Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

Executive Message: March 2021

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Singing the Women Honour Song at Longhouse Dialogues June 2019 by L Mennigke

Happy International Women’s Day!

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership is blessed to work with so many amazing women!  We are inspired daily by all that they do for our collective wellbeing, for their families, friends, and communities.  In this edition of Pasifik Currents, we are delighted to introduce a few of these powerful trailblazers and changemakers and showcase their inspirational work and accomplishments.

Join us in celebrating Ofa from Tonga who is delivering remote counseling clinics, and our Pacific Resilience fund advisory council members including Méré (Vanuatu), Jennifer (Papua New Guinea), Kianna (Marshall Islands), Theresa (Samoa), and Maureen (Fiji) and get the latest news on the projects they are championing from supporting women businesses through to food security, health and safety, and promoting life skills-based upon traditional knowledge and practices.  

PPP is also pleased to announce that we are co-hosting a global virtual summit on reducing gender-based violence, healing, and empowerment, alongside CIRCLE and SAGE (University of Victoria) on March 25th, 2021 14:00-18:00 PDT/ March 26th, 2021 10:00 – 14:00 Tonga.  This will be presented in collaboration with Tonga-based Women and Children Crisis Center, with special presentations from Moose Hide Campaign, breakout groups, and more.  Participation in this summit is by invitation or application only.  We are grateful to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for supporting this program.  Email Agnieszka at agnieszka@pacificpeoplespartnership.org for more information.

We are also thrilled to provide a teaser regarding the Stories of Resilience Indigenous and South Pacific youth program.  Plus updates on our work and activities. Our board, staff, and key volunteers will be engaging in strategic planning processes that will guide our work through to 2030 in alignment with the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, please consider donating to our work today.   As a non-profit charity, we are reliant on supporters like you to help us fulfill our mandate for a more just, peaceful, and sustainable Pacific. You can donate online securely HERE or through a no-fee direct e-transfer that auto deposits into our operating account by email director@pacificpeoplespartnership.org 

Thank you for all your support, and join us in celebrating these amazing women and youth!

Muavae and April

Executive Message: December 2020

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Staff and Board Members of Pacific Peoples’ Partnership celebrate Orange Shirt Day, Sept 30, 2020. Credit: Lara Costa, HERE Magazine

Talofa Lava respected friends!

The end of 2020 is in sight and for some, it could not exit fast enough. This has been a challenging year for us all in so many ways. Covid-19 has changed everything and we are experiencing a global shock together. This is an historic moment that provides us with an opportunity to reflect on life’s priorities and create a more just, equitable and sustainable future for all.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) gains inspiration from Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples at times like this. We have witnessed our wise friends rise to the challenges of colonization, globalization, climate change, and yes pandemics.

“we are not sinking, we are fighting” – Mikaele Maiava

Indigenous and Pacific Island Peoples are the Earth’s first guardians. Guided by the dual responsibilities to steward oral history and teachings, while ensuring they are passed to future generations as guidance on how to live sustainably and in balance. This collective wisdom and balanced approach demonstrates resilience in action.

In the year of our 45th Anniversary, PPP is delighted to be expanding and revisioning the Pacific Resilience Fund in response to the multilayered challenges of climate change and COVID-19. We have now assembled a Pacific Advisory Committee (PAC) to pilot this community grassroots responsive grant program. And we will soon be announcing details on this timely program, the PAC advisors, initial grantees and their essential community programs.

In this edition of Pacific Currents, we are thrilled to be sharing the work of our key Pacific partners, a report on our recent One Wave Gathering program and in-depth articles on “Food Security in the South Pacific” and on the “Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Children in the South Pacific”.

We are also happy to announce our first ever fully virtual AGM on December 10th at 5:30 p.m. PST. Please join us virtually to learn more about our work, and if you wish to vote please be sure you renew your annual contribution! Register HERE

With all the world’s major changes, it’s more important than ever to honour our bonds, strengthen our foundations, take delight in the little things and take action where we can. You can make a huge difference. Please continue your allyship and make a generous year-end donation towards PPP’s work today on this Giving Tuesday!

With your contribution, we have a chance to acknowledge and invest in Pacific resilience, with a goal to ultimately build back better!

