Our Community

In Diaspora

Whether it’s exploring the ocean as master navigators or leaving our homes in the pursuit of opportunity, Pacific Islander communities have been making voyages across the seas since time immemorial. As a result, generations of our people have been living in diaspora, with many of us having yet to even set foot on our indigenous lands - rather, we find ourselves as guests.

As a Pro-Indigenous organization, it is always important for EPIC to honor the original stewards of the land we are situated on. We are based on Tongva territory and we name them with the clear and unequivocal understanding that they are who we strive to give this land back to. To find out who the custodians of the land are in any location in the US (and several other parts of the world) please visit native-land.ca

 

How Are We Being Counted?

In 2010, the US Census Bureau collected and reported on nearly 20 different Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities, each with their own language, culture, and traditions. In 1997, ​the Office of Management and Budget mandated the use of a separate data collection category for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

 
 

A Map of Colonial Impact

EPIC believes race is a social construct and that Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander as a racial category is deeply shaped by militarization and colonization. Formal and informal relationships between the U.S. and our ancestral lands give rise to a complex web of statuses that dictate the ability of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to access vital services and resources.

 

U.S. Citizens

Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawai’i

  • Live and work in the U.S. legally

  • Qualify for public benefits

  • Vote in local and federal elections (with limitations in Congressional votes)

  • Eligible to serve in U.S. military

 

Compact of Free Association Migrants / Freely Associated States Citizens

Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae), Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau

  • Live and work in the U.S. legally

  • Labeled “non immigrants” but are not considered U.S. Citizens or Nationals

  • Not eligible for most federal benefits, some U.S. states may provide limited benefits

  • Eligible to serve in U.S. military

 

U.S. Nationals

American Samoa

  • Live and work in the U.S. legally

  • Must obtain citizenship to obtain full benefits

  • Qualify for most federal benefits, some state or local benefits

  • Cannot vote when living in states

  • Eligible to serve in U.S. military

 

Immigrants from Islands without U.S. Association

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Aoteroa, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Nuie, Kiribati, Cook Islands

  • Not U.S. Citizens or Nationals

  • Must apply for legal permanent resident status to work and live in the U.S. legally

  • Must wait 5 years to apply for public benefits

  • Cannot vote or serve in U.S. military

 
 

We are in every state in the U.S.

Many Pacific Islanders moved to the U.S. after serving in the armed forces, often in search of educational opportunities for our youth and better economic prospects. Native Hawaiians established a presence on the west coast throughout the 1800s, often disembarking from merchant ships.

While Hawai’i is home to the largest number of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, seven out of ten NHPI in the U.S. reside in the continental U.S. as of 2010. Below is a list of the top 10 states with the largest Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Populations as of 2017.

  • Arizona 34,909

  • California 361,000

  • Florida 55,080

  • Hawai’i 382,080

  • Nevada 44,475

  • New York 52,500

  • Oregon 34,000

  • Texas 73,000

  • Utah 48,370

  • Washington 94,000

 
 

Resources

In 2014, EPIC released a set of demographic profiles entitled Community of Contrasts, in partnership with Asian Americans Advancing Justice- Los Angeles, that illustrated the state of the NHPI community in key issue areas using 2010 Census Data as well as data from the American Community Survey. To access the profiles:

 

The Maps of Colonial Impact shown above were commissioned by EPIC and crafted by our inhouse team. If you or your organization would like to use these maps for educational purposes, you may download high-resolution PNGs linked below.

In exchange, you are required to copy the attribution text below and include it in a bibliography; image caption; on a physical item or tag.

Attribution: Map of Colonial Impact by Pou Dimitrijevich from Empowering Pacific Islander Communities