Center for Pacific Island Studies

academic programs

theses, plan b papers, and portfolios

The following is a list of recent theses, Plan B papers, and portfolios that were accepted for the MA in Pacific Islands Studies. Note: in 2004–2005, the Plan B option was phased out and replaced by the MA Portfolio option (see MA admission and degree requirements).

Rethinking sovereignty in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission—Kara Miller, 2012, MS in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, Certificates in Ocean Policy and Pacific Island Studies.

Island Brothers/ Island Blood: The Story of Vietnam Veterans of Sāmoa—Peter L Akuna Sr, 2012, Portfolio Project

Basic Health Hawaii: Broken Spirits, Healing Souls—Keola Kim Diaz, 2012, Portfolio Project

Te Kauhiva Tokelau: Composing and Choreographing Cultural Sustainability—Candice Steiner, 2012, MA in Music (ethnomusicology) and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies

Sapon riki ba kain toromon [We have become Solomon Islanders]: A Study of the Construction and Reconstruction of the I-Kiribati Community in Solomon Islands—Tammy Tabe, 2011, Thesis

Language Development Curriculum within the Samoan Congregational Churches in the Diaspora—Brian T Alofaituli, 2011, Thesis

Rising Waves of Change: Sociocultural Impacts of Climate Change in the Village of Tafitoala, Sāmoa, in the Face of Globalization—Asuka Hirabe, 2011, Thesis

Vete: The Emerging Movement on Efate, Vanuatu. Politics and Indigenous Alternatives—Dorah Lee Wilson, 2011, Portfolio Project

Rethinking Youth Bulge Theory and Threat Discourse in Melanesia: Listening In and Connecting with Young People in Papua New Guinea—Patrick Kaiku, 2011, Thesis

Unwriting "Easter Island"—Forrest Wade Young, 2011, PhD in Anthropology and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies

Disassembling School in Micronesia: Genealogy, Subjectivity, Possibility—David W Kupferman, 2011, PhD in Education and Certificate in Pacific Islands Studies

Kanu o ka 'Āina: Navigating between Two Worlds—Ann Dugdale Hansen, 2011, Thesis

I Kareran I Palåbran Måmi: The Journey of Our Words—Anghet Hoppe-Cruz and Kisha Borja-Kicho`cho`, 2010, Portfolio Project

Pacified Perceptions: Multiple Subjectivities and Community Management Projects A Case Study Naikorokoro Village Levuka, Fiji—Louisa Anthony, 2010, Plan B

Lei Stories: Experiences and Practices behind Lei Production in Hawaii—Junko Nishida, 2010, Portfolio Project

Maunalua: Fishing with a Digital Net—Ann Marie Nālani Kirk, 2010, Portfolio Project

Hua Ka Nalu: Hawaiian Surf Literature—Ian ‘Akahi Masterson, 2010, Thesis

Wa Kuk Wa Jimor: Outrigger Canoes, Social Change, and Modern Life in the Marshall Islands—Rachel Leah Miller, 2010, Thesis

Omesubel A Klechibelau: The Rise of a New Program at the Palau Community College—Edelene O Uriarte, 2010, Thesis

Contract Archaeology, the Law, and Indigenous Epistemologies in Hawai`i—Jesse D Yorck, 2009, Thesis

Investing in Success: A Case Study of Rural Development Efforts in Mavana, Fiji—Wainikiti N Bogidrau, 2009, Thesis

The Perpetuation of the Chamorro Language in Guam: An Examination of Government Policies and Guam’s Media—Madonna Lea Castro-Perez, 2009. Portfolio Project

A Mango on the Madrone Tree: Stories and Scribbles from a So-Called Afakasi—Tafea Polamalu, 2009, Portfolio Project

Making Myth, Making Nation: Māori Symbols and the Construction of Bicultural Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand—A. Marata Tamaira, 2009, Thesis

Se Tala Mai Hawai‘i: Reflections on Being Samoan in Hawai‘i—Lucille Fuamatala (Sia) Achica, 2009, Portfolio Project

Oceans of Knowing: Rainbows in the Mist of Transformation and Education. A Woman’s Pilgrimage through Aoteatoa New Zealand and the United States—Judith Humbert, 2009, Portfolio Project

