Pacific Islander

1. Pacific Islander By: James Ball

2. History of culture • Pacific Islands are made up of 10,000 islands. • The three main islands that make up the Pacific region are Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. • Polynesia is made up of small islands named Hawaii, American Samoa, Western Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti and Easter Island. • The islands that make up Micronesia are Nauru, Guam, Tahiti, and the Marshall ad Northern Mariana Islands.

4. History of culture in U.S. • There were approximately 300,000 native Hawaiians inhabiting the islands. • James Cook a European explorer introduced Hawaiians to diseases, which decimated the population. • By 1910 a little more than 38,500 persons of Hawaiian ancestry remained. • Pacific Islanders rely highly on imported foods to prepare the foods they are used to in the U.S. because 80% of all foods on a market were from the U.S. • Hawaiians, who have moved to the main land, have showed diets with greater variety of foods. • It is assumed that a diet higher in fat and carbohydrates has been adopted by many immigrants.

5. Family Structure and communication style • Social rank and power were ordered by birth order within the kinship system. • Younger siblings looked up to their older brothers or sisters. • The elders are respected. • The oldest male in the family manages all group matters. • The good of the family is considered before the benefit to the individual. • Showing hostile emotion is considered to be rude. • It is also considered to be rude if you are talking to someone who is sitting down while you are standing up and the other way around. • When sitting legs should be crossed or kept close to the body, and extending the legs or pointing your feet at someone is also rude. • Direct eye contact is expected. • Some Pacific Islanders still practice these values today.

7. Cultures Food • Pacific Islanders cooked with out the use of metal pots, pans, or utensils. • Many foods were eaten raw. • Sugar cane and pineapple where brought over by European plantation owners. • Pacific Islanders food has been influenced by European missionaries and traders, as well as the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipinos, who arrived in the 18th and 19th century. • Each group added its own method to cooking to the Pacific Islanders. • Vegetables are the main diet food of the Pacific Islanders. • In Hawaii taro root paste eaten fresh, or fermented, is called poi (referring the way it is prepared by pounding it). • Europeans introduced wheat and bread. • Asians introduced short and long grain rice as well as noodles. • Pork is the most commonly eaten meat especially for special occasions. • Limited grazing areas has kept beef from becoming a main meat source. • Dairy products are also very uncommon.

9. Eating Patterns • Traditional meals include poi or taro root, breadfruit bananas pork or fish and greens. • Meal cycle consists of 3 daily meals with supper being the largest of the 3 meals. • Breakfast consists of cereal and coffee • Lunch consisted of rice, greens, and meat. • Supper consisted of greens, meat, yams, and cassava which is a perennial woody shrub. • Cassava is a major source of low cost carbohydrates • Fresh fruits are eaten as snacks

10. Cassava

11. Special occasions • Special occasions consist of childbirth, weddings, and completion of a house or a canoe. • A luau is celebrated featuring a fire pit built to cook a pig and other foods added to the pit. • Then the pit gets filled up with dirt and the pig is left sealed for hours in the in the pit or until the food is completely cooked. • Chicken, fish and vegetables are cooked in a imu. • Hawaiians honor Prince Kuhio on March 26th and Kamehameha Dynasty on June 11th.