Plus, burros vs. the desert tortoise. A fight over who belongs
| Navigating two worlds: How Utah's Pacific Islanders preserve culture, embrace change |
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Lois Collins writes: On a warm June Friday night, the gym of a local meeting house of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is decked out for a party: red, gold and silver balloons, the colors repeated in the round tablecloths, a pop of brightness against the hardwood floor’s expanse. Hundreds of photographs are scattered on tables, carefully shuffled to feature different faces, many of them echoes of 11 large portraits pinned to corkboard on a crepe paper-festooned wall. It looks like a community heritage event, with dozens and dozens of people who are Polynesian. What isn’t clear — is surprising once you learn it — is all are related by marriage or blood. The photos on the wall are of Vida Tu’itama’alelagi Hafoka and her siblings. Her mother and father, Taaviliafi and Faaiuina Savea Aupiu Moe Tu’itama’alelagi, had 13 children. Those gathered are their children, grandchildren, greats and even great-greats. Some in the portraits are gone now but also near. In Pacific Island cultures, the spirits of those who die “walk beside us.” “We are thanking our Heavenly Father for bringing all of our travelers here safely,” said Vida Hafoka. “So many things can happen along the way. Eat what we have. Welcome.” She speaks of growth, the kids, the struggles. “So much love in this family.” Welcome to the Tu’itama’alelagi family reunion, with 200 relatives from across the country and the Pacific Islands. Read more about how the heart of the Pacific beats in Utah. |
| Amy Joi O'Donoghue writes: Another effort to help save the Mohave desert tortoise is being proposed, this time with the proposed removal of several hundred burros from within the Tass-Gold Butte Herd Management Area 60 miles southwest of St. George. The area in question covers 101,816 acres of what’s described as “remote and rugged” Mohave Desert in Mohave County not far from Mesquite in southern Nevada. Both the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service say even though the area is set at zero wild burros to protect critical desert tortoise habitat, recent surveys show there are several hundred burros in the herd management zone. The zone is within the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, jointly managed by the two agencies. A draft environmental analysis that has been released is up for public comment through Sept. 9. It proposes to conduct periodic removals of the burros, which will then be offered up for adoption or sale through the BLM’s program. Read more about the habitat war along the southern Nevada-Utah border. |
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