Micronesians:

Micronesians have voyaged for millennia (Photo owned by Rachel Miller, used with her permission.)

Reasons for voyaging:  Adventure  Resources: **Food sources **Materials & supplies **New brides  New land: **Ease over-population **Following typhoons

(Taken from Pacific Neighbors, page 34.)

Voyaging Eras:  Pre-contact  None following contact till WWII  Pre-Compact: **Palauans to Guam **Pell Grants  Since COFA

Reasons for Compact of Free Association (COFA)  WWII was fought in their islands  UN entrusted TTPI to America for development  Period of benign neglect  Use of Marshall Islands for nuclear testing  Establishment of Peace Corps

Compacts went into effect:  1986 for FSM (Federated States of Micronesia) includes: Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae & Pohnpei

Compacts went into effect: 1986 for RMI (Republic of Marshall Islands) includes 27 inhabited islands

Compacts went into effect:  1994 for ROP (Republic of Palau) Includes hundreds of “rock islands”

These 3 island nations constitute the FAS (Freely Associated States) Through joint congressional- executive agreements between the USA and FSM, RMI and ROP

Compacts allow for citizens of FAS to enter the USA to engage in occupations and establish residence as non-immigrants (from U.S. Department of Commerce, page 1)

And so they came and continue to come

Dr. Hilda Heine told me: “It took about ten years before Micronesians realized that the Compact allowed them to migrate into the United States without a passport or visa. The migration started in the mid-1990’s and is picking up speed.”

Why do Micronesians come to the US?  For opportunities: *Jobs *Health care *education  With intention of returning home when need fulfilled Danny Rescue, Senior Consul of FSM at the FSM Consulate

Is there a pattern to migration?  Migration pattern similar to pattern of Africans migrating into Europe  Communal family decision  Young single men go first *Educated *with job skills *with English proficiency  Acquire entry-level position  Establish a home base Dr. Lola Quan Bautista (Photo taken from CPIS web site)

Is there a pattern to migration?  Hopscotch pattern  Other family members follow  Obligation to assist them  Immigrants might move on or back  Migration becomes circular  Immigrants return for important family events (death of parents)

Where are these immigrants? (Taken from Pacific Neighbors, page 25)

Where are these immigrants? 2008 Estimate of COFA Migrants: Hawaii12,215 Guam18,305 CNMI 2,100 American Samoa 15 (Taken from “Final Report: 2008 Estimates of Compact of Free Association Migrants” page 3)

How large is the Micronesian population?  Although the population doubled from 1990 to 1997, it is still small in proportion to Hawaii’s total population  As of 2008, it was 1% of the state’s population (Hammond & Filibert, page 23)

What are the employment prospects? Use with permission by Crystal Shirai Used by permission by Batson Sirasira

According to Mac Marshall:  Most jobs are of the “unheralded, largely forgotten variety”  Fast food industry  Housekeepers  Certified nursing assistants  Security guards From Namoluk Beyond the Reef, page 90)

What are the employment rates? Micronesian Total FSM RMI Palau Employed 2,190 1, Unemployed Percent unemployed 10.5% 10.8% 12.1% 3.4% Data from OIA (2003) Taken from Hammond & Filibert, page 29) So what is the Micronesian unemployment rate now that Hawaii’s unemployment rate is 7.2% (as of May 2009)?

Where do the COFA immigrants live?  In 2004 when I first started studying Micronesian immigration, they were living in areas with population concentration such as:

Federal housing projects such as KPT

Therefore their children went to certain schools:

For middle school the children went to:

With students attending Farrington for high school

Other schools with a high concentration of Micronesian students include:

Where are these students now?  Fern 15%  Farrington 18%  Linapuni 30%  Palolo 32%  Jefferson 23%  Aiea El. 15%  Waipahu El. 20%  Na’alehu 17% Statistics provided by Dr. Tom Saka, Information Specialist

What languages do they speak? Some schools have tremendous proportion of ELL students Cantonese 918Lao 169 Chinese 11Mandarin 429 Chuukese 2,016Marshallese 1,835 English** 3,838Pohnpeian 295 Cebuano 456Portuguese 58 French 29Russian 31 German 38Samoan 1,224 Hawaiian 159 Spanish 1,462 Ilokano 5,317Tagalog 2,238 Japanese 1,321Thai 84 Korean 857Tongan 607 Kosraean 203Vietnamese 836 Total 25,813 Figures are current as of June 2009 Provided by Anreas Wiegand Educational Specialist for DOE

How do Micronesian languages stack up against other common ELL languages? Chuukese2,016 Kosraean 203 Marshallese 1,835 Pohnpeian 295 Total: 4,349 Cebuano456 Ilokano 5,317 Tagalog 2,238 Total: 8,011

There is no such language as “Micronesian” ChuukeseNukuoro EnglishPááfang KapingamarangiPingelapese KosraeanPohnpeian MokilesePuluwatese MortlockeseSatawalese NomonuitoUlithian Ngalik Men’s CreoleWoleaian NguluwanYapese (Taken from )

What are the problems (“challenges”) and solutions when working with Micronesian students in our schools?

