Pacific Islands Community Engagement
Allison Fundis (OET), Daniel Wagner (OET) and Megan Cook (OET)
Photo by NOAA
Overview
Working closely and collaboratively with Indigenous communities was identified as a top priority during the 2020 Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific and the In Kupe’s Wake: A Voyage of Exploration from Hawai‘i to Aotearoa workshop, both of which were co-convened by NOAA to develop guidelines for how ocean exploration should be conducted in the Pacific. The Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) has the responsibility and privileged opportunity to operationalize these guidelines by conducting ocean exploration expeditions in a way that meaningfully engages the Indigenous, coastal, and local communities who are deeply connected to the regions in which we work. It is imperative to normalize the acceptance and respect of Indigenous knowledge as an equally valuable body of knowledge with western science.
With that in mind, OECI expeditions must be planned in a way that is inclusive of local community representation and worldview at the first stages of expedition planning as critical partners and stakeholders. We propose a multi-layered approach to weaving this important aspect of the OECI Y5 expeditions in the Pacific including partnership development and cultivation, providing opportunities for local cultural knowledge holders to participate in expedition planning and implementation, port events to engage local students and community stakeholders, engagement with local educators, and the development of cultural training sessions and materials for expedition participants.
The proposed activities in this project will be planned and implemented in close collaboration with NOAA OER to ensure the Pacific partnerships that are developed through these OECI efforts are done in a way that have long lasting benefit to NOAA and the broader ocean exploration community.
