According to the most recent Census data, the population of Pacific Islanders in the U.S. has risen nearly 30% in the last decade—in Nevada, it's risen by 60%. What draws Pacific Islanders here? Why has Las Vegas earned the nickname "the Ninth Island," and is that really an appropriate term? And how are Pacific Islanders staying connected to their cultures here in the Mojave Desert?
According to the most recent Census data, the population of Pacific Islanders in the U.S. has risen nearly 30% in the last decade—in Nevada, it's risen by 60%. Las Vegas, famously, has the largest population of Hawaiians outside of Hawai'i, earning our city the nickname "the Ninth Island." But some Native Hawaiians take issue with the term, pointing out that Hawai'i is a sovereign nation, and that describing Las Vegas as an extension of an American state is misguided.
These issues of land and sovereignty in Hawai'i and other Pacific Islands are at the heart of why so many Pacific Islanders have moved here, to Southern Nevada. In this episode, we learn about the history of American involvement in the Pacific, and its connection to Pacific Islander migration today.
We talk with Doreen Hall, President of the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club (LVHCC), about what it means to be Native Hawaiian in Las Vegas, and why teaching Hawaiian culture here, too, is so important. We hear from a local small business owner from Guam, Tiffany Biscoe, whose family has a deep connection to the ocean. JD Reyes, Co-President of the Asian American Pacific Islander Student Association at UNLV, speaks to us about why he plans on returning home to Saipan, despite the challenges of doing so. At the 29th Pacific Islander Festival & Ho'olaule'a, we meet Vincent Souza, a hula instructor and advisor to the LVHCC, Faletolu Tapili Spencer, a volunteer at the event from Samoa, and Tere George, a traditional dancer from the Cook Islands.
Exit Spring Mountain is a podcast from Nevada Public Radio. Our team includes executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson, host Lorraine Blanco Moss, research assistant Nessa Concepcion, academic research consultant Mark Padoongpatt, and news director Joe Schoenmann. Sound editing, mixing and mastering is by Regina Revazova of Open Conversation.