The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) in collaboration with the Center for Pacific Island Studies at UH Mānoa & Women of the Wave, CROP Women’s Network cordially invite you to join us virtually for (En)Gendering Pacific Stories: Fatherhood.

Date: June 16, 2022
Noon to 1pm (HST)
Register at: https://www.eastwestcenter.org/ZMm

“Fatherhood” will feature engaging dialogue between fathers from within our communities with multi-faceted experiences that will bring rich, diverse, and genuine conversations on their experiences as fathers. We will dissect through heartfelt conversations, on what is means to be a “father” as a Pacific Islander and where they identify struggles in honoring Pacific values and/ or traditions with the influence of Western influence/ societal norms and laws. We also will engage in how gender may or may not influence their definition of what a “father” is and whether gender affects how they show up for their children as fathers.

We are honored to have our panelists: Keola Diaz and Su'a Sulu'ape Aisea Toetu'u join us for this event and Dr. Aaron Salā who will moderate this event.

Panelists

Keola Diaz
Community Leader, Father, Advocate
Palau, Hawai’i, Guam

Keola Diaz is from the Republic of Palau. He is of Palauan, Chamorro, Korean and Japanese descent. Keola earned his BA in Communications and an MA in Pacific Islands Studies, both from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.

He is an advocate of social and civil rights for migrants, particularly those from the Pacific living in the United States. Keola is interested in the transformative power of the media, particularly visual media, and utilizes different forms of media to address issues that affect the Pacific
region, including Micronesians’ social issues in Hawai'i.

Su’a Sulu’ape Aisea Toetu’u
Master Tattoo Practitioner, Father, Community Leader
Tonga, Hawai’i

Su'a Sulu'ape Aisea Toetu'u was born in Hawai'i and is of Tongan and mixed Hawaiian Filipino descent. Aisea Toetu’u also known as Su’a Sulu’ape Toetuu Aisea is a world renowned and is one of Hawaii’s most well-respected tattoo artists. Since childhood, Aisea was always fascinated with history and art.

As a hobby, he picked up tattooing at the age of 14 using homemade tattoo machines. With the interest of his own ancestry, his grandmother Salote from Va'otuu Village in Tonga was the first to introduce him to Tongan Tattooing. He began researching and studying more about his culture and by the age of 17, he was involved with the revival of the Tongan Ta’Vaka.

Aisea has served several years as an apprentice and through the knowledge he has gained, continues to help many tattoo artists and his Pacific community. Although he specializes in both machine work and traditional tatau or tapping, he continues to serve as an apprentice and perseveres in his quest of knowledge of the Pacific and the world of tattooing culture.

Moderator: Dr. Aaron Salā
FestPAC Hawai’i Director, Adjunct Fellow, PIDP
Hawai’i, Sāmoa

Dr. Aaron J Salā is President and CEO of Gravitas Pasifika, a boutique firm intent on harnessing the power of creative storytelling to advance Native Hawaiian, local Hawaiʻi, and Pasifika worldview and talent through the exploration and integration of, and experimentation with, creativity in production. He is also founder of The Native Imaginative, a not-for-profit corporation committed to the engagement with, education about, and elevation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities through curriculum development and cultural consultancy, arts advocacy, creative professional development, and festival production focused upon the celebration of NHPI everything. Dr. Sāla is the current fesival director for the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture.

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) in collaboration with the Center for Pacific Island Studies at UH Mānoa & Women of the Wave, CROP Women’s Network cordially invite you to join us virtually for (En)Gendering Pacific Stories: Fatherhood.

Date: June 16, 2022
Noon to 1pm (HST)
Register at: https://www.eastwestcenter.org/ZMm

“Fatherhood” will feature engaging dialogue between fathers from within our communities with multi-faceted experiences that will bring rich, diverse, and genuine conversations on their experiences as fathers. We will dissect through heartfelt conversations, on what is means to be a “father” as a Pacific Islander and where they identify struggles in honoring Pacific values and/ or traditions with the influence of Western influence/ societal norms and laws. We also will engage in how gender may or may not influence their definition of what a “father” is and whether gender affects how they show up for their children as fathers.

We are honored to have our panelists: Keola Diaz and Su'a Sulu'ape Aisea Toetu'u join us for this event and Dr. Aaron Salā who will moderate this event.

Panelists

Keola Diaz
Community Leader, Father, Advocate
Palau, Hawai’i, Guam

Keola Diaz is from the Republic of Palau. He is of Palauan, Chamorro, Korean and Japanese descent. Keola earned his BA in Communications and an MA in Pacific Islands Studies, both from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.

He is an advocate of social and civil rights for migrants, particularly those from the Pacific living in the United States. Keola is interested in the transformative power of the media, particularly visual media, and utilizes different forms of media to address issues that affect the Pacific
region, including Micronesians’ social issues in Hawai'i.

Su’a Sulu’ape Aisea Toetu’u
Master Tattoo Practitioner, Father, Community Leader
Tonga, Hawai’i

Su'a Sulu'ape Aisea Toetu'u was born in Hawai'i and is of Tongan and mixed Hawaiian Filipino descent. Aisea Toetu’u also known as Su’a Sulu’ape Toetuu Aisea is a world renowned and is one of Hawaii’s most well-respected tattoo artists. Since childhood, Aisea was always fascinated with history and art.

As a hobby, he picked up tattooing at the age of 14 using homemade tattoo machines. With the interest of his own ancestry, his grandmother Salote from Va'otuu Village in Tonga was the first to introduce him to Tongan Tattooing. He began researching and studying more about his culture and by the age of 17, he was involved with the revival of the Tongan Ta’Vaka.

Aisea has served several years as an apprentice and through the knowledge he has gained, continues to help many tattoo artists and his Pacific community. Although he specializes in both machine work and traditional tatau or tapping, he continues to serve as an apprentice and perseveres in his quest of knowledge of the Pacific and the world of tattooing culture.

Moderator: Dr. Aaron Salā
FestPAC Hawai’i Director, Adjunct Fellow, PIDP
Hawai’i, Sāmoa

Dr. Aaron J Salā is President and CEO of Gravitas Pasifika, a boutique firm intent on harnessing the power of creative storytelling to advance Native Hawaiian, local Hawaiʻi, and Pasifika worldview and talent through the exploration and integration of, and experimentation with, creativity in production. He is also founder of The Native Imaginative, a not-for-profit corporation committed to the engagement with, education about, and elevation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities through curriculum development and cultural consultancy, arts advocacy, creative professional development, and festival production focused upon the celebration of NHPI everything. Dr. Sāla is the current fesival director for the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture.