human rights implications of any trade or foreign policy agreements made by the Canadian Government and hope that policymakers ensure the respect of the environment and Indigenous Peoples comes first.

One Wave Gathering 2020 Meets Pandemic Challenges

by

By Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator and One Wave Program Coordinator

Over the last decade, One Wave has grown into a much-anticipated annual event here in Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ territories, with big crowds gathering in downtown Victoria for Indigenous and South Pacific art, music, food, and dialogues.  With the Covid-19 pandemic demanding many changes, we got creative with new ways to gather safely – for instance, planning many smaller events, taking programs online, and holding events outside.  It has been great to work with partners to offer free cultural programs, bring Pacific communities together, and share stories from Indigenous and Pacific perspectives.  This year we held nine public events, with one still to come!

Bradley Dick’s Territorial welcome at the One Wave ceremony, with PPP President, Muavae Va’a.

Our Opening Ceremony took place at Songhees Point on September 3 with a territorial welcome by Bradley Dick and opening words from PPP’s President, Muavae Va’a and Executive Director April Ingham.  We hold up our hands to Bradley for honouring our gathering this year with his welcome, sharing of knowledge, and powerful song and to Mua for his opening words in Samoan and English.  It was a sunny day near the water, and where we stood with Bradley was steps away from a beautiful cedar spindle whorl designed by his father Butch Dick, one of the seven Signs of Lekwungen.  The location, Songhees Point or PAH-lu-tsuss in Lekwungen, is an important site to Songhees and Esquimalt people.  It was meaningful to open our One Wave events on a special Lekwungen site on the shores of the Pacific Ocean that connects us North and South.

Later on that day, we opened our Together / As One exhibit at MediaNet’s FLUX Gallery.  On select days from September 3-18, the gallery came alive with costumes and songs from the youth opera Flight of the Hummingbird based on Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ Haida manga, as well as set-pieces and footage from the theatrical production of Peace Dancer by Roy Henry Vickers. 

Flight of the Hummingbird performers with Pacific Opera Victoria and Opera Vancouver.

This opera is the story of a brave hummingbird taking on a forest fire, while Peace Dancer is the story of a big flood descending on a community after the village’s children mistreat a crow.  These compelling, artfully presented stories that encourage each of us to take action to make a difference, like the little hummingbird, and ensure we treat all living beings with respect.  Flight of the Hummingbird was produced by Pacific Opera Victoria and Opera Vancouver, and Peace Dancer was a collaboration between Theatre Inconnu, Story Theatre, and Puppets for Peace along with Roy Henry Vickers and a community cast.  Complementing these two features were Pacific cultural items from PPP’s collection, along with short films on PPP’s work by youth multimedia makers and a special short on Fijian masi (bark cloth) from UBC Curator Carol Mayer.  Visitors to the gallery were also invited to share their thoughts on the guiding themes of this year’s One Wave:  resilience and allyship.

Our next public offering was the outdoor KAIROS Blanket Exercise.  More than 20 participants braved the weather under tents at Royal Athletic Park to take part in this interactive workshop about Indigenous history.  Facilitating the exercise were Muavae Va’a and his wife Marie Va’a from Tsartlip First Nation, facilitator Linda Flynn, and Tsartlip elder Judy Bartleman.  The facilitators did a great job of adapting the exercise to keep everyone safe and socially distanced and bring Canada’s difficult Indigenous history to life.  In the circle at the end, participants shared that they were deeply moved and eager to help bring this knowledge forward.

WildFlowers Drum Group at Orange Shirt Day Market. Credit: Jesse Holland

Then, on September 30, One Wave hosted the Orange Shirt Day First Nations Market & Mural at Royal Beach in Colwood in partnership with Songhees & Esquimalt Nations and Royal Beach.  This event was part of the Orange Shirt Day movement across Canada to honour all who went through the horror of residential schools and reaffirm that “Every Child Matters.”  It was an amazing, sunny day with art by Indigenous makers, songs from the WildFlowers girls’ drum group, Tongan dance by Ruby Kafalava, and bannock from Songhees Catering. 

To open this Orange Shirt Day event, Florence Dick shared opening words and her grandson Darwyn Seaweed did a territorial welcome.  Local artists Brianna Bear and Margaret August facilitated the mural, inviting community members to add a handprint and messages of love for residential school survivors.  We are grateful to Florence Dick for her guidance in arranging this beautiful day and Sara from Royal Beach for all the event planning support. 

During September, we also held several youth workshops.  Local youths had a chance to learn from Cowichan artist Stella Johnny and help out in the Tsawout Learning Garden with Tiffany Joseph.  Footage from these small group workshops will be released on social media this December.  A group of South Pacific and Indigenous youth committee also started plans for a community storytelling project to be announced soon!

Usually, One Wave wraps up in September, but this year we reached the end of September with lots more to offer!  This is mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as we found that each event took hours of extra planning.  The pandemic also meant we had to set attendance limits, making our free events less accessible than usual.  By the end of the month, we had plans still in the making with several Indigenous and Pacific artists, speakers, and partners and decided to extend One Wave, offering our remaining events online so that more people could enjoy them.

