School’s out for Graduate Scholar Shania Tamagyongfal
Shania Gootineg Tamagyongfal was born and raised in Hilo, HI, and is of Yapese descent. Her family is from the village of Toruw in the municipality of Maap, located on the northeast side of the island of Yap. She is a PI-CASC Graduate Scholar and worked under Dr. Joseph Genz on the project “Using oral histories of Marshallese and Yapese voyaging to support the development of community engagement for sustainable sea transport.” Shania graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in Spring 2024 with her master’s degree in the Heritage Management Program.
We caught up with Shania for a little talk story.
Tell us about your project
In my master’s thesis, I focused on the oral histories of Yapese voyaging for climate resilience as a form of sustainable sea transport through Remathau practices of community engagement. The term “remathau” refers to the people of the outer islands of Yap as “people of the sea,” emphasizing the significance of voyaging in their daily lifestyle and how it has become a big part of their cultural identity and representation. By using these oral histories and the major themes of the sawei system, women as stewards of knowledge, bodies of seafaring knowledge, perpetuation efforts, and voyaging as a metaphor, the relationships that once supported the ancestral Yapese voyaging networks serve as the foundation for modern solutions in facing social, environmental, and economic issues, along with adapting to the effects of climate change.
Why do you think climate adaptation is important?
Climate adaptation is important because it calls for the need to turn back to our ancestral knowledge of our environment and ways of sustainability within the Pacific. Especially considering that many parts of the Pacific will face the long-term effects of climate change before continental countries feel those impacts, our traditional environmental knowledge and the relationships built within communities will help support climate adaptation efforts.
How did the Graduate Scholars program help you in your academic journey?
The Graduate Scholars program was very helpful in two ways. The first was the opportunity to network with others in the program who could support us and learn other ways to further develop our research projects.
The program also helped me become more comfortable with presentations and public speaking. I had the chance to present at a seminar and at a symposium. It definitely made me realize the value of sharing my research more and opening up the conversation to include other regions of the Pacific as well.
What was the most memorable experience as a Graduate Scholar?
My most memorable experience would have to be my master’s thesis defense on April 12, 2024. It was a full-circle moment for me to reach the final point of my journey before graduation and have the opportunity to present my research not only in front of my thesis committee but also in front of my communities. By “my communities,” I’m referring to the community I had within the school with other fellow students and the community I grew up with here in Hawai’i. It meant a lot to me to see a room full of familiar faces who supported me throughout my master’s journey and to hear their feedback at the end of my defense presentation. That will always be a personal highlight for me.
The best part of graduation was…
Walking the line in front of my family and seeing them watch from the bleachers. They couldn’t experience my bachelor’s graduation because of COVID restrictions in 2020. That moment wasn’t for me but for my family.
What do you plan on doing next?
I had the opportunity to spend this past month in Yap again, and it was really awesome to visit some of the elders who helped me with my summer fieldwork last summer of 2023. Hearing everyone’s support and feedback after they learned that I recently graduated was also quite reassuring to know that more projects and work related to my master’s are in support back home on my island of Yap. Especially considering the need for cultural preservation in not only the cultural and environmental sites of value but also the intangible parts of our culture, such as the oral histories of traditional navigation and the relationships within voyaging that supported their networks for so many generations.
Although I do not have a concrete plan for what is next right now, I plan to find ways to keep working with the relationships I have grown within my community and thesis project to ensure that this type of research continues to be encouraged. I would love to find a job position that allows me to serve as a resource to my community in building more projects and programs relative to our cultural knowledge and academic opportunities that can tie into the knowledge of our elders for our youth to expand on.
Give a shoutout
Shoutout to my advisor since my undergraduate years at UH Hilo, Dr. Joe Genz, and to my colleague and sister in my cohort, Jerolynn N. Myazoe. This master’s journey would not have been possible without them as my team, and it surely has become one of my favorite experiences, with all the memories we have shared together over the last three years. Thank you guys for always being there and for all the support we have given each other. I appreciate you guys so much!
Kammagar gow and kommool tata!!