Center for Pacific Islands Studies

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Center for Pacific Islands Studies

The center is the only federally funded National Resource Center that focuses on the islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.

The Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa offers a unique opportunity for comprehensive engagement with the Pacific Islands region, often referred to as Oceania, and its place in the global arena through its student programs. It is the only program in the United States that offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Pacific Islands Studies.

08/20/2026

We are excited to celebrate the Creative Micronesia exhibition and event series this August and September at Capitol Modern with our students, faculty, alumni, and community! Come join us! All events are family friendly, free, and open to the public.

🌊 Saturday, 22 August 2026 from 1-4 PM for Creative Micronesia: Fashion Show, Poetry, & Dance at Capitol Modern with a fashion show featuring traditional attire presented by the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association and contemporary apparel designed by Kalany Omengkar and Manny Crisostomo and poetry from Hawaiʻi-based Micronesian poets and traditional and contemporary dance performances!
🌊 RESCHEDULED: Saturday, 29 August 2026 from 11 AM-3 PM for Super Saturday + Creative Micronesia at Capitol Modern featuring hands on activities, local vendors, live music and food!!
🌊 Saturday, 12 September 2026 from 6 - 8 PM for Remathau People of the Ocean film screening and talk story at Capitol Modern.

We're excited to join the Hawaiʻi State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, Capitol Modern, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at the William S. Richardson School of Law, the East-West Center Arts Program, Micronesian community groups, Pacific Voices, and the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association as a partner for these events.

08/14/2026

CREATIVE MICRONESIA UPDATE!

With the coming storm, please note the 15 August Super Saturday + Creative Micronesia event has been rescheduled to 29 August! Also, please be sure to follow trusted sources for storm news such as HI-EMA and prepare for possible storm impacts this weekend.

Looking to next week, ss we welcome our students, staff, faculty, and community back to campus, please consider joining us at the Creative Micronesia exhibition and event series this August and September at Capitol Modern. All events are family friendly, free, and open to the public.

🌊 Saturday, 22 August 2026 from 1-4 PM for Creative Micronesia: Fashion Show, Poetry, & Dance at Capitol Modern with a fashion show featuring traditional attire presented by the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association and contemporary apparel designed by Kalany Omengkar and Manny Crisostomo and poetry from Hawaiʻi-based Micronesian poets and traditional and contemporary dance performances!

🌊 RESCHEDULED: Saturday, 29 August 2026 from 11 AM-3 PM for Super Saturday + Creative Micronesia at Capitol Modern featuring hands on activities, local vendors, live music and food!!

🌊 Saturday, 12 September 2026 from 6 - 8 PM for Remathau People of the Ocean film screening and talk story at Capitol Modern.

We're excited to join the Hawaiʻi State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, Capitol Modern, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at the William S. Richardson School of Law, the East-West Center Arts Program, Micronesian community groups, Pacific Voices, and the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association as a partner for these events.

08/07/2026

Join us at the first in the exciting series of Creative Micronesia events this Saturday, 8 August from 1-4 pm at Capitol Modern!

Fun for the whole family and a space to celebrate Micronesian Excellence await you!

🌊 Saturday, 8 August 2026 from 1-4 PM for Creative Micronesia: Music, Movement, Poetry, & Fashion at Capitol Modern featuring a stunning array of artistry from across Micronesia! Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling through traditional and contemporary dances to poetry-inspired fashion and music from the islands.

We're excited to join the Hawaiʻi State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, Capitol Modern, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at the William S. Richardson School of Law, the East-West Center Arts Program, Micronesian community groups, Pacific Voices, and the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association as a partner for these events.

08/03/2026

We're excited to join our friends, students, alumni, and community members for the Creative Micronesia exhibition and program of events this August and September at Capitol Modern.

Come down with the whole family to experience song, poetry, fashion, art, dance and more as we kick off a new school year and celebrate Micronesia's diverse cultures! All events are free and open to the public.

🌊 Saturday, 8 August 2026 from 1-4 PM for Creative Micronesia: Music, Movement, Poetry, & Fashion at Capitol Modern featuring a stunning array of artistry from across Micronesia! Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling through traditional and contemporary dances to poetry-inspired fashion and music from the islands.

🌊 Saturday, 15 August 2026 from 11 AM-3 PM for Super Saturday + Creative Micronesia at Capitol Modern featuring hands on activities, local vendors, live music and food!!

🌊 Saturday, 22 August 2026 from 1-4 PM for Creative Micronesia: Fashion Show, Poetry, & Dance at Capitol Modern with a fashion show featuring traditional attire presented by the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association and contemporary apparel designed by Kalany Omengkar and Manny Crisostomo and poetry from Hawaiʻi-based Micronesian poets and traditional and contemporary dance performances!