Pacific Story & Song storyteller Erin Blondeau

The first of these online events was Pacific Story & Song, an evening of Pacific arts and culture live-streamed by Sunset Labs on October 15.  Sharing stories at the event were Sḵx̱wu7mesh / W̱SÁNEĆ storyteller Tiffany Joseph, Métis storyteller Erin Blondeau, and Polynesian actress Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars, Siren).  The evening also featured live songs by Stz’uminus singer-songwriter Nate Harris from his upcoming album Precious You, PPP President Muavae Va’a, and local Hawaiian performer Anela Kahiamoe, as well as a song by Khu.éex’ centering on a story told by Tlingit / Iñupiaq / Paiute / Kaigani Haida vocalist Nahaan.  Thank you to all the presenters for your cultural sharings and to our special guest Rena Owen for making time from across the Pacific to speak about your journey and encourage each of us on our own.  Our recording of Pacific Story & Song will be released soon on social media.

Next up in the virtual space was our Together / As One Film Festival from October 23 to November 24.  Thank you to local Coast Salish filmmaker Steven Davies for putting together this powerful program of Pacific-based Indigenous features and shorts!  Our two opening films were Feature Film Vai by nine female South Pacific filmmakers, and the National Film Board short Now is The Time about Haida carver Robert Davidson and his reclamation of cultural traditions.  We then featured 6 films from Aotearoa, Haida Gwaii, Australia, and Kapuivik.  While the free viewing period for most of these films is over, we encourage you to check out our Film Festival webpage for some great films to add to your list or order at your local library!

Virtual Feast Panelist Tiffany Joseph

A final unique online One Wave event was called A Virtual Feast: Honouring and Revitalizing Indigenous Food Systems.  This was an interactive panel and film premier on Indigenous food sovereignty co-organized with our partners at the University of Victoria Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE).  We had more than 100 participants registered for the online event!  The dialogue was hosted by Lisa Kenoras and Jeff Corntassel with a traditional Lekwungen welcome by Brianna Dick.  The Virtual Feast fed us all with presentations by local Indigenous knowledge holders, Tiffany Joseph and Cheryl Bryce, and Papua New Guinean cultural TV producer, Jennifer Baing-Waiko, as well as a premier of CIRCLE’s new short film Rising Tides which you can find on our Vimeo here.

And that’s a wrap… almost!  We have one more One Wave event we hope to present this winter, the raising of the Pacific Peace Post at Macaulay Point, a beautifully carved house post by local Lekwungen carver Bradley Dick and Solomon Islands carver Ake Lianga.  We hope to see the Peace Post go up in early January — watch our social media channels for news!

Ake Lianga and Bradley Dick carving the Pacific Peace Post.

We were thrilled to offer a bountiful One Wave 2020 program in spite of the pandemic, making space for Pacific cultural sharing while offering paid opportunities for local artists and Indigenous knowledge keepers. To the volunteers who came with open hearts; to the artists and speakers who shared at One Wave events; to our amazing partners and funders who worked with us to make it happen; to the participants who came ready to learn and share; and to our team who pulled together in this challenging year  – thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Our programming partners for One Wave Gathering 2020 were Songhees Nation, Esquimalt Nation, MediaNet Flux Gallery, CIRCLE at UVIC, Theatre Inconnu, Puppets for Peace, Story Theatre, Pacific Opera Victoria, Vancouver Opera, and Royal Beach.  Thank you for helping design inspiring programs enjoyed by so many.

Key funders and contributors were Canadian Heritage, BC Arts Council, Government of Canada, Province of BC, CRD, City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt, City of Colwood, CTV / CFAX, Rika Design, Peppers Foods, Royal Scot Hotel & Suites, Metropol, The Sign Pad, Black Press Media, and Sunset Labs.  Your contributions were crucial to the success of our One Wave Gathering.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Women in the Pacific: Why gender inclusion is key to recovery

by

By Agnieszka Zuchora, PPP Development and Partnerships Coordinator

As the world adjusts to the new normal of isolating, social distancing, and virus awareness to keep people safe, underlying issues of inequality have been brought to the surface. Gender disparity has been made glaringly evident during the current COVID-19 landscape as measures put in place to protect communities have disproportionately affected women during this time, especially in the South Pacific. Women and girls are at a higher risk of violence, they provide more unpaid labor, and are more likely to experience economic hardship.

Market vendors at the Wewak Market. Observing the new pandemic normal is a challenge by market management. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

Typically, women are highly depended upon for their contributions to society and their families. Generally, they provide 80 per cent of unpaid work in the Asia Pacific region. This includes cooking, cleaning, washing, childcare, supporting children with homework, and tending to the sick. With COVID lockdowns, pressure on women has increased exponentially given that everyone is home: it is just expected that women will carry on with their daily tasks and do whatever is necessary to fill in the gaps during this time – both financially and domestically.

