Abstract
In each discipline of academia, brown bodies are few and far between. This critical collective autoethnography poetically, performatively decolonises two lived experiences of brown bodies. The two scholars live within the diaspora of Aotearoa, New Zealand; however, the bones of their ancestors are in Samoan. As a means of political resistance to the status quo, the Samoan Indigenous reference and Wayfinding is purposely included as foundational in decolonising.
The word Pasifika has been conceptualised by Pasifika scholars, as a statement of solidarity and unity (Samu, 2006). Being able to name ourselves is a miniscule step in the process of decolonising. Samoan Philosopher His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese (2005) encourages us as Pasifika scholars to spend time to declutter western norms. Decolonising research allows for the decluttering, and confronts the need for radical change within social and political systems (Smith, 2012). Decolonising and autoethnography enable us to speak our truth. It is one approach that we as brown Pasifika scholars are able to demonstrate resistance towards the dominant political system that relentlessly try to oppress those of us in the margins.
Being on the other side of our ocean and standing on the soil of the indigenous people of America sharing space amongst emancipatory scholars is testament in itself of how autoethnography is a means of speaking back to power.
The further you climb in academia the less of us you will see. The following script is us-we wayfinding and navigating the spaces we have lived as brown scholars…as brown people…we share a few questions and realisations that although we are brown scholars ‘holy shit we are still not white’ This is us brown bodies living in our brown Pasifika skin:
Ah excuse me? Is this the philosophy politics and education paper?
I’m just patrolling the area; we’ve had few car thefts in the last few months. A couple of brown boys have been out these ways checking out cars and the next day they end up stolen. So ahhh what are you two brown boys doing here?
Hey Joshua, I really thoroughly enjoyed your essay, I thought it was really critical and you had some really original ideas. Now really, I don’t mean to offend you but are you sure you wrote it all on your own?
Hey look, I know that when you were going through a hard time at uni I offered to help you out financially in exchange for you getting good grades. Now even though you managed to be awarded graduate of the year - I’ve kept the receipts and I think it’s about time you pay me back.
You speak really good English
I’m a guest speaker at a high school graduation. I walk in and am ushered into the staff room I’m shown where the coffee is so I go over to make me a coffee. As I’m making it, the head of the science department walks up to me and says ‘white and two sugar’...I have two thoughts… The first was, oh hell no you didn’t! The second was…
Fetaui puts her hands in her pockets, with one arm she wipes her nose and tilts her head
Chur cuz! can I ahhh have a drink of water yee?
Joshua: Brown like the coat of the guitar by which my people strum
Finally, we gently ask you all as allies that you stand with us
“We are the descendants of the migrant dream;
The projected dream of our elders;
Navigating our vessel through more than just oceans and islands;
We are from a great line of warriors who traversed the great oceans;
We are custodians of the land and sea.
We are storytellers, orators, healers, and critical
autoethnographers; We are artists, dancers, innovators, way finders and engineers;
The sea is ours, we can never be lost because it is
our Oceania; Do not pity us; We do not come from small islands; We come from a sea of islands; More islands and more languages than Captain Cook had written a recipe for
We did not accidently bump into land;
We have our own science that navigated us across the Pacific;
Our ancestors are the winds in our sails; Our anchor is our whanau, our aiga, our
family, and our stars are our compass;
The Ocean is ours to protect, as well as those
who choose to protect it;
We traverse through adversity;
We ride on the waves of
humility.
The coconut is not a health trend hashtag for us—it is used in our oils for our dances, cream for our koko laisa (koko bean rice), husk for our headpieces, and hydration for our thirst. Leaves for our baskets, mats, and thatched roofs. Planks for our rafters and floors. Sinnet for our nails and is at the heart for our sweetener and medicines.
LGBTQI was always, always part of our
community, we did not need a piece of paper to validate their place in this world as it was already written in the narrative of our forefathers.
Our Pacific names are beautiful and are not an
invitation for you to butcher and condense to
Western names so that they are palatable for
your Western tongue—even though you can pronounce Gucci and Louis Vuitton with ease. It’s Luse, not Leah; it’s Muamai, not Martin or Mike.
While Galileo was trying to figure out whether
the Earth was round or flat, our people only had to look at the circular shape of our great Sun and Sacred Moon to know that the Earth was round.
Our elders are where wisdom resides;
Our elderly and children are our treasures;
Our women are powerful, respected beings;
Our people, land, and animals are all sacred spiritual beings.
Our ocean is our limitless potential;
We are Way finders; Way finding and navigating stories past, present, and future. Navigators with a conscience as clear as the seas on our shores.
We are Navigators; We are Way finders”
(Iosefo & Iosefo, p.103-104, 2018)
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