Lack of prior schooling “Students come into Hawaii’s schools with little or inconsistent prior schooling. You can have a 5 th grader arrive and have to start him on learning the alphabet.” (Personal communication May 19, 2009)

Challenges/Solutions Those problems are characteristic of the differences between students entering from rural as opposed to urban schools. I have seen the same problem with students coming in from rural China.

Challenges/Solutions “Sometimes it is difficult to sort out the problems associated with growing up in poverty from second language issues. If a student is coping with both problems, their difficulty in coping with academic demands is compounded.” (Personal communication June 23, 2009)

Challenges/Solutions Melody Lin, the ELL Chair for Farrington High School says: “It just seems as if I have a whole lot more challenges than I have solutions.” (Personal communication May 21, 2009)

Challenges/Solutions Farrington High School held an evening open house for their ELL parents explaining different issues such as discipline and credits needed for graduation.

“Discipline is a real problem especially for those students who did not migrate with their parents but only their auntie. It is hard to locate an adult who is truly accountable for their behavior.” Challenge: Personal communication with Melody Lin on May 19, 2009

Challenges/Solutions A map bulletin board in Stephanie Yamamoto’s ELL class at Ka’ewai demonstrates interest and pride in her students’ homelands.

Challenges/Solutions At Kalihi Waena, they have a Para- Professional Teacher who speaks Chuukese (Smileen Dobich) works with very small groups of ELL students pick up basic academic skills.

Challenges One challenge Kalihi Waena has faced with Micronesian students and even previous PPT, was that the family was top priority in life for Micronesians. That means that family needs come before attendance at school. (Personal communication with Jane Onishi, May 19, 2009)

Recommendation from Lauri Condo, Honolulu District ELL Resource Teacher “Even if you do not have the money for extra ELL PPT’s, you can raise the level of understanding of the teachers by bringing in MCAP presentations.” (Personal communication on June 5, 2009)

MCAP (Micronesian Cultural Awareness Program)

Recommendations from Canisius Filibert  Display interest in their homeland & culture  Allow students to stay in their peer group  Speak slowly and softly  Allow time for them to think & translate  Show them an example of end project  Understand that they hesitate to participate until/unless they are sure of their abilities  Understand that looking down is sign of respect (Part of MCAP presentation on May 21, 2009)

Recommendations from Julie Walsh Kroeker:  Allow the students to do group activities  Allow the students to organize the responsibilities themselves  Understand that there are hidden rules of respect/status that the students are aware of but we are not (Taken from MCAP presentation of April 25, 2009) (Photo taken from CPIS web site)

Dr. Hilda Heine recommends  Consider these Micronesian students to be as smart as every other student  Do not be too quick to allow them the easy way out of putting them into ELL and special education  Challenge our children (Personal communication on July 22, 2004)

Please break up into small groups for the next 15 minutes to reach your own conclusions on the best way to service our Micronesian immigrant students What are your recommendations?

References Bautista, Lola“Micronesian Migration: A Closer Look at FSM Migration to Guam.” UHM Master’s Thesis Dunford, BettyPacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Honolulu: Bess Press Hammond & Filibert “A Study of Individuals and Families in Hawai’i from the Federated States of Micronesia, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Other Northern Pacific Islands. McInerny Grant, Heine, Hilda“Micronesian’s Contributions and Challenges in Hawai’i” Power Point slide show at “Micronesian Voices in Hawaii”. April 3, Saka, Tom PhDInformation Specialist for State of Hawai’i. U.S. Department of Commerce “Final Report: 2008 Estimates of Compact of Free Association (COFA) Migrants.” U.S. Census Bureau. April Wiegand, AndreasEducational Specialist for ELL for State of Hawaii.

Interviews Condo, Lauri5/16/09 Filibert, Canisius4/21/09 Heine, Hilda PhD7/22/04 Lin, Melody5/21/09 Onishi, Jane5/19/09 Rescue, Danny7/22/04 Walsh-Kroeker, Julie4/25/09 Weigand, Andreas6/23/09 Yamamoto, Stephanie 5/20/09