As tensions rise amidst stress, uncertainty, food security, and enforced restrictions, there has been a significant increase in calls related to gender-based violence across the Pacific. Women who were living with violent partners were forced into isolation with these partners, thereby putting them at greater risk of increased violence caused by stress and constant contact. Crisis centres have noted a rise in calls from existing clients as well as an increase in new clients who have said there is a correlation between the lockdown and increased violence.

Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre in Tonga

PPP is proud to have partnered with Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre (WCCC), in Tonga, which is offering mobile counselling for women to receive in-person support within their area. WCCC was founded in 2009 by the incredible ʻOfa Guttenbeil-Likiliki with the intention of advocating for women, human rights, and eliminating domestic violence through education, counselling, safe houses, and political advocacy. WCCC is the leading women’s human rights organisation in Tonga, providing response, support, and prevention initiatives.

Information session on Informal Economy with vendors at Kreer market is offered by a HELP Resources Community Advocator. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

The most recent project addresses the need for support in remote island communities. It fills the gap by sending counsellors to the communities, making the extremely valuable centre services mobile and increasing their reach. This comes at an especially significant time given the constant need to adapt around the global pandemic.

Not only are women facing disproportionate workloads, and an increase in domestic violence, they are doing it without the proper resources to maintain their own health. Women have seen a decrease in access to essential products and services such as feminine hygiene products. Seeing as the Pacific imports feminine hygiene products, there has been a disruption in supply resulting in decreased access as well as a spike in prices making them unavailable to some. Some women and girls are “resorting to socks and old newspapers when getting their periods as menstrual products become more expensive or harder to obtain.”(1)  Along with inaccessible sanitation products, “Dr Gupte said underprivileged families were struggling to use common sanitation facilities, where physical distancing and hygienic conditions cannot be assured.” (1)

Some organisations are teaching sewing skills to encourage the making of reusable menstrual products to support women in their health, and also in developing a business through a sustainable product they can sell in the markets; however, local markets have been significantly reduced during the pandemic.

Local Government officials attend a Safe Market Management Practices Workshop. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

HELP Resources (HELP-R) Supports PNG Women

In Papua New Guinea, our partner HELP Resources (HELP-R) has been supporting women through their Vendors Collective Voices project. After months of restrictions causing market closures and preventing travel, PNG has eased restrictions by allowing travel and reopening markets. In an update, project lead Penial Kabilo said, “Women from Kaminambit and Keram are bringing in their bilums (local string bags made from traditional fibre) to sell at the market, fish traders from the Sepik River have resumed their trading by travelling down to Wewak or further inland to Maprik and Yangoru to trade.”

HELP Resources has supported Water PNG in putting up sanitation stations with washing basins and handwashing gels and sanitizers donated by UN Women, allowing for safe trading. Although trading had considerably slowed during lockdown months, Penial Kabilo has noted a steady increase with consistent buyers. He stated that even “roadside markets along the town fringes and along the highways have all reopened now, however, street vending within the town vicinity is still banned by the Town Authority to promote social distancing. Generally, market trading activities have increased, this indicates a better understanding of COVID-19 and the vender’s resilience to trade.”

The work done by HELP Resources has proven effective and supportive during COVID-19 as information sessions by Community Advocators trained through the Vendors Voice Shaping Informal Economy Development project continued to run. Penial also stated, “Information supplied by the vendors’ association helped HELP Resources to liaise with other partners such as UN Women, Wewak Urban Local Government and the Town Market Supervisor to try and provide a safe and conducive working environment for vendors to conduct business under. We are very excited the Vendors Collective Voices has received a 6-month extension with PPP and Commonwealth Foundation as well as a UN Women partnership.”

Youths from a roadside market reading one of the translated COVID19 factsheet from Hesperian Health Guides, translated by HELP Resources. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

Economically, the world has been greatly impacted by COVID-19, slowing some production lines temporarily, limiting shipments, and halting tourism globally. Women have been proven to be more vulnerable in this situation, as is often the case. In an article published by The Jakarta Post on September 22, 2020 (2), Oliver Tonby and Phillia Wibowo stated, “Globally women account for 54 percent of overall job losses despite comprising 39 percent of the global workforce. Put another way, a woman in work is nearly twice as likely to lose a job than a man.” This is predominantly because not only are women the main providers of unpaid care work, but are also in the industries most affected by the pandemic, such as retail, hospitality, and food services. Any gaps in financial security in the home are often filled by female vendors trading food, textiles, weaving, or other homemade goods.

Further research done by Tonby and Wibowo found that “if no action is taken to counter the gender-regressive effects of COVID-19, global gross domestic product (GDP) growth could be US$1 trillion lower in 2030. That would represent a significant hit to economies already struggling to recover from the pandemic.