Join us,

Muavae & April

Executive Message: September 2020

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Pasifik Currents – Executive Message

September 2020 Edition

 Members of the 2020 One Wave Gathering team explore collaborations with the Legacy Gallery’s Reef Net Exhibition. L to R: Tana Thomas, April Ingham, Lisa Kenoras, Jeff Corntassel and Zachary Fenn.

Talofa Lava,

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership’s (PPP) annual One Wave Gathering was designed to engage and build community and inspire stewardship of our shared lands and waters, while upholding and celebrating Pacific and Indigenous elders, artists, cultural leaders and knowledge keepers. As detailed in this edition of Pasifik Currents, the theme of this year’s program is resilience and allyship, both essential building blocks for solidarity as we address COVID-19 here at home and across our shared Pacific Ocean. Throughout September, One Wave Gathering will offer attendees safe spaces to reflect on these themes through a diverse program of online and in-person Indigenous and Pacific film, music, dialogue, and workshops. We hope to see you there!

This is a moment where our collective innovation is required as we navigate these rough waters together and envision our route forward. Our goal is to ensure a future that is more just, sustainable, and equitable for all. One that does not endorse false or dangerous economies that pit people’s health, lands, and waters against dangerous extractive practices, such as land-based or deep-sea mining, or in hosting tourists amidst a pandemic.

This is a time where we must embrace our youth as agents of change and support grassroots community programs. In service to these goals, PPP is so excited to share that we are hosting a new Pacific Islander and Indigenous youth committee that is exploring Stories of Resilience with their communities. This project will serve as a pathway for personal learning and a means to share cultural teachings and inspirations. Watch for this developing program in the months to come. PPP is also thrilled to announce our new partnership with the Women and Children Crisis Centre (WCCC) of Tonga, funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. WCCC will provide essential remote island COVID-19 mobile counselling support and services to help eliminate violence against women and children.

Given these challenging times, PPP is proud to officially mark our 45th Anniversary with the installation and dedication of the Pacific Peace House Post. Two years in the making, this 10-foot yellow cedar post was carved by local Lekwungen carver Bradley Dick and Ake Lianga, a Solomon Island artist living in Victoria, Canada. This Post honours Hereditary and Elected Lekwungen Indigenous leaders and will be permanently perched above the Pacific Ocean near the entrance to Victoria’s inner harbour at Macaulay Point. This stunning carving also commemorates our historic relationships across the Pacific, and we look forward to sharing this with you once it is officially dedicated.

In the meantime, we invite you to join us at all our upcoming events and to help celebrate our 45th anniversary by donating or volunteering towards our partnered work and future sustainability. We are deeply grateful to all friends of PPP who have stood with us along the way.

Yours in peace and solidarity,

April Ingham

Pasifik Currents July 2020 Executive Message

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One Wave Gathering Delegation visit Chris Paul Studio (September 2019)

Talofa Lava dear friends,

Earlier this month Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) released a Black Lives Matter solidarity message that we firmly stand behind and we invite you to join us:

We support the fight for equality, liberation, and justice. Our struggles for Black rights, Indigenous rights, and human rights are interconnected and come from the lived experiences within our PPP Board and our wider PPP community. Equality, liberation, and justice are integral to the work we do in partnership with Indigenous peoples, nations, and communities in Canada and throughout the South Pacific, and we are dedicated to upholding those values and practices.

All of us here at PPP hope that you and yours are well, as we weather COVID-19 realities as a global community.  It is in the face of adversity and challenges like this that our traditional teachings hold most important, and the fact that this knowledge continues to live on is a testament to the resilience of Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples.  Amidst the coronavirus, climate change and economic uncertainties, we acknowledge the unique challenges facing us at all levels and the interconnected nature of the crises and compounding impacts.  As research professor Cynthia Enloe has said of this pandemic: “We aren’t all in this together. We’re all on the same rough seas together, but we’re in very different boats.”

In French Polynesia, some residents have expressed disgust that their borders have now reopened to tourists, many who may come from the worst infected parts of the world.  Understandably, balancing economies and health are tough choices for nations who have worked so hard to develop their tourism sector. We have also been inspired by Pacific Islander youth who have been forced to return to home villages following COVID-19 shutdowns, such as Tuvalu’s youth who have ignited a renewed interest in their Indigenous knowledge.

