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I AM OF OCEANIA INNOCENTA SOUND-KIKKU When my daughter was 12 years old, she came home one day from school, upset and confused. She couldn’t stop thinking about what her substitute teacher had told her that day: “It’s because of you people—it makes me frustrated to come to teach.” My daughter came home, asking me “what did the teacher mean by ‘you people’? Did she mean me as Chuukese? As Micronesian? Or me as someone from the Kalihi area?” I felt so upset for my daughter, thinking how wrong it was for a teacher to say something like this. I know many other Micronesian kids face different kinds of discrimination daily in their schools and neighborhoods. They’re not seen as beautiful, talented, smart, and sacred, but rather looked upon as “Nothing but Trouble.” My daughter and I had a long talk that day about her experience, and what discrimination is. It pained me to think about her carrying this kind of burden on her shoulders. I wanted to paint a different view from the negative things said about being Micronesian. I want my daughter to know she is beautiful, wonderful , and special, for she’s a part of something much bigger than a tiny island in Micronesia. I want her to know she’s part of a greater call, and that we learn from our sky, our ocean, our lands, and environments to keep us strong. My daughter is of value and a treasure, so I wrote this poem, “I am of Oceania,” for her. I am of Oceania I am of the Islands I am of my Ancestors I am of my Mother and my Father the next Generation of a beloved Nation Who hopes for a better tomorrow promised Sound-Kikku, I am of Oceania 145 To multiply and navigate the earth as my Maker calls me to steward that of which He birthed me: the Ocean and Islands of the Pacific Realm This poem makes my daughter proud and unashamed of who she is. She began wearing her Chuukese skirts and dresses often out in public. I hope many of our kids growing up in Hawai‘i or abroad will find interest and value in reconnecting to their Chuukese cultural values and identities. Maybe not in my time, but whenever that will be. I hope these kids will rise up and reclaim what they have lost. The true good nature of Chuukese men and women . And that they will be confident in the wisdom of their ancestors behind them, to create a better future for the next generation to come. ...

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