Over the years, Mana Moana kept ringing in my head as a name to bring forth. I looked up what it was connected to and found the work of Dr. Karlo Mila and the artist collective in New Zealand. I am in awe of the work of our Pasifika peoples and would not want to name that pulls away from anyone else’s creation.
Through a connection with my beloved mentor, Dr. Manulani Meyer, I met with Karlo to learn about what is meant by Mana Moana. As a diaspora Samoan growing up in Aotearoa, she was met with learning about how Mana Whenua is a practice that engaged on those islands. When there is governance over a place, there is a hierarchy of decision making. The highest decision making comes from Mana Whenua, which are the geneological decendents of that part of the island. Their word holds the most power because their connections run deeper than any contemporary governance structure.
Karlo investigated Mana Moana as a concept that extends beyond the lands into the sea. How the people of Oceania should hold the most power over what decisions get made about the ocean because of the strong geneaological ties. In her work, Karlo investigates the deep connections in language, culture and epistemologies of our Pasifika people. Over the years she has created leadership workshops that activate that deep knowing.
As our discussions ran deep, I shared my vision of creating this non-profit and naming it Mana Moana. As a sister of Oceania, she gave her blessing as she never felt ownership to the terminology rather these are the words of our ancestors. I understood that it was my kuleana to listen to the name that has been gifted to me and to bring it into our times. I decided to include Institute to help the global community understand that this is a place of learning with deep commitments of understanding who we are by protecting our ocean and perpetuating our culture.
-- Brittany Lehua Kamai, Ph.D.
Founder, Mana Moana Institute
