Teresia Teaiwa


Teresia Teaiwa, or Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa was an I-Kiribati and African-American scholar, poet, activist and mentor. Teaiwa is internationally known for her ground-breaking work in Pacific Studies. Her research interests in this area embraced her artistic and political nature, and included: contemporary issues in Fiji, feminism and women's activism in the Pacific, contemporary Pacific culture and arts, and pedagogy in Pacific Studies. An "anti-nuclear activist, defender of West Papuan independence, and a critic of militarism", Teaiwa solidified many connections across the Pacific Ocean and was a hugely influential voice on Pacific affairs She received prestigious academic fellowships and multiple teaching awards. Her poetry is widely published and appreciated.
Building on the work of her late mentor, Epeli Hau'ofa, her memorable words: "We sweat and cry salt water, so we know that the ocean is really in our blood" has empowered Pacific scholars everywhere to be proud of their heritage and culture. The Guardian in April 2009 declared her to be one of Kiribati's "national icons". The University of Oregon described her as "a groundbreaking scholar in the research of the culture of the Pacific Islands".

Biography

Teresia Kieuea Teaiwa was born in Honolulu to an I-Kiribati father and an African American mother. She has two sisters, Katerina Teaiwa and Maria Teaiwa-Rutherford, a spouse and two children. She was raised in Suva, Fiji and attended St Joseph's Secondary School where she excelled at her schooling. She achieved a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College, Washington D.C. and a Master of Arts from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. With a thesis committee of Jim Clifford, Angela Davis and Barbara Epstein, she completed a PhD in History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on the topic "Militarism, Tourism and the Native: Articulations in Oceania". She has been much touted for her academic and teaching style, as Clifford has stated, he:
"learned enormously from her insights, gentle prodding, and sense of humor. Her “style” was something unique. Teresia had charisma. At conferences she could address the most difficult points with political and analytic rigor, but always with a lightness of touch and a conversational eloquence that invited discussion."
Throughout her journey through academic study and research, Teaiwa kept an impressive teaching resume. In 1996, Teaiwa turned down a job with Greenpeace to take up her first lecturer position at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji at the request of legendary Pacific Studies scholar Epeli Hau'ofa. She taught history and politics for five years. Throughout this time, Teaiwa was part of intellectual communities that stemmed from the University environment such as the Niu Waves Writers’ Collective, the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement and the Citizens’ Constitutional Forum.
In 2000, she moved to New Zealand to teach the first ever undergraduate major in international existence in the discipline of Pacific studies at Victoria University as programme director. In 2016, she became director of Va’aomanū Pasifika, home to Victoria's Pacific and Samoan Studies programmes. She was also co-editor of the International Feminist Journal of Politics.
In 2010 she received the Macaulay Distinguished Lecture Award from the University of Hawai’i. Moreover, Teaiwa's talents in the classroom were further recognised in 2015 when she won the Pacific People's Award for Education, in 2014 when she received the Victoria Teaching Excellence Award and as the first Pasifika woman awarded the Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award.
Teaiwa's legacy at Victoria includes a number of successful teaching initiatives, such as introducing ‘Akamai’ for 100-level students, where students can choose to present their learnings through a creative interpretation. Teresia advocated that Akamai helps students to understand that art and performance are part of the intellectual heritage of the Pacific.
Teaiwa died on 21 March 2017. She is sincerely remembered for her deep dedication to the scholarship and peoples of Oceania.

Partial bibliography

Academic

A of Teresia Teaiwa's work available on open access has been comprised by Alex Golub.
Sole-Authored Pieces
Co-Authored