EPIC x PIEAM: Constellations

Mahalo, faʻafetai tele, si yu’os ma’åse, malo ʻaupito, vinaka vaka levu and THANK YOU for becoming part of our Constellations! Constellations is a collaborative project between Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) and Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) that seeks to archive and amplify lived experiences of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who call Turtle Island (continental U.S.) home.

Traditionally, Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders (NHPI) have passed stories of family, histories, migration, myth and legend, loss, and new beginnings through oral storytelling. We love to “talk story”! Constellations is one way we can preserve stories, generate new ones, and leave a legacy of shared stories behind to the next generation.

NHPI communities across the U.S. were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 compared to other communities. For much of the pandemic, our grief had gone unnoticed because “the data” was never collected. Many elders have become ancestors and lost with them are the stories they held onto. The descendents who remain in the physical realm can ensure they are counted among the stars.

In order to preserve the lives of NHPI people, EPIC hosts monthly vaccine clinics, and with PIEAM, opened exhibits like Recipes for Joy and Toe Foʻi: The Return to shift the narrative from grief to celebration.

Popular media and culture have influenced how NH/PI communities are viewed and, in turn, this has impacted how we see ourselves. It is time that we take our power back by having full control over what stories are told and how they are told. Constellations is just one way to drive NHPI story sovereignty.

Whether it is a story of COVID-19 survival, migration/immigration, health, education, economic disparities, aspirations or messages for future ancestors, your contributions to Constellations will advance EPIC’s advocacy, research, policy, and narrative change work.

Milky Way stars shining Mt Everest summit Himalaya mountains Nepal

EWA TO EVEREST

HAWAII’S DILLON QUITUGUA AIMS TO BE FIRST

CHAMORU TO SUMMIT MT. EVEREST

DILLON'S STORY

HOW WILL MY STORY BE USED?

Your stories will aid EPIC in amplifying our communities’ needs as we continue to advocate for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders nation-wide. Your stories allow us to weave together a much larger narrative that speaks to our collective sovereignty and self-determination. The Constellations project, we hope, will cultivate creative collaboration and inspire collective dreams for our futures.

What is the participation process?

In-person

Set up an appointment to share your story at PIEAM by contacting Kiki at krivera@empoweredpi.com
Review EPICs Storyteller’s Bill of Rights
Read and sign consent form via Google Form

Or complete physical consent/intake form to be returned to Kiki

Use the questions provided to help guide your storytelling.
Take your time and enjoy telling your story.

Online

Review EPICs Storyteller’s Bill of Rights
Read and sign consent form via Google Form
Use submission form to share your story
Formats - visual collage (PNG/IMG/JPEG), audio file (MP3/MP4/WAV), written/text (DOC/PDF)

Story prompts

Questions to guide your storytelling

I[a]m/Migration

Tell us in a sentence or two who you are, how you identify, the important roles you play in your life, what and who you love, the experiences and people who made you the person you are today.

Tell us your familyʻs origin story: Where do you call “homelands”? Why did they migrate? What stories did they take with them? What stories did they pave for themselves? What is your personal story? Where do you see your story going (future)?

Identity

How do you identify? What are some challenges that affect your identity?

What tools/talents/special powers do you possess?

Issues & Advocacy

What are/were some obstacles or barriers in adapting to where you/re family calls home now

History & Culture

What are some of your favorite parts of your culture and why? If you could change a common stereotype about your culture/people, what would it be and why?

Recall a native myth or legend (From the homeland). Tell it to us as best as you can.

Leadership

Name a leader that you admire. What qualities do they possess that inspire your leadership? In contrast, name a leader you disagree with and why. What would you do to flip that power to make it pono (righteous, upstanding)?

Education

What is your educational background? (This can be formal or informal education.)

Tell us about a form of indigenous ingenuity and/or way of seeing/being that you want to see in abundance. (Ie. Tapa making, traditional fishponds, navigating using the stars.)

Values

What would you say is your “day job” or profession?

What do you see as your kuleana (responsibility)? How will you fulfill your kuleana?

How do you care for tauhi vā (nurturing the space between, can be space between self and relationships with people and/or land?)

How do you practice kommol (gratitude)?

Tell us about a time you were called to practice loto tele (courage or bravery that comes from a deep place)?

Envisioning

What is your advice for the next 7 generations?

Who needs to hear this story for change to occur?

What do we need to say to them to move them? What do they need to hear?

January 21, 2023

EWA to EVEREST

Honolulu, HI– Ewa Beach athlete CHamorro Dillon Quitugua is preparing to be the first ever CHamorro to summit Mount Everest in Spring 2024. Dillon and his team from the Tribe Collective, which includes fellow CHamoru Brandon Perez and Magdalena Steele, is raising $30k-$200k to fund this awe inspiring expedition he’s calling Ewa to Everest and is asking for your help to spread his message of empowerment and service.

“I write in my journal everyday ʻI want to empower Pacific Islanders to be the best versions of themselves. We all have our own Everest to climb,” says Quitugua. Born on Guahan (Guam) and raised in Hawaiʻi, at 24 years old Quitugua co-founded Tribe Collective which started as a running club to promote a message of health, wellness and community. In March 2022, Quitugua and Tribal Collective co-founders Johnny Keoni Barsano and Brandon Perez made history as the first people to attempt a Perimeter run and finish 100 miles in Guam. The history-making Tribe Collective hopes to achieve even greater historical accomplishments by representing Guam and all Pacific Islanders on Mt. Everest.

Known as the highest point on earth Mt. Everest or Chomolungma in Tibetan, stands at 29, 032 feet and has a record of 11, 346 summit ascents by 6,098 different people. Currently Guam or Hawaiʻi is not listed .

“Out of those 6000+ folks to summit Mt. Everest, no one has been from Guam. I would be the first.” says Quitugua. “Summiting Mt. Everest as the first CHamorro/ first micronesian would give me a sense of pride that I hope will resonate and strengthen the people of Guam and Micronesia. I want to nurture Micronesian’s hope in a world where blunt racisms prejudices negatively impact the community. Summiting this mountain means to be fulfilling a duty that I feel that God has anointed me with,” says Quitugua.