The Moanan

Between the 1960s and 1990s, 193 nuclear explosions were conducted in Māohi Nui (French Polynesia) by France.In our latest episode with researcher & environmental justice advocate Vehia Wheeler (Māohi Nui) we explore the history of these explosions and the lasting effects our region. We also talk about the challenges of connecting our English-speaking and French-speaking islands with one another + much more. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

We're joined by Lefaoali'i Dr Dion Enari - an Associate Professor from Unitec Institute of Technology, matai (chief) and sogaimiti (wearer of the Samoan tatau). In this episode he shares his research insights on the experiences of diasporic communities and highlights the tensions of fa'alavelave (giving), knowledge gate keepers and weighs in on the debate of who should be 'worthy' of our culture treasures such as chief titles and tatau. He offers his unique insight as an academic and a matai. As someone in the diaspora who has the experience of living in the homeland. He also shares his personal story of having received the tatau and challenges some popular narratives surrounding the tatau. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

We are releasing our final Flags of the Moana tshirt drop! Listen in to see how you can win yourself a free tee

Asetoa Sam Pilisi is a community leader and current PhD Candidate of Niuean and Samoan descent. He has done youth work and community work for many years in Auckland, New Zealand and Western Sydney, Australia - particularly with Pacific youth. He currently is completing a PhD in Public Health at the University of Auckland focussing on wellbeing, burnout, duty, service and collectivism in the local Oceanian community. He also is an active community leader in local Niue communities. Niue is one of the smaller islands of Oceania located in "West Polynesia" near Samoa, Tonga, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Rotuma, Uvea and Futuna. With only 1564 living in Niue and 34,944 Niue peoples living in Aotearoa New Zealand, the language is at risk of being lost.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.comSend us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

We'd love to hear from you - we have a talanoa episode coming up! Send us your written or voice recorded messages via email or instagram for us to discuss on an episode. Send those through before the end of March. In this episode we have Vaitoa Teaiwa Mallon (Banaba, Kiribati, Samoa, Irish) & Hele Christopher-Ikimotu (Banaba, Kiribati, Niue) who shed light on the history and current realities of the people of Banaba - an island whose story has been largely forgotten. We talk about the over exploitation of their island by foreign mining companies and how this had led to the complete destruction of the islands resources to the point where the island can no longer sustain life. So much so that Banabans have relocated to the island of Rabi, Fiji. While we talk about a painful past, Vaitoa & Hele also share stories of resilience with Banabans across the diaspora continuing to maintain and hold onto their culture and identity as proud Banabans. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

We'd love to hear from you – we have a talanoa episode coming up! Send us your written or voice recorded messages via email or instagram for us to discuss on an episode. Please submit before the end of March 2025. Innez Haua PhD is a Māori scholar based at Macqurie University in Sydney, Australia. With hundreds of thousands of Māori living in Australia, Haua researches how her people connect to their cultures while living away from home. Australia's indigenous peoples include hundreds of Mobs and Clans of First Nations peoples as well as Torres Strait Islanders - those indigenous to the islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Dr Innez refers to “so-called Australia” as Te Whenua Moemoea, which means the land of dreaming in te reo Māori, honouring how First Nations' conceptualise their home. She also speaks about ‘manuhiri-tanga' asking what it means to be a good guest and what it means to be indigenous on other peoples' indigenous lands. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

We'd love to hear from you – we have a talanoa episode coming up! Send us your written or voice recorded messages via email or instagram for us to discuss on an episode. Please submit before the end of March 2025. Dr Sam Manuela (Cook Islands) is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand who is well known in the field for his research on areas regarding Pacific ethnic identities and wellbeing. In this episode, Sam speaks to the role of science within Pacific communities and how western science and indigenous knowledges can compliment, rather than compete, with one another to achieve the best outcomes for Pacific communities. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

We'd love to hear from you! We have a talanoa episode coming up! Send us your written or voice recorded messages via email or instagram for us to discuss on an episode. Please submit before the end of March 2025. Reverend Billy Wetewea is an indigenous Kanak leader based in Kanaky New Caledonia

Is University still the pathway to prosperity for our communities?How are Indigenous knowledges valued within Western Universities? Bula vinaka! In this episode we are joined by Associate Professor Sereana Naepi, a Fijian researcher and lecturer in Aotearoa, New Zealand. We chat about the Indigenous experience at University's, how Indigenous knowledge is (or isn't) valued in Western education - and why this is. Plus, much more! Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Leali'ifano Prof. Albert Refiti is a Samoan academic whose work spans multiple disciplines. Originally trained in contemporary architecture, his recent work has been in Pacific Indigenous concepts and theories such as vā. In this episode we talanoa about his work relating to vā/wa, differences between the diasporic and communities in the islands as well as the future of Pacific thought.Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Prof. Jioji Ravulo, a Fijian researcher, shares insights on supporting Pacific communities in Australia. His work covers mental health, substance use, youth engagement, and decolonial approaches to education and society, emphasizing culturally informed solutions to modern challenges.Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