No in Alikin Bar (Waves that Come after the Reef): Navigating Currents of Displacement to and from Kwajalein Atoll—Suzanne Mayo Mulitalo, 2009, Portfolio Project

Law as a Tool of Oppression and Liberation: Institutional Histories and Perspectives on Political Independence in Hawai‘i, Tahiti Nui/French Polynesia and Rapa Nui—Lorenz Gonschor, 2008, Thesis

Merdeka Papua: Integration, Independence, or Something Else?—James Stiefvater, 2008, Thesis

Fanhasso I Taotao Sumay: Displacement, Dispossession, and Survival in Guam—James Perez Viernes, 2008, Thesis

Onipa'a Ka 'Oia'i'o Hearing Voices: Long Ignored Indigenous-Language Testimony Challenges the Current Historiography of Hawai'i Nei—Ronald Williams, 2008, Thesis

Wanem We Mifala I Wantem [What We Want]: A Community Perspective of Vernacular Education in Vanuatu—Trisha Shipman, 2008, Thesis

A Reference Guide to "Maika'i Nā Kuahiwi," a Chant by William Kualu—Janet "Kaeo" Bradford, 2008, Paper

Combatting "Dreaded Hogoleu": Re-Centering Local Histories and Stories of Chuukese Warfare—Myjolynne Marie Kim, 2007, Thesis

Paths toward Creation of an Independent Hawaiian Nation: Ethnographies of Four Hawaiian Independence Leaders—M Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, 2007, Thesis

Swept around the Sphere: Inside and Outside Pacific Islands Studies—Chikako Yamauchi, 2007, Portfolio Project

For the Health of a People: The Recruitment and Retention of Native Hawaiian Medical Students at the University of Hawai‘i’s John A Burns School of Medicine, A Genealogical Approach—Nicole Kau‘i Baumhofer, 2007, Thesis

My Mwoakilloa: Self-Concept of the People of Mwoakilloa—Mariana Ben, 2007, Plan B

Beliliou, Beluu el Omechelel a Tekoi (Peleliu, the Place Where Things Begin: Possibilities for the Re/use of Traditional Marine Conservation Practices in the Republic of Palau—Teresa A Brugh, 2007, Thesis

Biau Kula: Space, Process, and Creativity at the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture, with DVD (A Tour of the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture)—Katherine Higgins, 2007, Portfolio Project

Ples Blong Olgeta Sista: Ni-Vanuatu Catholic Sisters Navigating Places and Spaces—Sara B Lightner, 2007, Thesis

Iien Ippan Doon (This Time Together): Celebrating Survival in an "Atypical Marshallese Community"—Monica LaBriola, 2006, Thesis

Nā Pā'ani Keiki Ma Hawai'i Nei: Children's Plays, Pastimes, Amusements, Recreations in Hawai'i—Yasuko Chiba, 2006, Plan B

Noho ā Kupa: Developing a Hawaiian Sense of Place—Clayton Godbolt, 2006, Thesis

The Pulenu'u in Sāmoa: The Transformation of an Office—Kevin Riddle, 2006, Thesis

Atina'eina o tupe mai fafo i le Fa'asāmoa/Cultivating remittances in Fa'asāmoa—Laura M Fepulea'i, 2005, Thesis

Indigenous Language Immersion Education: An Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Te Kohanga Reo and Pūnana Leo—Krissy Kahikina, 2005, Plan B

Narrative Survival in the Tongan Diaspora: The Case of the American Deportees—Lea Lani Kinikini, 2005, Thesis

Silences and Burdens: Kavenga in the Hawai'i-Tongan Diaspora—'Amelia M Pasi, 2005, Plan B

‘Ori Tahiti as a Tool of Resistance—Aurelia A Kinslow, 2005, Plan B

Ku‘u Mo‘olelo Ke Ahupua‘a O Kahana Ame Eminent Domain/My Story of the Kahana Ahupua‘a and Eminent Domain—Barbara Patria, 2005, Plan B