This is a time when the global community must increase official development assistance to ensure no one is left behind.  Indeed, donor countries should go a step further and forgive development loans that encumber and trap small island developing states.  PPP recently signed on to a letter to encourage our country to do just that!  You can do your part by asking your Government to do more, and you can also give directly to our community-based partners through our Pacific Resilience Fund.

Included in this edition of Pasifik Currents we are proud to share our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, program updates and much more.  We are also thrilled to welcome our newest Team members Zachary, Tana and Peter, who will be working with us through the next few months on our COVID-19 protocol compliant One Wave Gathering amongst other projects.

Yours in solidarity,

Muavae (Mua) Va’a and April Ingham

       

Pasifik Currents May 2020 Executive Message

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April keeps safe with a Fijian-pattern mask made by her mother in law.

Talofa Lava Friends,

We are in an historic moment in time, one that has the potential to change our lives forever. While we are impacted differently in each part of the globe, we share the opportunity to address systemic changes and challenges that can positively transform our world, if we act together.

Early this month Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) marked our 45th Anniversary by launching a campaign for our Pacific Resilience Fund. Donations through this fund are distributed equitably throughout the South Pacific, and most importantly, they support Islander-led processes at the community level. Our local partners continue to work together and build resilience even in the face of recent crises, including COVID-19 and Cyclone Harold, both of which you will see covered with stories in this issue. PPP stands in solidarity with our friends and neighbors in the South Pacific – will you join us and be a part of building this legacy?

Makere – a recent donor to the Pacific Resilience Fund – wrote in the Maori language: “Tena koutou ki a koutou katoa, he koha iti, engari he koha aroha tenei…”  “We are with you all. A little gift, but this is a love gift…”

This sentiment is shared by PPP’s Samoan-Canadian President Muavae Va’a, who passionately shared his own stories of resilience and urged your solidarity. “As a Pacific Islander, it is important to me to support our peoples back home… Let’s begin today…even small amounts will

In November 2019, Samoan Elders Po & Savea joined program partner Eco Canada’s Kori, April and Mua at an Indigenous Youth Climate Connect workshop held at ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School on Vancouver Island, Canada.

be helpful.”  We invite you to watch his 8-minute video message.

While the immediate challenges of the recent cyclone and COVID-19 crises may take up our days, we are all adjusting to this new reality. PPP and our partners continue to work in physical isolation, but please know that we are working hard to make an impact – even virtually!

Within this edition of Pasifik Currents, you will find feature stories on our 45th Anniversary, updates from the HELP Resources Papua New Guinea project Vendors Collective Voices, inspiring stories from up and coming young female leaders, plus more people, program and news updates.

Save the date: “Giving Tuesday” will take place on May 5th as an emergency response to COVID-19. This is a global day of giving and unity that demonstrates the power of our collective generosity. Look to hear from us and the communities we are supporting in the South Pacific.

Thank you for continuing this Pacific Peoples’ Partnership journey. We look forward to you standing in solidarity with us well into the future!

April Ingham, Executive Director

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

 

RedTide Summit 2020 Postponed Due to Coronavirus

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RedTide logo by Mark Gauti, T’Sou-ke Nation

In 2018 PPP was part of a remarkable project that saw the birth of the RedTide International Indigenous Climate Action Summit. This was hosted by Toitoi Manawa Trust in May 2018 in Te Kaha, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Attending that first RedTide was youth activist Kalilah Rampanen from the Nuu-chah-nulth Territory of Ahousaht on Vancouver Island, British Columbia which became the designated location and host for RedTide 2020. Kalilah was named youth Chair of RedTide 2020, working diligently with her family with the expressed permission and support of her Hereditary Chief Maquinna, towards hosting the next bi-annual summit in July 2020.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that all travel is now restricted for the foreseeable future, as is entry into this small Indigenous community. It has been a difficult but necessary decision to postpone the event. The Summit team is now looking at the possibility of hosting virtual programming this summer, and the Summit on Vancouver Island next year.

If COVID teaches us anything, it is that we are indeed interconnected and must work together in solidarity to responsibly halt the spread and successfully bring this pandemic to an end.

PPP Featured Partner – RIKA

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PPP wishes to acknowledge our long-time supporter and partner, RIKA For over a decade, RIKA has donated his art and graphic design skills to support Pacific Peoples’ Partnership and our programs such as One Wave Gathering.