“Conversely, (they) found that if policymakers make decisions now, in 2020 and beyond, that boost gender equality by 2030, it could add $13 trillion to global GDP. ….. A middle path — taking action on gender equality only after the crisis has subsided rather than now — reduces the potential opportunity by more than $5 trillion. The cost of that delay amounts to three-quarters of the total GDP we could potentially lose to COVID-19 this year.” (2)

Based on these findings, it is evident that including gender equality in the economic recovery response plans is crucial, not only for the support of women but also for success in economic recovery and progress in general.

Footnotes:

(1) Xiao Bang, and Darmadi Gemala. (2020, October 2). ‘Coronavirus is exacerbating menstruation health risks for those living in ‘period poverty’. ABC News Australia

(2) Tonby, Oliver and Wibowo, Phillia. (2020, September 22). “Maintaining progress on gender equality is key to Indonesia’s pandemic recovery”. The Jakarta Post

Agnieszka (Aggie) Zuchora holds a Master of Environment with a focus on Development and has experience in community engagement across the Pacific and in humanitarian aid.

Pacific Pulse: World War II’s Ugly Legacy in the Solomon Islands

by

Prepared by Arthur Holbrook, Member of PPP’s Board of Directors and Chair of the organization’s Communications Committee.

Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands was the site of the first major success of the Allies against the Japanese in World War II.  American, ANZAC, Fijian, Tongan and Solomon Island soldiers pushed the Japanese off the island and successfully fought off several attempts to retake the island and its strategic airfield.  The fierce fighting, which lasted from August 1942 into 1943, left an ugly legacy: unexploded munitions. To learn more, click here. 

More than 45,000 of these munitions, ranging from hand grenades, mortar rounds, rifle bullets to aerial bombs, have been removed since 2011 when police in the Solomons started keeping records.  A much higher number are assumed to have been discovered prior to that date. It is estimated that as many as 50,000 unexploded munitions remain on Guadalcanal.  These munitions have remained hidden in the soil for over 75 years and are dug up regularly by the people of the island, 75% of whom are agricultural workers.  It is estimated that every year about 20 local people are killed by these devices.  As John Rodsted, the lead researcher with SafeGround, an advocacy group for the removal of explosives left behind by war, explained, the unexploded munitions can make farming a fatal occupation.  “They are scared of their land.” (1) 

From Journal of Conventional Weapons Disposal:

Livingston is a constable with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force on New Georgia Island. When he receives a report of old ammunition and bombs, he investigates. “I find many old bombs. The farmers and fishermen report them to the police. They in turn report to Honiara (capital of the Solomon Island). The problem is distance, logistics, time and money. The distances are great in the Solomon Islands and it takes time and money for the EOD team to be able to respond to all reports…” Photo courtesy of John Rodsted

Meanwhile, local fishermen sometimes use explosives to fish.  This practice has depleted fish stocks and damaged coral reefs in some lagoons.  Because coral is reduced to rubble by this practice, it often will not regrow.  Dynamite fishing has left some areas in the Solomons with no reefs and no fish. (2)

A number of areas on Guadalcanal have not been used for generations because they are contaminated with the buried munitions.  Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), working closely with local police, has been attempting to remedy the situation.  They are developing a database of the locations of the munitions.  These operations recently came to an abrupt halt when two ordnance removal technicians, one British, one Australian, were killed in an explosion.

International efforts have focused on anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions.  Since neither of these types of munitions is believed to have been used in the South Pacific, the region was not provided with international assistance for ordnance removal until recently.  Hence, organized efforts to deal with the unexploded munitions in the region only began in 2010 when Pacific Forum leaders called for assistance to address the problem.  The Forum’s Regional Security Committee’s strategy was put into place in 2012. Several countries have been selected as on-going priorities: Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, the Royal Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. (3)

Footnotes:

(1) New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/world/australia/solomon-slands-unexploded-ordnance.html

(2) Special Report: Solomon Islands’ Explosive Legacy, “Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 20, Iss. 3 [2016], 5. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2756&context=cisr-ournal&te=1&nl=at-war&emc=edit_war_20200925.

(3) Special Report, 3, 4.

One Wave 2020

by

One Wave is Back in September … with many Online and In-Person Events!

By Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator & One Wave Program Coordinator

It’s September, and our 13th annual One Wave Gathering is once again brightening the streets of Victoria, BC in beautiful Lekwungen territories!  One Wave is a free, family-friendly celebration of Pacific Island and Indigenous cultures organized by Pacific Peoples’ Partnership each year.  This year’s gathering is focused on the themes of resilience and allyship and will feature arts and culture events including Indigenous opera, digital media, theatre, film, workshops, and more.

Pearls of the South Pacific Dancers at One Wave 2018. Credit: Heather Tuft

In these challenging times, we feel it is more important than ever to make space for cultural connection and learning.  While we need to take precautions to keep each other safe, it is vital that we find ways to share special moments, listen to each other, and engage with the issues facing the Pacific.  From Samoa to T’Sou-ke, from Viti Levu to Lekwungen territory, Pacific communities are working to preserve and revitalize culture, pass on knowledge, and ensure a healthy future for all.  At One Wave, we invite people from all backgrounds into the circle to hear these stories, be inspired, and find ways to move forward together.