Correcting Burial Wrongs Because the Dead Have Rights: An Analysis of Native Hawaiian Burial Issues and the Associated Burial Preservation Laws in Hawai‘i—Kimberlee Alana Gaylord, 2005, Thesis

Consequences of Good Intentions: Exploring Land Rights in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—Brooke Nevitt, 2005, Thesis

Duke Kahanamoku: Cultural Icon—Katie Wright, 2005, Plan B

The Original People of Lana‘i—Pualani E Kauila, 2005, Plan B

Connecting Back to Dis Place: Music and Identity of the Cultural Renaissance of Hawai‘i—Andrea Suzuki, 2005, Thesis

Displacement and Population Decline in Rural Valleys: A History of Hālawa Valley, Moloka‘i—Kaleialoha Lum-Ho, 2005, Thesis

Remapping Home: Touring the Betweenness of Kwajalein—Gregory E Dvorak, 2004, Thesis

Nā‘au Poi: Spiritual Food for Cultural Enlightenment—Aloha Keko‘olani, 2004, Plan B

Nā Wāhine Piko o Moloka‘i: Pacific Women's Connections to Place— Katherine L K Wilson, 2004, Plan B

Hawaiian Sovereignty and Nationalism: History, Perspectives and Movements—Tracie Ku‘uipo Cummings, 2004, Thesis

The Waiwai of Waiāhole and Waikāne: The Construction and Operation of the Waiāhole/Waikāne Water Ditch and Tunnel System 1900 to 2000—Dale Hood, 2004, Plan B

Written in the Sky—Matthew Ka‘opio, 2004, Plan B

Connections Between Pacific Islands People Who Have Used Tapa (Kapa) in Ritual—Donald A Bunnell, 2004, Plan B

Never the Twain Shall Meet? Causal Factors in Fijian-Indian Intermarriage—Portia Richmond, 2003, Thesis

Stolen Identity: Defining ‘Aihue from a Hawaiian Perspective—Susan Kapulani Antonio, 2003, Thesis

I Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike: Environmental Field Studies in Hawai‘i—Kerry Crouch, 2003, Thesis

Mai Home Hawai‘i: Hawaiian Diaspora and the Return of Hawaiians From the Diaspora—Noelani K Lee, 2003, Thesis

KATWON: Caught in the Currents of Change, Youth and Education in a Changing Society—Beverly Lyne Chutaro, 2002, Plan B

Domestic Violence in the Pacific—Joanna Jacob, 2002, Plan B

Becoming a Factory Girl: Young Samoan Woman and a Japanese Factory—Masami Tsujita, 2002, Thesis

The Reinstitution of a Traditional Hawaiian Practice: A Native Perspective of Ritualistism Through the Performance of He‘eholua—Thomas Stone, 2002, Thesis

Marshall Islands Women: A Study of First-Generation University Graduates—Enid Louise McKay, 2002, Plan B

Tutu’s Hawaiian and the Emergence of a Neo-Hawaiian Language—Richard “Keao” Nesmith, 2002, Plan B

Time is the Space I-we Keep: Samoana Time Consciousness through the Samoan Language—Duchess Saili Steffany, 2002, Plan B

The Meanings of Independence in Post-Colonial Papua New Guinea—Robert Baraka, 2001, Plan B

Aumua Mata‘itusi Simanu: The Lifestory of a Samoan Educator and Orator in Diaspora—M Luafata Simanu-Klutz, 2001, Thesis

The Use and Treatment of Micronesian Labor Under the Japanese Empire, 1922-1945—Heather Stanton, 2001, Thesis

Japan's Development Assistance in the Republic of Palau: Community Impacts and Effects—Takashi Mita, 2001, Thesis

The Role of ʻIolani Palace: Contemporary Perspectives—Audrey Vance, 2000, Plan B

The Importance of Subsistence and the Need for a Community-Based Subsistence Management at Mo‘omomi Bay, Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i—Sarah Ili, 2000, Plan B

Ho‘okumu A Ho‘okele E Ho‘omana: Aia Ka Mana I Ka Leo ‘Opio Maoli: Acquiring Energy and Sustenance through Building a Foundation and Crossing Seas: It can be found within the voices of Hawaiian youth—Daniel Keola Nakanishi, 2000, Thesis

