The Clash of Cultures

Since the initial Mormon influenced migration, Tongans and Samoans make up majority of the Utah Polynesian populations of today. The LDS church constructed educational institutions throughout Polynesia. The LDS operated higher education facility BYU-Hawaii being central. This greatly influenced the pipeline from Polynesia to mainland U.S. Upon arrival many Polynesians resided in communities of color and low socioeconomic status. This was the beginning of the clash of cultures. As newcomers to the U.S. and wanting to obtain the American dream, many Polynesians were oblivious to the dominant discourse of whiteness that was embedded in American life. The American dream for many Polynesians is to obtain economic and educational opportunities not only for themselves, but for future generations. As Polynesians strive to reach their goals, issues arise that become barriers that are historically well-known amongst minority groups prior to their arrival.One significant barrier is poverty. In Utah 1 out of every 4 Polynesian student lives in poverty.  When comparing to the rest of Utah, 16.1% of Polynesians under the age of 18 live in poverty while the rest of Utah is at 11.4% (Utah health department, n.d.). Poverty also restricts their social mobility and resources. Another barrier Polynesians face is educational attainment. For many Polynesian cultures it is prestigious and honorable for children to graduate high school and go to college. However, similar to other minorities of color, lies implicit and explicit institutional policies and curriculums that feed the school to prison pipeline rather than high school graduation or attending college. Currently Polynesians make up .8% of Utah’s population, but have a school dropout rate of 6.1%. Due to the dominant White, male, middle class discourse prevalent in school curriculum and policies that cater to it, many Polynesian students reject the system in similar ways as their African American and Latino neighbors have. Examples of similar forms of resisting are expressed through music such as hip hop and reggae. Another form is to become very in tuned with their Polynesian heritage. Many Polynesians obtain an identity of being Polynesian American and being Polynesian. This creates a concept of what African American scholar W. E. B. Dubois calls “double consciousness”.  Double consciousness describes how an individual’s identity is divided into several facets (Bruce Jr., 1992). Dubois used this concept to describe the dual identities African Americans obtained due to their treatment by White American society. The identities were socially constructed. An individual would view himself/herself in terms of what it means to be American from their own understanding and the other identity was to view him/her through the perspective of another.  Dubois concept speaks to an identity issue many Polynesians live with. For Polynesians, this concept can be applied to describe the managing of anga fakatonga (Tongan way) or faa samoa (Samoan way) with anga fakapalangi or fie palangi (Western or White way). In many Polynesian homes, children are taught to live by their native culture at home. When outside of the home, they are then taught to apply their American identity, specifically when at school. This causes a complex identity problem as children become confused and abandon one or the other depending on what is accepted, if accepted at all.  In school, the Western or White way is what is accepted. This leads to the clash of cultures.

In the Utah media Polynesians have gained attention for reasons other than sports.  Polynesians have been marked as Utah’s biggest and most violent gangs (Sullivan, 2005). Due to this negative attention Polynesians have been stereotyped as physically large, violent, unintelligent and deviant. These descriptions have become a method of criminalization and accepted in educational institutions to funnel Polynesians into the school to prison pipeline.

References:

Jr, Bruce, D. D. ( 1992). W. E. B. Du Bois and the idea of double consciousness. American Literature, 64 (2), 299-309. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2927837

Sullivan, T. (2005, August 8). The gangs of zion. High country news. Retrieved from

     http://www.hcn.org/issues/303/15680

Taylor M. J. & Rodgers, P. L. (2002). Table 2: Utah 2000 drop-out rates and educational

     attainment rates by ethnicity. In Utah State University: Center  for the School of the Future.,  

     Increasing graduation rates for minority and other at-risk students: The high school

    completion study. Retrieved from http://www.csf.usu.edu/publications/hscs.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010, August 16). Utah. State and county quick facts.  Retrieved from

     http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html