What do our ancestral connections mean for us today? In this EP we chat with Dr Emalani Case a Kanaka Maoli academic, activist, teacher, and writer. She shares with us her interpretation of Kahiki the ancestral homeland of Kanaka Maoli and what it means to have love for home. We talk about what it means to be Indigenous today away from home and often on the land of other Indigenous Moanans. She also speaks to us about what our shared past means for our shared futures as people of Moananuākea. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

We're excited to share Szn 2 with you! This a little introduction of what to expect this season. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Final episode for our Moanan Abroad series!This week we have Kahu Kaiha – a Tama Enana community leader, artist, cultural practitioner and polyglot (fluent in Eo Enana, Reo Tahiti, French and English) from the Marquesas Islands (Te Henua Enana).We cover many topics from French Polynesia to the Tapu System, Marquesean tattooing known as Patutiki, connections between the Marquesas and other nations in the Pacific and more.Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

What do our megalithic monuments and artefacts tell us about our past? How might these inform our present? We're joined by Elijah Lemusuifeauali'i an academic, educator, community connector and traditional carver. In this episode he shares insight into some of the megalithic monuments & artefacts of the Moana and some of his work on Pacific identities in the diaspora. While his ancestral ties are to Samoa & Aotearoa, Elijah shares how his experiences in another part of the Moana, Fiji, has shaped his own appreciation and interaction with his own cultures. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

What does it mean to wear the tattoos/markings of your culture? What, if any, are the responsibilities to these markings? Why was Tongan tattooing lost?In this episode we talanoa (talk) with Tongan tufunga tātatau (tattoo artist) Su'a Suluape Aisea Toetu'u about the history of the Tongan tātatau, its significance in pre-Chrisitan Tongan society and his efforts in reviving this art of tattooing amongst Tongans. Additionally, we give our thoughts on a recent reel that has gone viral calling for New Zealand born Samoans to "be humble". Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

EP06 with Mike Tavioni  A master carver, multidisciplinary artist & knowledge holder, Papa Mike shares his knowledge & insight into our ancestral origins, culture, language. He offers wisdom in reminding us of that sometimes change within our cultures & languages signify that they are alive. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

EP05 with Dr Lana Lopesi.Dr Lopesi is an Assistant Professor in the department of Indigenous Race and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon where she teaches Pacific Islander studies, Indigenous feminisms and contemporary art.Stoked to have her on the podcast to share her knowledge & experience with us

EP04 with traditional CHamoru carver Hila'an San Nicholas Representing a new wave of young Indigenous knowledge holders, Hila'an shares ancient CHamoru wisdom, Indigenous worldviews & about the ancient practice of carving. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Did you know that one of the largest Pacific diasporas in the world are Melanesians in the Netherlands? These are the people of Maluku, who are known as Moluccans. But how come you haven't heard of them? In this EP we sat down with our sisters from Maluku who share the Moluccan story. With much of the history being absent from history & general discourse, we got an insight into the Maluku's colonial history, culture, diasporic & homeland experience.Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Send us a textWe are joined by Professor Tēvita O. Ka‘i, a prominent Tongan anthropologist and scholar whose work focuses on Indigenous Tongan knowledge, cultural anthropology, and Pacific studies. As an expert in Tongan cosmology and philosophy, Kaʻili has contributed significantly to the understanding and revitalization of traditional Tongan ways of knowing and being. He emphasizes how Indigenous knowledge systems can be applied to contemporary issues, particularly in areas like environmental stewardship, community-building, and global Indigenous movements.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Send us a textAloha mai kakou! Welcome to our ‘Moanan Abroad' season. To kick off this series we have Kalehua Krug. A kumu (school principle), kakau marker (Hawaiian tattooing), scholar and Indigenous philosopher. Originally from Moloka'i, he now resides in Wai'anae on the island of O'ahu. In this episode he shares with us Indigenous philosophies and worldviews from a Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiian) perspective. He also shares insights into how we, as Indigenous peoples, can honour and connect to our culture while living in the West. Mahalo nui Kalehua! The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Send us a Text Message.We hosted our Pō Talanoa Winter last month with our local community of Moanans. From Christians to Indigenous Spiritualists to Atheists, we had a range of different Moanans in the room discussing a topic that's important to us. Huge thank you to our guests for this episode - Te Rina (Aotearoa, Tahiti) and Christian (Viti, Samoa).IG: @themoananEmail: hello@themoanan.comPlease contact us via instagram or email! The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Send us a Text Message.We are back for a special episode!Last month we were privileged to attend The Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, Pacific Arts Festival, or FestPAC. Our mission was clear — to rekindle vā that our forefathers established long ago. Tune in as we talanoa about our experience of connecting with our people from all across the Moana.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