Our team has worked extra hard this year to create safe ways to come together.  This year, we are offering a robust online program as well as a few in-person events within the safe protocols of social distancing.

Read on for some highlights you can expect at One Wave this month.  Some of our events will not be announced in advance, so join us on Facebook and check out our website to avoid missing out!  

 A colorful theatrical performance accompanies Indigenous author, Roy Henry Vickers, as he reads from his children’s book Peace Dancer. Credit: Tony Sprackett

Together / As One – Sept. 3-18 at FLUX Gallery 821 Fort St.

Visit the gallery and witness powerful Indigenous and Pacific stories woven together in Together / As One, an exciting digital media and art exhibit.  Watch carvings and masi cloths take shape and collective stories come alive in this display of cultural objects and films by local and international artists. Featured works include Roy Henry Vickers’ Peace Dancer (Theatre Inconnu, Story Theatre, Puppets for Peace) and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ Flight of the Hummingbird (Pacific Opera/Opera Vancouver).   You are welcome to visit Tuesday – Friday between 12-5pm and walk through the exhibit in groups of 6 or less.  We will provide visitors with masks and social distancing instructions to ensure a safe space for all.

Flight of the Hummingbird performers with Pacific Opera Victoria and Opera Vancouver

KAIROS Blanket Exercise – 9:30am, Sat, Sept. 26 at Royal Athletic Park *Sign up on EventBrite to reserve your spot.

Deepen your understanding of allyship, reconciliation, and Indigenous history in Canada through an interactive history lesson called the Blanket Exercise.  During the exercise, participants will accompany facilitators on a journey through Indigenous history in Canada, spanning pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization, and resistance.  Blankets laid out on the ground will provide a visual guide to the history lesson as participants walk through a set of interactive exercises that bring history to life.  Attendance is limited, so reserve your space now on EventBrite and visit the KAIROS website to learn more.

During the Blanket Exercise, blankets laid out on the ground symbolize Indigenous territories

Rising Tides 

Tune in online for a new film on Indigenous food sovereignty and climate justice by the Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE).  Rising Tides is locally produced and features knowledge-sharing and ideas for action shared by Erynne Gilpin, Jeff Corntassel, Peruzzo Andrade, Cheryl Bryce, Beangka Elliot, and April Ingham.

Pacific Peace House Post

A momentous event this year will be the installation of the Pacific Peace Post, a symbolic house post carved by local Lekwungen and Solomon Islands carvers Bradley Dick and Ake Lianga. The Pacific Peace Post will overlook the waters at Macaulay Point and stand as a symbol of peace and connection between Pacific peoples.  Watch for the unveiling in late September!

Carvers Bradley Dick and Ake Lianga working on the Pacific Peace House Post

Films, Pop-ups, Workshops & More!

Join our Facebook or visit our website for a full listing of events.  We have lots more exciting programming in the works this month, including online feature films, pop-up music and dance, workshops on topics from slam poetry to weaving, and maybe even a drive-in theatre.

We hope to see old friends and new as we gather once more – in person and online – for a powerful program of Pacific stories, songs, and speakers.

If you are interested in volunteering, there may still be an opportunity!  For more information, get in touch with us at: operations@archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org.

One Wave Gathering is held on Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ territory and made possible with the consent and consultations by hereditary and elected leaders, elders, youths, artists and community members.

Our amazing partners for One Wave 2020 include Songhees Nation, Esquimalt Nation, MediaNet FLUX Gallery, CIRCLE (Centre for Indigenous Research and Community Led Engagement at UVIC), Theatre Inconnu, Puppets for Peace, Story Theatre, Pacific Opera Victoria, Vancouver Opera,  City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt, the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, Canadian Heritage, British Columbia Art Council, Capital Regional District, CTV / CFAX, and Rika Design.

Pasifik Pulse: Palm Oil and Food Insecurity in Papua

by

Palm Oil and Food Insecurity in Papua

Prepared by Tana Thomas, PPP Arts and Culture Coordinator, who is also a Nuu-chah-nulth youth leader, canoe skipper, and healing advocate.

In Papua, Indonesia’s largest and easternmost province of Indonesia, large scale palm oil plantation developments are not only threatening animal and plant species, but also the caretakers that have sustained these species for thousands of years. Sophie Chao, an anthropologist at the University of Sydney, has spent years working with the Indigenous Marind people of southern Papua. In her powerful article, she sheds light on the severe impacts that new palm oil plantations are having on the region. What she has discovered in her in-community work is that the Marind people are increasingly unable to obtain their traditional foods and are suffering from malnutrition. 

Merauke and Boven Digoel, the districts in southern Papua where oil palm estates are concentrated.

