The Polynesian Genealogist

09/04/2025

“Absurdly Ambitious”

Dr. made this sticker. She handed it out tonight at our BYU family history networking dinner and I love it so much!! This is my new mantra!

I love seeing the absurd ambition my ancestors had to make important things happen! They inspire me to just go for it and to trust myself. I invite all of us to look for this gift of absurd ambition in our family histories. If you can’t find it in the roots, be the one to open up your lineage to this kind of heritage and make it happen for you!!

Let’s go 💅🏾😎💪🏾🥰🫶🏾

06/04/2025

Been feeling homesick for my beloved Japan. Will you have dinner with me tonight?

Tonkatsu w/ rice to help me feel connected to my Japanese roots even though I’m thousands of miles away. It’s amazing how food is memory - it takes me right back to the streets of Tokyo AND makes me wonder if this kind of food brings back memories for my ancestors.

14/02/2025

Extremely grateful for and her work in putting together these slides. It’s important we stay informed about issues AND learn about how we can help. Please refer to these slides to know what actions we can to be there for our immigrants relatives.

Remember: we are more alike than not. As relatives, we stick together.

12/02/2025

Some thoughts on immigration I’d like to address to my community. We can and need to do better. I wish more of yall looked into your family history and saw how much more connected yall are to immigrants in the United States. We are connected. We are relatives through blood, spirit, experience, and existence.

02/01/2025

Making goals and setting intentions can be a bit intimidating for me, but when I make it into a game, I’m all in! That’s what I’m doing for my 2025 genealogy goals - making it into a bingo challenge!

I’m posting my genealogy bingo board for yall to see so yall can hold me accountable. I plan to share each of my bingo items that I cross off here with you. I’m SO excited!!!

Will you join me on challenging yourselves - game style - to participating in genealogy through authentic, fun, and fulfilling ways? I hope you will! I created a template in the second slide for you to add your own genealogy wishes for the year. Fill it out, share it in your stories, and tag me! Let’s support each other on our quest to connect with our ancestors and at the same time, become good ancestors today!

Happy 2025, yall! 🤙🏾

05/11/2024

I’m happy to announce that I started a new position as a digital preservation specialist at Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library! Today was my first day, and it was absolutely wonderful. Honestly, I wanted to cry the whole day because of how happy I felt. I love being around students and fellow library lovers. Libraries are sacred ground for me, and now that I get to work at one full time, I’m overwhelmed with joy!

I see how powerful it is for us Pasifika people to know how the digital world works. It is a means to our cultural and historical preservation for generations. I’m excited to take on this role to learn as much as I can so that I can help our people even more.

I’m still doing genealogy work. I’ll forever be doing it, but I see this career move as the next best step forward. I thank yall for all the love and support. I’m excited to share all the cool things I’m learning and doing!

12/08/2024

So grateful for this opportunity! Big mahalo to Association of Professional Genealogists!!

Many thanks to Miyamoto Jenson The Polynesian Genealogist for her thoughtful and informative webinar, "Pacific Islander Genealogy & Perspectives," the first in our DEI New Voices webinar series. APG members can now view this recording and dozens of other informative webinars in the Online Learning Library. To view, log in to apgen.org, go to Members tab > Continuing Education. CC available.

02/07/2024

I’m thrilled to be the keynote speaker for “DEI New Voices” series for APG members!! To have this opportunity means the world to me!

If you’re an APG member, register today to watch my webinar at https://bit.ly/3W7fJRi

01/07/2024

“If we can use our privilege for the greater good, that is helping us all.”

I love this quote by so much because it’s helped me to realize that even the tiniest of acts can rise us all. Or bring us all down. I’m inviting all of you to think more consciously on how we use our privileges. I know that we truly can craft a better world for future generations. It takes intentional effort, community building, thoughtful leadership, and love to make it happen. Being a good ancestor now means understanding the privileges we have and how we are going to use them to shape our posterities.

Again, shoutout to for pulling me up and helping me to rise even higher as I strive to be the change I hope to see in this world. Checkout their page to gain great insights on how we can all use our privileges for good.

27/06/2024

I’ve always wanted to sell apparel that was in line with my passions. Here’s my first launch of “Kupuna In Training” apparel! It’s a little experiment of combining my life’s work of genealogy with design and clothing. I’ve never done something like this before, but this is my season of trying and putting myself out there.

Last year, I mentioned how I wanted to make clothing with the words “tūtū in training” on it. As a family member pointed out - I want to be inclusive of those who have children and of those who do not. All of us will be ancestors to our family and loved ones no matter what. So, I changed the word “tūtū” to “kupuna.” This feels right and resonates with me deeply. The question is: what are we doing now to be good kupuna?

I hope this small campaign can bring some to you joy as it has for me in creating it. You can purchase shirts, hoodies, or sweatshirts online via my link tree in bio or at www.bonfire.com/kupuna-in-training-1/

Clothing will be available to purchase from now until July 6, 2024. Orders will arrive between July 22 - 31.

Mahalo to all of you kupuna in training!

19/05/2024

Why aren’t more of us seeking in the AANHPI communities seeking mental health help?

A report published in February 2024 outlines the statistics, challenges, and solutions of mental health in AANHPI communities.

Any of the statistics or changes outlined resonate with you?

I truly believe that the more we create safe spaces to speak on our mental health, the stronger our foundation for a more inclusive and safe future for our people.

Be a good ancestor now.

13/05/2024

I descend from the most incredible and powerful women. I am forever thankful to be raised by literal angels and to continue to be surrounded by them in all forms of mothers, caregivers, and matriarchs. I keep finding more and more of these kinds of women as the years go by, and each of them strengthen me in my own motherhood. I try my best to describe how grateful I am for each of them but words always fail to convey what I truly feel in my soul. To all those who love, care, and nurture fiercely, Happy Mother’s Day to you 💗 I love y’all.