What is Pacific Islander?
1.
1) A native or inhabitant of any of the Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian islands of Oceania.
2) A person of Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian descent.
Contrary to popular belief or the constant wanting to be Pacific Islander, rather than Asian (maybe due to the fact that there are negative stereotypes that surround Asians), Filipinos are classified as Asian. Not Pacific Islander.
1st Friend: Hi, what race are you guys?
2nd Friend: I'm Pacific Islander, I'm from Guam.
3rd Friend: I'm also Pacific Islander, I'm Filipino.
1st Friend: Hey dumbshit! If you are Filipino, you are Asian. Stop trying to be Pacific Islander! Wannabe!
3rd Friend: BUT...BUT...BUT!...our country is an island in the Pacific.
1st Friend: Uhhhh so are Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia! dumbass!
3rd Friend: Oh! I guess I'm ashamed to be called Asian.
See
2.
NOT
Geography
"The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas), is an island nation located in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia"
"We are Pacific Islanders because we are located in the Pacific Ocean!" FALSE!
"Inhabitants of the Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Philippine, and Indonesian islands, although technically bordering the Pacific Ocean, are not considered Pacific Islanders because such islands are not located in any of the three regions of Oceania, and are therefore classified as "Asians" on the U.S. Census.
"However, a growing number of Filipino-Americans have denied the classification of being "Asian", instead claiming to be "Pacific Islanders", which has provoked dismay among some Pacific Islanders who actually belong to the Oceanic cultures comprising the commonly accepted definition of the term."
About the Real Pacific Islanders that Filipinos mistake themselves for
"The Pacific Ocean has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands; the exact number has not been precisely determined. These islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, and are traditionally grouped into three: (1) Melanesia, (2) Micronesia, and (3) Polynesia. Inhabitants are sometimes referred to as Pacific Islanders."
Filipino Culture
"Filipino culture is largely a fusion of the indigenous traditions of the Philippines, with the Hispanic and American cultures. It has also been significantly influenced by Chinese, Indonesian and Indian cultures."
"The Chinese influences in Filipino culture are most evident in Filipino cuisine. The prevalence of noodles, known locally as mami, are a testament of the Chinese cuisine. Other Chinese influences include linguistic borrowings and the occasional Chinese derived surnames."
The Truth
Based on facts, Filipinos are classified as Asians and not Pacific Islanders. If you are Filipino, please do not deny that!
Remember and please note!
If you do not live in any of the following locations:
New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Mashall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Somoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Easter Island,
THEN YOU ARE NOT A PACIFIC ISLANDER!
SO STOP STEALING THEIR IDENTITY AND BE PROUD OF YOUR OWN!!!
"I'm a pacific islander because our country borders the pacific ocean."
WRONG.
See
3.
Pacific Islanders are Austronesian people who originated from the Malay Archipelago. Unlike their brethren in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, etcetera; The Austronesian people who had discovered and settled Polonesia (and the rest of oceania), lost all ties with Mainland Asia and never experienced the varied waves of migration that occured between the mainland and the Malay Archepelago, a fact that seperates those who are ethnically Asian and Pacific Islander. Filipinos, Indonesians, and other Malays of that region are much more "Mixed" with other Asian ethnicities and have their own culture which distinguishes themselves from the Pacific Islander ethnicity which has its roots in Polonesia (and also micronesia & melanisia).
Pacific Islanders consist of:
Polynesians, Tongans, Samoans, Niueans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Hawaiians, Marquesans, Mâori, Marshall Islanders, Palauans, Mariana Islanders, Nauru, Kiribatians, Guamanians, Wake Islanders, Fijian, New Caledonian,
New Guinean, Maluku Islander, Solomon Islander, Torres Strait Islander, Vanatuan and many more I can't think of.
See
4.
-In New Zealand, the term is applied to a person who has emigrated from one of the smaller islands of the Pacific to New Zealand in modern times, or one of their descendants born in New Zealand. While the majority of these people originate from Polynesia, others come from Micronesia and Melanesia. The term is used to distinguish these people from the indigenous New Zealand Māori (who are also Polynesian but arrived in New Zealand many centuries earlier), and from other ethnic groups. A stated reason for making the ethnic distinction is that the Pacific peoples suffer from socio-economic disadvantages as a group and benefit from culturally targeted social and health assistance.
-In Australia, "Pacific Islander" means a person from islands in the Pacific, as in New Zealand.
-In the United States, "Pacific Islander" refers to people from the same locations. In U.S. usage it is most commonly seen as "Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders".
-It excludes people who trace to non-Pacific Island origins (e.g., descendants of Chinese or European colonists) that may now reside on the islands. It would also exclude New Zealanders, except the Māori who are Polynesian, nor would it include Australians or indigenous Australians (except perhaps Torres Strait Islanders, who are generally not included under the designation "Australian Aborigines").
Inhabitants of Russia's Kuril Islands, Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and the Taiwanese, Japanese, Filipino, and Indonesian islands, although technically bordering edges of the Pacific Ocean, do not fall under the definition of "Pacific Islanders" because such islands are not actually located within the Pacific or therefore any of the three regions of Oceania (Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia), and ethnicities native to the latter four among the aforementioned are thus classified as "Asians" on the U.S. Census. Despite this, a growing number of Filipino-Americans have denied the classification of being "Asian", instead claiming to be "Pacific Islanders", which has provoked dismay among some Pacific Islanders who actually belong to the Oceanic cultures comprising the commonly accepted definition of the term, and has also prompted allegations of cultural denial from other Filipinos, the worldwide majority of whom identify themselves as being Asian (as the Filipino government has stated since its foundation that the Philippines is a part of Asia). However, it should be noted that both groups, as well as aboriginals from Taiwan, other countries of Maritime Southeast Asia (including Indonesia), and the Madagascar Malagasy are all closely related ethnically and can be grouped together under one umbrella term, the Austronesians.
For instance, U.S. Census category was "Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders" (NHPI). NHPI refers to people having origins from any of the indigenous peoples of Hawaii, the Marianas, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicated their race or races as "Native Hawaiian", "Guamanian or Chamoru", "Samoan", or "Other Pacific Islander", or wrote in entries such as Tahitian, Mariana Islander, or Chuukese.
See
