Jacob Fitisemanu's guest appearances

Jacob Fitisemanu

531pi

Faika

Wai? Indigenous Words and Ideas

Lisa Taouma

Dwayne Johnson

Dawn Rasmussen

Matt Brown

Michael Barnett

Don Mann

Glen Jackson

Nathan Robinson

James Prescott

Jacinda Ardern

Guy Fawkes

Jay Wilson

Joseph Parker

David Letele

Tim Marshall

OwlTail

This episode features educator and city councilperson Jacob Fitisemanu along with community leader and educator 'Inoke Hafoka. They discuss some of the background to a recent community tatau/tātatau event that took place in Utah. We learn some of the background to the history of Ocean peoples in Utah and move into the beginning of this group’s tatau journeys with tufuga Li'aifaiva before the pandemic took off, which finished two years later once travel restrictions eased. We discuss ideas and concepts of identity and mobility through the desire for continued relevance of tatau/tātatau in a US diaspora context. We confront some common perceptions and the role of going ‘nerd mode’ to learn more and challenge prevailing ideas with more complex and pluralistic understandings. We also engage with the importance of context and the significance of having access in one’s place of residence where community building can occur through collective participation in ancestral ritual events. Terms: Apisā ('sacred home/house', set apart sleeping quarters or ritual setting), Tapua'i (to set apart, protect, make 'sacred'), Au/Hau (Tattooing chisel comb in Sāmoan/Tongan), Tatau/Tātatau (Sāmoan/Tongan language for tattoo, etymological origin of the word tattoo in English).

This episode features educator and city councilperson Jacob Fitisemanu along with community leader and educator 'Inoke Hafoka. They discuss some of the background to a recent community tatau/tātatau event that took place in Utah. We learn some of the background to the history of Ocean peoples in Utah and move into the beginning of this group’s tatau journeys with tufuga Li'aifaiva before the pandemic took off, which finished two years later once travel restrictions eased. We discuss ideas and concepts of identity and mobility through the desire for continued relevance of tatau/tātatau in a US diaspora context. We confront some common perceptions and the role of going ‘nerd mode’ to learn more and challenge prevailing ideas with more complex and pluralistic understandings. We also engage with the importance of context and the significance of having access in one’s place of residence where community building can occur through collective participation in ancestral ritual events. Terms: Apisā ('sacred home/house', set apart sleeping quarters or ritual setting), Tapua'i (to set apart, protect, make 'sacred'), Au/Hau (Tattooing chisel comb in Sāmoan/Tongan), Tatau/Tātatau (Sāmoan/Tongan language for tattoo, etymological origin of the word tattoo in English).

Ep. 35: Marks of Identity with Jacob Fitisemanu and ’Inoke Hafoka

Jacob Fitisemanu, Jr. was born in Wellington, New Zealand to Karen Dang (Kaimukī, O'ahu, Hawai'i) and Jacob Fitisemanu Sr. (Fagaloa, ʻUpolu and Sāfune, Savaiʻi, Sāmoa).  Jake was raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and Salt Lake City, Utah with a love of his vibrant Samoan, Chinese and Korean American heritage. He graduated with honors in Social Science from Westminster College, where he also obtained a Master's degree in Public Health. Jake co-founded the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition in 2011 and has chaired the annual statewide Pacific Islander Health Week since 2012.  He was appointed to the US Census National Advisory Council in 2014 and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian &amp; Pacific Islander American Health Forum.  In 2015, Jake was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a post he served for two years.  Jake is the Director of the Health Clinics of Utah program and a member of the National Pacific Islander COVID19 Response Task Force. In 2017, he was elected to the City Council of West Valley City, where he lives with his wife Lucia and their daughters Moanalua and Lanuola.

Jacob Fitisemanu, Jr. was born in Wellington, New Zealand to Karen Dang (Kaimukī, O'ahu, Hawai'i) and Jacob Fitisemanu Sr. (Fagaloa, ʻUpolu and Sāfune, Savaiʻi, Sāmoa).  Jake was raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and Salt Lake City, Utah with a love of his vibrant Samoan, Chinese and Korean American heritage. He graduated with honors in Social Science from Westminster College, where he also obtained a Master's degree in Public Health. Jake co-founded the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition in 2011 and has chaired the annual statewide Pacific Islander Health Week since 2012.  He was appointed to the US Census National Advisory Council in 2014 and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian &amp; Pacific Islander American Health Forum.  In 2015, Jake was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a post he served for two years.  Jake is the Director of the Health Clinics of Utah program and a member of the National Pacific Islander COVID19 Response Task Force. In 2017, he was elected to the City Council of West Valley City, where he lives with his wife Lucia and their daughters Moanalua and Lanuola.

Jacob Fitisemanu Jnr: Impact of COVID-19 on our Pacific Island community in Salt Lake City, Utah

Community Leader and one of the true "mover and shakers" in the Polynesian community, Jacob Fitisemanu, answers some questions and talks about keeping culture strong in the upbringing of his children.

Community Leader and one of the true "mover and shakers" in the Polynesian community, Jacob Fitisemanu, answers some questions and talks about keeping culture strong in the upbringing of his children.