One Person, Two Worlds? Two Persons, One World? Cultural Identity Through the Eyes of New Zealand–Born Samoans—Mary K Chun, 2000, Plan B

Hawai‘i in the Japanese Tourist Gaze: A Reflection on Imaginary Hawai‘i—Junko Obayashi, 2000, Thesis

Ke ho‘i a‘ela ka‘opua I Awalau: The rain clouds are returning to Awalau. Said of a return to the source—Gina Kanani Taliaferro, 2000, Plan B

“Pacific Voices” Through Film: Film As A Vehicle In Uniting Oral and Written Traditions In Polynesia—Michelle Tupou, 2000, Thesis

Gifted Flows: Netting the Imagery of Hip Hop Across the Samoan Diaspora—April K Henderson, 1999, Thesis

Sechou or Deroech: Local Impacts and Social Responses to Globalization in the Republic of Palau—Scott A Kroeker, 1999, Thesis

Ho‘ola Hou Ka Moko A Me Ka Uhi: The Revival of Cultural Tattooing in Aotearoa and Hawai‘i—Kealalokahi C Losch, 1999, Thesis

Out of the Shadow of the American Empire: Music and Resistance in Hawai‘i—Irene Calis, 1999, Plan B

Tirawata Irouia: Re-Presenting Banaban Histories—Katerina Teaiwa, 1999, Thesis

Enframing I Taotao Tano‘: Colonialism, Militarism, and Tourism in 20th Century Guam—Keith Camacho, 1998, Thesis

Pro-Annexationist Propaganda in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser 1898—Rhiyyih Spock, 1998, Plan B

Politics of Faith: Investigating Ethnographies About Modekngei—Kazumi Nishihara, 1998, Thesis

Signs of Being: A Chamoru Spiritual Journey—Cecelia C T Perez, 1997, Plan B

The Legacy of the 1848 Mahele and Kuleana Act of 1850: A Case System of the Lā‘ie Malo‘o Ahupua‘a, 1846-1930—Jeffrey Stover, 1997, Thesis

All Aflutter (OR) A Tale of Two Worlds: The Cultural Safety Component in New Zealand Nursing and Midwifery Education—Sarah G Kenney, 1997, Thesis

Waste Not, Want Not: A History and Analysis of the Proposals to Import Nuclear Waste into the Marshall Islands—Brandon Breckenridge, 1997, Plan B

From Pō to Ao: A Historical Analysis of Filmmaking in the Pacific—Alexander D Mawyer, 1997, Thesis

Ho'okena, South Kona: A Hawaiian Community—N Barney-Campbell, 1997, Plan B

New Environmental Policy and the Federated States of Micronesia: International Instruments and State Obligations—Jamie Kalani English, 1995, Plan B

“Winds of Change:” A High School Curriculum in Pacific Islands Studies—Kathryn Czar, 1995, Plan B

Righting Civil Wrongs: The Guam Congress Walkout of 1949—Anne Perez Hattori, 1995, Plan B

The Women’s Mau: Female Peace Warriors in Western Sāmoa—Lisa P MacQuoid, 1995, Plan B

Pacific Island Nations: The Wave of the Future—Ursula Miller-Eisenpress, 1995, Plan B

Through Khaki-Tinted Lenses: An Analysis of New Zealanders’ Impressions of the Pacific During World War II—Jennifer L Pethig, 1995, Thesis

The Empire Has No Clothes! The Experience of Fiji's Garment Workers in Global Context—Christy E Harrington, 1994, Thesis

Land Alienation in the New Hebrides: Colonial Policies of France and Great Britain—Palauni M Tuiasosopo, 1994, Plan B

Ho‘okipa: A History of Hawaiian Greeting Practices and Hospitality—Randie Fong, 1994, Thesis

The Bougainville Crisis: A View from the Solomon Islands—John Moffat Fugui, 1994, Plan B

Polynesian Folk Tales of Supernatural Creatures and Animal Kupuna—Susan T Lenci, 1994, Plan B

Eram's Church Bell: Religious Conversion on a Micronesian Atoll—Joakim Peter, 1994, Plan B