The practice of harvesting their own food is one of the many factors that sustains holistic wellbeing in many Indigenous communities. Witnessing the loss of their traditional foods can bring overwhelming feelings of grief and shame stemming from not being able to provide for their families. The Marind children of the village have grown up learning to sustain and create abundance within their natural food systems when harvesting. Since time immemorial, Marind children have been firsthand witnesses to the generations before them, following protocols and enacting ceremonies passed on through generations in order to coexist with their relatives of the forest. 

Marind families are now fighting to sustain their customs, feed their families, and protect the natural forests that are their home, working from their deeply held belief that everyone and everything is interconnected. Exploitation of their forest food systems is destroying the spirit and wellbeing of their communities. The generational act of enculturation is being severed due to the detachment from teachings that stem from their environment. It’s an enforced act of assimilation into a system that bypasses the basic needs of humanity. Unfortunately, this is a common fight Indigenous people are facing throughout the world.

The Indonesian government continues to approve more palm oil projects with increasing impacts on Indigenous Papuans and their lands. Learn more about this important issue and catch a glimpse of the stories of Marind families in Chao’s article published by Mongabay and The Gecko Project.

People & Passages: Habitat House

by

A New Home for a Local Pacific Family

Prepared by Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator, who is familiar with Habitat’s important work, having previously managed a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

We are thrilled to share the news that a local Indigenous / Pacific Islander family, Tina and Niu Savea and their 3 kids, is getting a new home!  The Savea family has Cree and Samoan roots and has been working toward a house of their own for years.  Earlier this year, they found out that their dream was to come true through a partnership program with Habitat for Humanity Victoria.

The Savea family in Victoria, B.C. is excited that Habitat for Humanity is helping them invest into their family’s future.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization focused on providing safe and stable homes for lower-income families in Canada and across the world.  Many people are familiar with Habitat’s international housing projects but are unaware that local chapters focus on building houses too. In Victoria, families apply to their local Habitat for Humanity to be considered for the local homeownership program.  If selected, each family invests 500 hours of their own labour into Habitat’s volunteer programs by helping out at builds, Habitat stores, and special events. Habitat homes are sold to qualified families at fair market value and are financed with affordable mortgages at no more than 30% of the family’s income. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund, which is used to build more homes.

Habitat for Humanity Victoria is building eleven new homes this year. Their work is supported by community donations and by two secondhand home & building supply outlets called ReStores.  Consider shopping or donating if you can.  And congratulations to the Savea family on qualifying for their new home!

Tina Savea shared:

“Now is the perfect time to let you all in on some exciting news for our family… We have been blessed to partner with Habitat for Humanity and to be able to purchase our very own home. We have always desired to buy a home… but the very expensive market in Victoria we would either have to leave the city we have grown to love or have to save for 100 years. LOL, We didn’t want to do either. 

We were told about this amazing organization that helps make buying a home possible for families like ours. AND they just happen to be doing a build 3 minutes away from the house we are in now & only STEPS away from the ocean!! We took the plunge and started the 6-month process of applying! Months later we got the phone call we were accepted. Now here we are, helping build our brand new home, connected to a great community of people & all extremely grateful to this amazing organization. Habitat for Humanity is helping us invest in our family’s future!”

People & Passages: Johnny Edmonds

by

Johnny Edmonds, A Champion of Indigenous Tourism

Prepared by Dani McDonald, Communications/Media, New Zealand Māori Tourism

We learned with heavy hearts that our dear friend and colleague, Johnny Edmonds passed away in May 2020. Johnny was a stickler for detail and flag bearer for the development and strengthening of indigenous tourism. For Johnny, tourism was a vehicle for indigenous people to tell their own story. It is because of his foresight that New Zealand Māori Tourism exists today.

Johnny held executive management positions for indigenous non-profit organizations for the past two decades in Aotearoa and Australia. These include the Waitangi National Trust, Taitokerau Regional Māori Tourism Organisation, NZ Māori Tourism Council and the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council. He served on tourism industry boards in NZ and Australia and held statutory and executive management positions in the NZ government.

Johnny led the formation of the national body of NZ Māori Tourism, as we know it today, from 2004 – 2007 where he helmed the establishment and organizational development of the NZ Māori Tourism Council, and the development of national and international relationships to foster the development of Māori tourism. In 2005, only one year into his new role at NZ Māori Tourism, Johnny established the inaugural nationwide conference in Tāmaki Makaurau focusing on operating sustainable clusters alongside the former Associate Minister of Tourism, Hon Dover Samuels. A year later, Johnny’s expertise at building relations was evidenced in a collaboration between Government and NZ Māori Tourism to provide targeted mentoring services to the business development needs of small Māori tourism businesses.

Johnny poured his energy into turning the attention of the tourism industry toward the Māori tourism product. During his tenure, Johnny saw that Māori tourism would grow Aotearoa’s entire tourism industry. Māori tourism eventually became the fastest growing sector, as a result of Johnny’s dedication and visionary leadership.