In this special episode we share the live discussions from our Autumn Pō Talanoa event held a few weeks ago.Tune in to hear the voices of our Moanan community in Tāmaki Makaurau,  Aotearoa as we talanoa about the historical, present & future vā (relationship) between tangata whenua (Māori) and tangata moana (Pacific Islanders) in Aotearoa.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Our final episode for SZN 1! For this episode we asked you, our community, to send in questions & topics for us to discuss. We had a range of history & contemporary topics sent in so thank you to everyone who responded! We cover topics from non-Moanans practicing & selling kava, to ever changing Moanan cultures of the diaspora, ideas of blood quantum and much more. We want to say a big thank you to everyone that's engaged with the podcast, we're stoked that we've been able to create an online community of Moanans from around the globe. We're excited to bring even more content to you all via this podcast & our social media The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Final guest for season one!In this episode, Bradford Haami (Ngāti Awa), an accomplished author, researcher & lecturer covers a range of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge): Pepeha & Whakapapa (genealogy)Connections between Māori and the rest of the MoanaIndigenous spirituality and ChristianityThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Our guest this week is Manase Lua, a matāpule from his village of Vaini in the Kingdom of Tonga. A keen learner of Moanan history, a community & cultural leader, our talanoa with Manase took us on a journey to learn about our ancestral links across the Moana. We also talk about the lived reality of our diasporic experience as Moanans growing up in the west.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Kia orana! In this episode we sat down with archeologists & cultural educator Ma'ara Maeva - a native to Mauke, Cook Islands. In our talanoa he walked us through the journey of our earliest  ancestors of the Pacific and the evidence of their migration from South East Asia into the Moana. Throughout this episode Ma'ara shares some incredible archeological facts such as the links between Polynesia and South America plus much more. The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Bula vinaka! This week we are joined by multi disciplinary artist Daren Kamali from Fiji who shares his knowledge and experience of the Ulucavu - the Fijian wig making custom. He shares the spiritual & culture knowledge that underpins this practice along with his experience reviving a practice that was lost for over a hundred years.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

In part 2 of our chat with Professor Richard Moyle, he shares with us research he conducted on the island of Takū (PNG). In this episode he shares histories and knowledges of the indigenous spirituality that is practiced in this remote part of the Pacific. He also shares how these practices have similarities and links with Samoa and Tonga.  links to Richard Moyle's work:https://archives.library.auckland.ac.nz/resources/richard_moyle_samoa_recordingshttps://youtube.com/@richardmoyle6804?si=Oo83FO9IQnw0Vcb5The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

We sat down with Professor Richard Moyle, an ethnomusicologist, who has spent over 50 years working in the Pacific recording music to understand its social function in Pacific societies. His records have helped to preserve a knowledge of ancient song, chants & dances from around the Moana. In this episode Richard speaks to the spiritual, social & cultural function music plays across the Moana and gives some specific examples of how this is manifested. A search of ‘Richard Moyle' in google and YouTube will direct you to archives of some of his recordings. links to Richard Moyle's work:https://archives.library.auckland.ac.nz/resources/richard_moyle_samoa_recordingshttps://youtube.com/@richardmoyle6804?si=Oo83FO9IQnw0Vcb5The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

I'm this episode, we chat with Julia Mage'au Gray, a traditional skin marker (tattooist) & multidisciplinary artist from Papua New Guinea

In this episode, we sat down with artist Benjamin Work. Raised in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland, NZ) and of Tongan and Scottish ancestry, Benjamin shares his experiences of connecting with his Tongan heritage and shares knowledge of ancient Tonga and its neighbouring islands. His 2022 exhibition and book ‘Motutapu' (sacred island), looked into the shared history throughout the Moana - including Tāmaki Makaurau, Tongatapu and Rarotonga, some of which he shares in this episode. The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

In this episode, we chat with Sonny Natanielu about indigenous Pacific voyaging/navigation and experiences of being Moanan in the West.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com

Welcome to the Moanan Podcast! Connecting Pacific Knowledge to Pacific People. This episode is a quick introduction to who we, what we're about and what we want to do.The Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email: hello@themoanan.com