From the "Rock" to the "Mainland": Polynesian Pipeline

Polynesians have been migrating to the U.S. since the late 1880’s. Polynesians are very family oriented and assist each other in their journeys, thus creating specific areas where they are highly concentrated. Today, majority of Polynesians reside in the western United States. These states include Hawaii, Utah, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. There are populations in the east coast of the U.S. such as Florida, North Carolina and New York where Polynesians have recently expanding to. However, the most populated U.S. state with Polynesians besides Hawaii is Utah. The reason for this is LDS influence in the Pacific Islands. The LDS church found success in converting many Pacific Islanders, specifically Polynesians. Polynesians found many correlations between their cultures and LDS teachings. In 1889, Polynesians of Hawaiian, Tahitian and Maori ancestry departed from Hawaii to Utah to participate in the building of the Salt Lake Mormon Temple (Goldman, n.d.). Thus a Polynesian pipeline was initiated.

References:

Breeve, P. W. (1995). A bit of Polynesia remains in the salt desert. Utah history to go. Retrieved from  http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era

Goldman, T. (n.d.) Polynesians make life out of football. Samoa observer.  Retrieved from

     http://www.samoaobserver.ws/index.php?view=article&id=13325:polynesians-make-life