Black Lives Matter: Local Focus

by

Prepared by Zachary Fenn, Development Coordinator, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

Pacific Peoples’ Partnerships (PPP) will not stay silent in the face of systemic injustice. We must act and speak in solidarity with the Black and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities. Our mission of supporting the aspirations of Canadian and South Pacific Indigenous peoples for peace, justice, and environmental sustainability includes speaking out against the unjust, racist, and systemic violence Black and Indigenous people face every day in Canada and worldwide.

Black Lives Matter Protest in Washington D.C, USA. May 31st, 2020. Photograph by Koshu Kunii

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has shed light on the ongoing violence and systemic racism that people in the black community have faced for generations. The death of George Floyd on May 25th has sparked a long-overdue conversation. Now we see perhaps the biggest movement in recent history, with as many as 15-26 million Americans – and many more in Canada and across the world – demanding system change. Systemic injustices, white supremacy, and police brutality are not new realities for black communities, and unrooting capitalist colonial systems is imperative for BIPOC communities.

The movement has made progress in beginning to address years of wrongdoings. George Floyd’s murderer was convicted of 2nd-degree murder, and the other officers present were charged with aiding and abetting the murder. Around the United States, numerous cities have defunded their police departments or are reviewing budget cuts and tearing down colonial statues. In Canada too there are pressures on cities to defund their police budgets; Surrey is being criticized for its superficial approach to police reform, and an open letter is circulating to the Vancouver police board and the provincial government to ban street checks, which have been shown to be harmful and discriminatory against Indigenous, Black, and low-income communities.

While focalizing Black lives and Black rights, the BLM movement in Canada has also seen Indigenous involvement and a broader focus on Indigenous rights and struggles. Many in the movement have pointed out the connections between Black and Indigenous experiences of systemic racism and violence and the intersectionality needed to fully dismantle the colonial racist structures that are still in place today. Canada has a long history of injustices toward Indigenous peoples, including colonization, residential schools, the sixties scoop, and police abuses such as the starlight tours. Often Canada prides itself on being a multicultural country while placing European settler culture at the centre and other cultures as an add on – including First Nations peoples. As Moussa Magassa, human rights educator at the University of Victoria, explained in an interview with Douglas Magazine, “Multiculturalism for many Canadians is white culture and its tolerance of other cultures, with the condition that the latter play by its rules and so-called Canadian values.”’

PPP President Mua Va’a and family on June 7 BLM rally. Photo by Johanna Buermans

Rallies in support of BLM are ongoing across Canada. PPP’s President Muavae Va’a was proud to stand in solidarity in one of the Victoria BLM rallies, where peaceful and powerful dialogue was established from Indigenous and black organizers to thousands of supporters. One of the organizers, Asiyah Robinson, shared the aim of the rally with Chek News: “We’re trying to bring people together. We’re trying to make sure our community knows that they have a platform and they have a voice. We’re trying to make sure that people try and see the varied ranges of ages, of direction, of just histories that all of our black people have and to just honour their voices, give them their space. And also talk to our allies about what we’re looking for and what our next steps will be because this is just the first.”

Black Lives Matter Protest in Washington D.C, USA. May 31st, 2020. Photograph by Koshu Kunii

Tackling systemic racism in our own communities is crucial. The BLM movement exhorts all of us to listen to people of colour and other marginalized communities. It demands that we do the work to learn about our histories of racism, recognize our own biases and privileges, examine ongoing systems of oppression, and demand change. For ways you can help support this work in Canada, please check out the resources below:

Ways to help In Canada

(from GreenPeace.org)

    • Justice For Regis Korchinski-Paquet: Get Mayor John Tory, MPP Bhutila Karpoche, and Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders to commit to a transparent investigation and to hold the officers involved accountable in the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet through firing and filing charges

Indigenous Businesses to support in Canada

You can search this database by location or type of business:

https://shopfirstnations.com/

Black-owned Businesses to support in Victoria 

(List from @urvoicematters_ on Instagram)

    • Blue Nile East African restaurant
    • Carribean Village Cafe 
    • Zucchini Wives Food & beverage 
    • House of Boateng cafe 
    • Le Petit Dakar 
    • Trini to D bone 
    • Nallaju Cuisine 
    • Messob Ethiopian Cuisine 
    • Stir It Up Victoria 
    • Lulu’s apron 
    • Elk & The Tide Catering 
    • C-lashes 
    • Lashes by Randeel 
    • MK- Beauty – Face, Beauty, & Hair 
    • Who Dyd your hair 
    • Now I look Good 
    • Kande Global Hair Couturiere
    • GX Barbers 
    • Status Barber Shop 
    • Mocutz 
    • Dre Searles tattoos and illustrations 
    • Strictly roots events 
    • N8 images
    • Victoria Africa fest 
    • Bask Arts Home Decor 
    • Udamma Fashion 
    • Tribe Asani Fashion 
    • Island afrikan supermarket 
    • Mount Tolmie market
    • Shea butter market 
    • CREAN Society Youth Empowerment 
    • Maureen Washington vocal coach 
    • Purity clean victoria 
    • SW creations 
    • I dream in decor 
    • Doula Jay Duncan 
    • Storm fit nation 
    • Merge combat and fitness 
    • Flight basketball 

