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Members of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Summer Institute cohort gathered on Friday for the soft opening of a gallery they put together using the knowledge and skills acquired throughout their six-month program.
Friday marked the last day of the programme, where members of the cohort from 13 indigenous communities across Oceania learned about the various aspects of caring for artefacts and the culture and history of the IPPN.
Northern Mariana Islands cohort member Erlinda Cabrera Naputi said the experience was “incredible” as it brought together individuals from Oceania to discover their common passion.
“What’s so amazing is that a lot of us shed tears when we talk about what we’re doing,” Naputi said. “We all come from the islands; we all understand the importance of our history and our culture; and we all have to take care of what is left by our ancestors.
On Friday, members of the cohort took an informal tour of the completed gallery. The walls were lined with cultural objects made by members of the cohort or brought from museums or galleries in their hometowns. Towards the main entrance, a brown netting with woven leaves threaded through it hung from the ceiling.
The group circled the gallery as each member shared what they brought and why they brought it, often bursting into shared laughter.
“I guess when you all share the same passion, it’s easy to connect,” Naputi said. “It made it even easier to connect with each other because we all care about each other the same way we care about our collections.”
Reggie Meredith Fitiao of Pago Pago, American Samoa applied to the institution to find ways to inspire younger generations to consider getting into the field of art and artefact curating. But the knowledge, experiences and connections she gained were staggering, she said.
One of the most significant experiences for her occurred at the Iolani Palace.
“I knew I was standing where the queen was, and to see her quilt, it’s so touching,” Fitiao said. “You can’t help but fall in love with these things.”
The support and mentorship of cohort leaders throughout the experience was also more than Fitiao could put into words, she said.
“We need to build stronger connections with each other, understand what our struggles are in each of the museums and really the love that we share – there’s this real connection,” she said.
The cohort included 17 participants selected from more than 30 applicants. Members came from places like Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Palau, and Papua New Guinea.
The institute was hosted by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of American Studies and the East-West Center, and funded by a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Although COVID-19 postponed the program by nearly two years, it “exceeded our wildest expectations,” NHPI Museum Summer Institute project manager Noelle Kahanu said in a UH press release.
The first five months of the program consisted of Zoom workshops once every two weeks, where guest speakers spoke to participants about various topics, including repatriation, label writing, exhibit design and management systems. collections, Kahanu said.
From July 5 through Friday, participants gathered on Oahu to begin a full-time program of workshops and gatherings at venues including the Bishop Museum, the Hamilton Library Preservation Department, Iolani Palace and the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives.
The resulting gallery is called “Weaving a Net(work) of Care for Oceanic Collections” and will be on view at the East-West Center Gallery from Sunday to September 11. Admission is free and gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The gallery will be closed on Saturday.
While the cohort doesn’t know when they’ll be able to reconnect in person, Naputi is certain the relationships she’s established will endure.
“Let’s take care of what we love and love what we care about,” she said, quoting a guest speaker. “That’s really our raison d’etre.”
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues and communities.
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