RIKA at Work!

RIKA is an Oceanscape artist in British Columbia, Canada working in brushed inks, watercolor and metallic leafing. His subject matter is the ocean surrounding the land he loves, the Pacific Northwest. As a socially-conscious artist , he also produces art and supports organizations that address environment and social justice issues especially as they pertain to Indigenous and South Pacific peoples, and our shared environment.

Special Notice from Pacific Peoples’ Partnership about COVID in the Pacific

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As of March 16, there have been six reported cases in the Pacific. The first three were confirmed in French Polynesia and the latter three were confirmed Sunday night in Guam. The first confirmed case in the Pacific was French Polynesia Maina Sage, who self-isolated after a trip to Paris on March 7.

The coronavirus has resulted in tightened travel restrictions, including cruise ships being banned in French Polynesia, Cooks Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga. In Samoa, travellers from 33 countries must self-quarantine for two weeks and show coronavirus test results no older than five days. Anyone entering French Polynesia must show medical certificates. Tonga declared a public emergency, meaning at any time mass gatherings could be banned and kava bars closed. Fiji has banned international events, as well as foreigners attending local events. Flights have been reduced, and Marshall Islands began a two-week restriction on all air travel to the country, currently set to end on March 22. The Federated States of Micronesia is prohibiting entry anyone who has been to a country with at least one case in the last two weeks.

In addition to negative effects on Pacific Islanders’ health, tourism is being affected.  Tourism represents around 40% of GDP for Palau, Vanuatu and Fiji, and is in fact the main export for those countries and Samoa. So even if those countries do not actually come into contact with the virus, it is expected that they will still struggle in the weeks ahead, particularly with limited budgets and health systems insufficient for handling the virus. While some have theorized that heat has an impact on coronavirus and while much of the population in the Pacific is spread out, there are some high population clusters in the region.

It should also be stressed that the above refers to what we traditionally consider to be part of the Pacific Islands. The numbers are higher if you consider the outer regions: There were 17 new cases in Indonesia on March 16 (134 total), with eight known recoveries and five deaths. In Australia there have been 298, with five deaths and 23 recoveries. In New Zealand there have been eight confirmed cases but no deaths thus far.

Pacific Peoples Partnership (PPP) will continue to monitor the pandemic’s impact on the Pacific and keep people informed. For our own operations, PPP is currently practicing a stage 1 response to COVID-19 including limiting access to our office to the general public, remote working where possible, social distancing and cancelling all events for the immediate time being. We continue to monitor this dynamic situation as it unfolds with the goal to keep our Pacific community safe.

Sources:

Coronavirus: Pacific borders tighten further, RNZ 1:01 pm on 16 March 2020

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), Ministry of Health, Monday 16 March, 2020

Dayant, Alexandre & Pryke, Jonathan, Anticipating Covid‑19 in the Pacific, The Interpreter 16 Mar 2020 13:00

Maclellan, Nic, Pacific Islands hit by first coronavirus case after French Polynesian MP infected on Paris trip, The Guardian Thu 12 Mar 2020 01.11 GMT

Taylor, Josh & Zhou, Naaman,  Australia coronavirus live: Another federal politician tests positive and AFL season reduced – as it happened, The Guardian Mon 16 Mar 2020 11.39 GMT

Widadio, Nicky Aulia, Indonesia confirms 17 new cases of coronavirus, AA, 16.03.2020

Pasifik Currents – Spring Edition 2020

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April Ingham and Greta Thunberg in Swedish Lapland

Talofa Lava Friends,

Happy International Women’s Day!  Spring is starting to show itself here on Vancouver Island.  The days are getting longer, blossoms are slowly revealing themselves and a buzz of excitement is in the air as Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) grows ever nearer to our 45th Anniversary on April 8!  This is a special time of celebration and reflection for PPP, and we are thrilled to mark this milestone by embarking on a Wayfinding 2020 mission.

With the support of funder Tamalpais Trust, a San Francisco-based organization supporting Indigenous-led projects, PPP will connect with former, current and potential future partners throughout the South Pacific in a deep listening and learning mission. Ironically this mission recently began with a trip to Sápmi Territories (Swedish Lapland, Arctic Circle) where we witnessed Pawanka Fund’s transformative approach to philanthropy through global Indigenous solidarity and self-determination.  This incredible initiative is highlighted in the enclosed article.