Papuan Lives Matter: Oppression in West Papua Continues

by

Prepared by Peter Boldt, Multimedia Coordinator, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

Just as the old proverb goes, history, unfortunately, tends to repeat itself. Corporate impunity, top-down development and violent dispossession are just but a few characteristics which describe everyday life for many Indigenous Peoples throughout the world who continue to fight for their survival. These painful realities have existed since the establishment of colonialism but oppression and systematic racism continue to occur on a global scale in the present. The Indigenous Peoples of West Papua who make up around 50% of the population of the region referred to in Indonesian as “Papua Barat”, are often victims of this continued oppression, and face acts of intense police brutality, land dispossession and persecution perpetrated by the Indonesian government.

Children in West Papua. (Photo by Leslie Butt, featured in Tok Blong Pasifik Vol. 55 No. 2)

The territory of West Papua is situated within an intersection of complex histories of colonization and competing geopolitical interests. Some 2 million Papuans call the land of West Papua their ancestral home and are ethnic Melanesians who share close connections with the peoples of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. West Papua had been under the colonial rule of the Dutch since the 16th century and was poised for independence in the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, at the behest of the United States, control over the territory was handed to Indonesia as part of the now-infamous New York Agreement. A few years later, in 1969, the “Act of Free Choice” would ostensibly provide West Papuans with an opportunity to vote for their independence. The referendum however was a sham, and would later be mockingly referred to as the “Act of no-choice”. Only 1,025 citizens participated in the vote and were hand-selected by the Indonesian military. Some were even allegedly forced to cast their ballot at gunpoint, resulting in an unsurprising unanimous vote in favour of Indonesian control. Countless advocacy groups and democratic organizations have since protested the results of the referendum and continue to call on the United Nations and the rest of the international community to support West Papuan independence.

Despite its large resource endowments including one of the largest gold mines in the world (Grasberg Mine) and recent focus of corporate development, West Papua possesses the lowest Human Development score (HDI) in Indonesia at 60.1 (compared to the Indonesian average of 70.1). Poverty affects around 25% of the population compounded by high rates of maternal mortality, illiteracy, unemployment and HIV. These issues have been exacerbated by indiscriminate discrimination, restrictions of political expression, and police violence. To illustrate, in February 2020 an investigation by the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission determined that a 2014 shooting committed by the military, which saw the death of four Papuan students and injured 21 others, was a gross violation of human rights. Sadly, just a few days after the judgement, another shooting transpired killing one Papuan and injuring several others.

(Source: Tok Blong Pasifik Archives)

These kinds of killings, beatings and torture are part of everyday life for many Papuans. It is unsurprising then that the murder of George Floyd in May of this year and the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter movement resonated strongly with Papuans who also face similar injustices in their daily lives. In response, Papuans and allies rallied around the hashtag #PapuanLivesMatter in an effort to bring international attention to their struggle. Lamentably, foreign journalists are rarely permitted entry to West Papua and domestic journalists are tightly controlled through harsh anti-defamation laws. Because of this, the Indonesian military is rarely held accountable for their oppressive actions. In addition to militarization and land dispossession, Papuans who study and work elsewhere in Indonesia are often victims of racial abuse and discrimination. The Papuan identity is thus under a siege that spans economic, cultural, and social dimensions.

(Source: Tok Blong Pasifik Archives)

 History need not repeat itself and the #PapuanLivesMatter movement together with #BlackLivesMatter speaks to the critical juncture global society finds itself precariously situated within. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded on these tensions and injustices and exacerbated hardships for Papuans and African-Americans alike. Now is the time to act in favour of democracy, racial equality and human rights. Pacific Peoples’ Partnership continues to stand in solidarity with both the #PapuanLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter movements and in favour of decolonization, self-determination and social justice. 

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has been involved in raising awareness about the West Papuan crisis for over 30 years. Through our Tok-Blong Journals and various advocacy campaigns, we have worked hard to shed light on the human rights and political abuses suffered to this day in West Papua. In October of last year (2019), amidst mounting state-led violence in West Papua, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership called on the Global Affairs Canada to pressure the Indonesian government to end the political and cultural persecution of West Papuans. Five months later, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, returned correspondence indicating that Canada hoped for “a peaceful resolution to the ongoing situation in Papua…” whilst “recognizing and supporting the territorial integrity of Indonesia.” Pacific Peoples’ Partnerships was disappointed in the content of the response and hope Canada will take a stronger stance in favour of human rights and West Papuan independence.

Connect With Us

Pacific Peoples' Partnership
#407 620 View St., Victoria BC
Canada V8W 1J6

We want to hear from you!

Contact Information

Join Us On Social Media

About Us

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.

Read More

 

Pasifik Currents: Latest Posts