Early this year I was looking for an actress to play Shalimar Seiuli — the young American Samoan fa’afafine who was infamously pulled over in a car with Eddie Murphy early one morning in Los Angeles, in 1997.

A year later she was dead — and it was this that led me to write a play called Girl on a Corner, where Shalimar got to tell her version of events.

I knew the actress playing Shalimar had to be transgender. I knew she had to be good enough to carry an entire play on her shoulders. And I knew she had to have the guts to swear like a trooper in Samoan and yet be vulnerable enough to let the audience share Shalimar’s joy — and, more importantly, her pain.

In the end, I picked Amanaki Prescott-Faletau, a Tongan graduate of the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (PIPA) in Auckland. She is what Tongans call fakaleiti or fakafefine, and Samoans fa’afafine. Meaning, like a lady — like a woman.

Casting her was a leap of faith.…more

The theme of this year’s Niue Language Week, which begins today, is “Tau tagata Niue, tau magafaoa Niue, fakaaoga e vagahau Niue – Niue people, Niue families, use vagahau Niue”.

Planning a trip to Niue? Shimpal Lelisi has got you with the best tips for the island

Learn to make Niue's favorite dish Takihi 

At the age of 15, Moemoana Schwenke is one of few female Siva Afi (fire dancers) in the world, challenging gender stereotypes while pushing her own limits of fearlessness.

The connection she shares with her Polynesian culture is so strong that it influences almost everything that she does, from performing arts and promoting equality to advocating for the preservation of our environment.

At such a young age, Moemoana shows us a beautiful example of what it looks like to be a young Pacific woman who isn’t afraid to stand up and show the world who she is. We’re proud to bring you her story and we hope it inspires you to embrace everything it means to be who you are as a Pacific person – as Moemoana says, “You are not just anybody.”

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Tell us a bit about yourself, your connection with your Polynesian culture, and how you came to follow that path?

Talofa Lava. My name is Moemoana Schwenke, meaning ‘sleeping ocean’ and I am 15 years old.…more

This week we celebrate Tuvalu Language Week in New Zealand.

Providing a week of celebrations through music, song, dance, food, crafts and language, there will be events happening right across the country.

For more info on what's on, check out the Ministry website or Facebook page.

You can also familiarise yourself with Tuvalu language and culture right here 

And some key phrases of the Tuvaluan Language to get you started:

Tuvalu Language Week is promoted by Auckland Tuvalu Community Trust with support from the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, community members and other organisations. 

We would like to pay tribute to a Great man, a Pioneer, a Leader, a Father, a Mentor, a Musician, a Husband and more...

Papali'i Dr. Pita Ulitau Taouma

Papali’i Dr. Pita Taouma is the head of the Malietoa Pouesi family in Aotearoa/Niu Sila. He is most well-known as a dentist who served our community for many years, first in Samoa as the head of dentistry at the hospital in Matautu, Apia and then for many years as a dentist here in Aukilani.

Papali’i was first sent to Niu Sila to take up a scholarship at Whangarei Boys High School at the age of 14. He spent these years schooling while also traveling to Aukilani during holidays to spend time with family, mostly in and around the Ponsonby area.

Papali’i then went to Otago University to study dentistry – a profession which ran in the family as his father Tofa Fesula’i Taouma Leteletaneolevao was also one of a group of seven dentists originally trained in the craft in Samoa.…more

A Kiribati community leader in New Zealand was at Parliament yesterday begging the government not to deport a family who argue they are climate change refugees.

(Reverend Iosefa Suamalie, pictured above with Ioane Teitiota's wife, Angua Erika, have pleaded to keep Mr Teitota in New Zealand.)

About 70 people poured into a public meeting in West Auckland on Monday night in support of Ioane Teitiota his wife Angua Erika, and their three children.

Mr Teitiota has been fighting against deportation back to Kiribati since 2011, arguing he should be considered a refugee based on climate change, and rising sea levels.

He's been told he's booked on a flight out of New Zealand on Wednesday.

The crowd was sombre yet hopeful about the family's future. One of the people there, John Corcoran, has been a key witness in legal proceedings. Mr Corcoran says the family's outlook is grim, with many Kiribati families already struggling to survive on the island.…more

Two young Samoans have been invited to New York to claim the prestigious awards they have won in the Voices of Future Generations International Children’s books series competition.

Winning the awards means that the students were invited to receive their awards in person and to attend the Children’s Summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Sunday.

However, they will not be making the trip because they were not given enough time to prepare and raise funds for it.

But not being there doesn’t mean that Lupe and Alexia will not celebrate their achievements from afar. With the support of their parents, the students will go with plan B, using online technology on Skype to participate in the event.…more