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KEARNS — Some people's view of the Pacific Islander community can be limited and stereotypical.
"We are either looked as football players or gangsters, and I'm not either one of them," said Susi Feltch-Malohifoou, head of Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources, or PIK2AR, a nonprofit advocacy group for Pacific Islanders.
Mindful of that, a wide array of activities is slated for August, Utah Pacific Islander Heritage Month, with the aim of demonstrating the diversity and many nuances of the community. It's the 12th year of activities, and PIK2AR, the Pacific Island Chamber of Commerce, the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Utah, the National Tongan American Society and many other groups are helping organize the varied events throughout the month.
"There are similarities and differences among us. ... You can't see us until you know something about us," Feltch-Malohifoou said. "We're doctors and lawyers that live here and are educated here."
Events started on Thursday, when the Pacific Island Chamber of Commerce held a business awards luncheon for the Pacific Islander community. A skate night was set for Friday at Millcreek Common Skate Loop, while a more formal kickoff is planned for Saturday from 5-10 p.m. at Lodestone Park at 6252 W. 6200 South in Kearns.
The Tongan American Society will host the Friendly Tongan Islands Festival from Aug. 5-10 in Salt Lake City, and the Soifua Foundation — focused on the Samoan community — will hold a luau in Layton on Aug. 12, among other activities. Events culminate on Aug. 30 and 31 and Sept. 2 with Polynesian Days Utah in Lehi.
The feds have deemed May as Asian American and Pacific American Heritage Month, also meant to honor native Hawaiians. But Gov. Gary Herbert in 2012 decreed August Utah Pacific Islander Month in the state to highlight the contributions here of the Pacific Island community, more specifically, and activities occur each year to mark the occasion.
Gov. Spencer Cox's Utah Pacific Islander Month decree for 2024 puts the number of Pacific Islanders in Utah at 60,000, but Feltch-Malohifoou estimates the number is closer to 80,000 and said Utah has the highest per capita concentration of Pacific Islanders of any state in the continental United States. Those with roots in Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii represent the largest Pacific Island subgroups in Utah, she said, but there are more with ties to Fiji, the many islands of Micronesia, the Cook Islands and more. "We've got so many communities that aren't visible," she said.
Cox's decree says Pacific Islanders have been "an integral part of Utah's ever-growing diversity" since a wave of migration here from Hawaii and creation of the Iosepa community in the late 1800s. The decree aims to "honor the perseverance of those past and present who courageously reached for their hopes and dreams in a new land."
