I spoke to my friend Lahaina, a storyteller and writer from the islands of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. Lahaina is a friend of Chellette Mina ( Episode 254). She proudly acknowledges her roots reviving from Tunnuk, the village of the notorious Chuukese musicians, and Uman Fonuweisomw, island of the legendary Chuukese warriors. Lahaina is currently expanding her ventures in storytelling through various projects, one of which is a cookbook of indigenous and traditional Micronesian recipes that come with blurbs of stories told to her from her elders. Other avenues where she tells stories are her travel blog and her Instagram. In our conversation Lahaina shares her experiences with the value of cultural preservation and her experiences with cultural adversity and growing up as a Chuukese woman.
Lahaina speaks, reads and writes Chuukese - her native language, in which she also serves as a professional global interpreter and translator. Through her translation work, Lahaina helps her community breaks down barriers in the healthcare and justice systems, and emphasize her community member’s voices. She has been in the language field for almost 10 years.
Her goal is to eventually be able to start an afterschool program that teaches the diaspora of Micronesians their culture and native language. Lahaina also pioneered the Chuukese Women Ambassadors, a group consisting of Chuukese women, with the main goal to build an avenue for Chuukese and Micronesian women to tell their stories. They successfully collected and presented a photovoice project and a birth story collection of Chuukese women to the Nation Historical Society.
Through the organization of this project, The Chuukese Women Ambassadors were initiators of the revival of community gardening in the diaspora of Micronesian communities. Lahaina is a storyteller and a writer. She is currently writing a cookbook of collective Micronesian indigenous recipes to help promote healthy eating in her community through a decolonized diet. She also has a blog that tells her stories and experiences as she navigates her way, as a small island person in the big world. When her circumstances allows, Lahaina enjoys traveling to learn about other indigenous communities and culture. Above all, she is looking forward to connecting and working together with other individuals at the 3rd Indigenous Global Workshop in Sarayaku’s Territory. Learn more on Dreams Not Memes.
PS: When I mentioned Wu Tang I meant to say Outkast, in reference to the song by Outkast, "The Art of Storytelling"
Socials
IG: @chuukesegoddess
Website: www.sweetstuffpdx.com