We're excited to join the Hawaiʻi State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, Capitol Modern, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at the William S. Richardson School of Law, the East-West Center Arts Program, Micronesian community groups, Pacific Voices, and the Chuuk Language and Cultural Association as a partner for these events.

07/06/2026

Check out some of CPIS Assistant Professor Dr Ron Vave's work with the Animal Cultures Task Force, an initiative of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP)!

05/25/2026

Still looking for summer classes? Consider knocking out your HAP & DS General Education requirement this summer with our PACS 108: Introduction to Pacific Worlds for an online synchronous course in Summer Session 2!

Interested in ocean resources and management? Register for PACS 655: Community-Based Fisheries Management in Oceania for an online asynchronous course in Summer Session 2!

05/15/2026

We are excited to share the program for the 6th Annual Pacific Graduation. We are excited to celebrate our students' academic accomplishments at 5:30pm today!

If you are unable to join us physically, and would love to watch the celebration, please tune into the livestream on the Center for Pacific Islands Studies page to follow along.

Congratulations to all graduates!

05/06/2026

Please join us at the opening of the Ocean of Peace exhibition at Honolulu Hale with the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts and the East-West Center Arts Program. The opening will be this Friday, 8 May 2026, from 4–6 PM at Honolulu Hale with registration required and tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ocean-of-peace-exhibition-at-honolulu-hale-tickets-1988581953153?aff=oddtdtcreator

The exhibition features the works of seven artists of Micronesian heritage and will be open from 8 May to 11 June 2026. It showcases painting, sculpture, weaving, and multimedia works in conversation with the Ocean of Peace declaration, a political and cultural framework that was officially endorsed at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Summit held in the Solomon Islands in September 2025. Featured artists include James Bamba (Guåhan [Guam]/Northern Mariana Islands), Carol Ann Carl (Pohnpei, CPIS Alumna), Gillian Dueñas (Guåhan [Guam], CPIS Student), Kalany Omengkar (Belau/Northern Mariana Islands), Anthony Watson (Belau), Lissette Yamase (Chuuk), and Manny Crisostomo (Guåhan [Guam]).

The exhibition is also supported by Bess Press, CPIS, and the Medical Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaiʻi. Learn more about the exhibition: https://honolulusistercity.org/may-8-june-11-2026-ocean-of-peace-exhibition-opens-at-honolulu-hale-featuring-micronesian-artists/

We are proud to see the wonderful work of our CPIS graduates, students, and broader communities on display at city hall--come celebrate and enjoy their work!

04/29/2026

Join us TODAYfor an exciting even featuring scholar and leader Dr. Hōkūlani K. Aikau and CPIS MA Student Vicky Lukan in conversation on Navigating Responsibility, Identity & Thriving as Pasifika Women in the Academy! Register in advance to join us at our reception featuring a fully catered spread by Highway Inn!

The event is on tonight, 29 April 2026 from 5:30-7:30 PM in Hālau ‘o Haumea at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies.

About the event:
In this conversation, we invite students and the community into Dr. Aikau’s journey, from studying Polynesian-Mormon identity to working alongside Indigenous land and water stewards. We will discuss how purpose, responsibility, and community have shaped her path, as well as her understanding of the academy as both a site of struggle and of profound possibility. The events are organized by a student and faculty committee under the Women in Pacific Studies Program, see attached for more information. Catered reception to follow.

Registration required: https://go.hawaii.edu/ioG

04/22/2026

Join us next week for an exciting even featuring scholar and leader Dr. Hōkūlani K. Aikau and CPIS MA Student Vicky Lukan in conversation on Navigating Responsibility, Identity & Thriving as Pasifika Women in the Academy! Register in advance to join us at our reception featuring a fully catered spread by Highway Inn!

The event is on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 from 5:30-7:30 PM in Hālau ‘o Haumea at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies.

About the event:
In this conversation, we invite students and the broader community into Dr. Aikau’s journey, from studying Polynesian-Mormon identity to working alongside Indigenous land and water stewards. We will discuss how purpose, responsibility, and community have shaped her path, as well as her understanding of the academy as both a site of struggle and of profound possibility. The events are organized by a student and faculty committee under the Women in Pacific Studies Program, see attached for more information. Catered reception to follow.

Registration required: https://go.hawaii.edu/ioG

Address

1890 East-West Road, Moore Hall 209
Honolulu, HI
96822

Website

http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/

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