Findings and inputs from Wayfinding 2020 will inform PPP’s strategic plans for 2020-2025 to ensure they support South Pacific Islanders’ stated priorities and self determined solutions. It is anticipated this will lead to strengthened partnerships, more impactful programming and the transformation of our Pacific Resilience Fund (PRF) into an Indigenous led fund.  So, watch for our continued updates on social media and through Pasifik Currents.

These have been busy and productive days here at PPP with lots of exciting programs in the works or just completed.  Want to learn more? Check out our 2018-19 Annual Report and Audited Statements and our recent articles about our activities including the Climate Connect Indigenous Youth Workshop in November 2019, plus check out the touching outcomes of our recent PRF Samoa Campaign as experienced first hand by our President Muavae Va’a in December 2019. You will also see our recent solidarity statement for Wet’suwet’en; and our newest feature Pacific Pulse, a curated and synthesized selection of emergent Pacific news, plus lots of other great updates!

Our Board, Volunteers and small team of Staff are working hard to be of service to the Peoples of the South Pacific.  To this end, we also work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples worldwide alongside many strong allies.  As we near our 45th Anniversary we urge your continued engagement and expanded charitable support of our mandate – Please donate today!  We look forward to celebrating this amazing milestone with you throughout 2020!

Yours in Solidarity for Peace,

April Ingham

Executive Director

Peoples & Passages:

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At our AGM in December 2019, PPP welcomed two new Board Members Tierra Madani – Originally from the island of Molokai in Hawaii, Tierra lives and breathes aloha in all that she does. She moved to Victoria in 2014 and has since earned her place within the HR community and within the Tourism/Hospitality industry.

And we are also thrilled to introduce Dylan Sunshine Waisman – a new Vancouver based Board Member.  Her maternal family hails from Fiji and the Solomon Islands with family spread across the South Pacific. Her paternal family are Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Sunshine received her law degree with honours in the UK and her Master’s in Law degree with a focus on human rights and migration law. Sunshine currently works to uphold Indigenous rights in the criminal justice system as a Gladue Report Writer, while studying to become an accredited lawyer in Canada, and volunteering on a bi-monthly basis at pro-bono legal clinics in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Learn more about these new Board Members HERE

 PPP also thanks retiring Board members Eli Enns who is now a PPP partner NGO with their Toddler in Nature program, so he is not going too far and we look forward to continuing work with his organization IISAAK OLAM! 

Board member, Rachel Wang, offers a farewell to fellow Board member, Jessica Rutherford: “I regret to inform our members that Jessica Rutherford will be stepping down from her position on the Board due to the demands of her existing strenuous work schedule. As passionate and empathetic global citizens, we often forget how much personal time and energy it takes to meaningfully fulfill our many commitments. While we are sad to see Jessica go, we wholeheartedly support her decision. Having previously worked with Jessica at the World Wildlife Fund in Solomon Islands, it has been a wonderful experience working with her again in Canada towards the same vision: healthy and resilient communities across the South Pacific. The Board thanks Jessica for all her work and hopes our paths will cross again soon.”

PPP is pleased to welcome Cedar Luke. Cedar joined our team as our Intercultural Research Associate by way of his graduating internship placement with us early in 2020. In the last decade, he has lived, studied and worked in Latin America for five years and is graduating in Latin American Studies and Intercultural Education. In a world of beautiful diversity Cedar strives to honor and bridge our differences so we may work together in harmony for all generations to come.

A sad passing –Edmund Kundi Senjiku a Sepik River carver recently passed away, as reported by former PPP Board Member Elaine Monds. Edmund was a young father based in the middle Sepik region of Papua New Guinea.  He was a talented carver who was represented at Elaine’s former business the Alcheringa Gallery.  Edmund died on February 20th, 2020 and his uncle (also a Master Sepik Carver and PPP Friend) Edward Dumoi is taking a collection to help Edmund’s four kids aged 9-3 years old who are mourning for their father. To help or learn more contact Edward: Email: emdumoi@gmail.com or via Mobile: +675 73401336 or +675 73617215 / You can use these phone numbers for his what’s app account.

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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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