An Interview with Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu: 11 Questions from The Berkeley Graduate

TBG: Where are you from?
Lupe Niumeitolu: I’m from multiple places and I claim many of them as home. I was born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. Tonga is an archipelago located in the South Pacific neighboring the islands of Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand. I was raised in Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawai’i and Utah. The Bay Area is my newest home. Interestingly, the Bay Area hosts the largest Tongan diasporic community here in the U.S. It’s truly a blessing to be part of the Tongan community here in the Bay Area and to create research on our lives.

What did you study as an undergrad/earlier in your career?
I started off my undergraduate as an art student pursuing a BFA in painting but circumstances led me to the Social Sciences where I graduated with my BA at the University of Utah. I did an MA in American Studies with an emphasis in History at Purdue University. After grad school, I moved to San Francisco and taught courses at City College of San Francisco and I was also very fortunate to be part of an international theatre and performance troupe in San Francisco called Dhaiatribe. I also worked as a consultant on Pacific Islander issues to school districts and non-profit organizations and I produced and co-hosted a bi-weekly radio program called “Education is Powerful” broadcasted on Radio Tonga, San Francisco. I believe that my education in and outside of academia was invaluable in preparing me for the PhD program in Ethnic Studies here at Cal.

What's the focus of your work?
I’m most interested in American history. My research focuses on examining the lives of Tongans in the United States. More specifically, my work analyzes the historical and cultural productions of Tongan American femininities and masculinities. Tongan peoples’ histories here in the U.S. are part of American history.

How did you become interested in your field?
I was born and raised in the Pacific. I was ten years old before my family migrated to the U.S. My love for the arts and for pursuing knowledge and subsequently connecting this knowledge to creating tangible changes that can ensure the sustenance of my family and communities was cultivated during my childhood in the Pacific. The violent histories of Western colonization in the Pacific taught me that epistemologies were strategic and they had direct implications on the lives of my family and communities. Our histories, as Pacific Islanders’, have shown us that our very survival is dependent on our knowing.

What were your aspirations when you were younger?
The arts are highly valued in Pacific cultures. In fact, the artistic imagination and artistic practices are integrated into of our daily lives. When my family migrated to the United States, I became influenced by the work of many artists and scholars, especially the work of people of color like poets, Langston Hughes, Sandra Cisneros and Janice Mirikitani. At first sight, I fell in love with the work of painters, Jean-Michel Basquait, Jose Clemente Orozco and Juana Alicia. The themes of social resistance and liberation that resonated in their artwork defined my new life in the diasporas and these themes profoundly influenced me and my siblings and we chose to emulate these amazing people.

How has your work been seen in the community at large?
It’s truly humbling to receive both praises and criticism for my academic and community work. A few years ago, I presented a paper at the Pacific History Association Conference at Australia’s National University. My work was met with praises by most of the scholars in attendance. However, a senior scholar, one of the experts in my field, stood up and publicly contested some of my arguments. Although, this was a difficult moment for me, I’m grateful to this senior scholar for “calling me out” on some of the weaknesses of my arguments because this ultimately offered me an opportunity to grow. Today, this senior scholar is one of my most trusted mentors.

This past year, it was also a great pleasure for me to be an invited speaker at higher education community events here in California and throughout the U.S. I consider it a blessing to meet youths and their parents and to hear their stories of struggle and survival in this country; their courage inspires me to complete my education and to be accountable to these communities. A few months ago, I conducted a lecture on Tongan American women at the Dept. of International Development, Community & Environment at Clark University in Worchester, Massachusetts. Shortly afterwards, I presented this same lecture at the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Conference in Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and upon returning to the Bay Area, I presented this lecture at the Global Fund for Women in San Francisco. Presenting my research at these diverse spaces has given me the opportunity to network and to receive feedback on my work. I’m very grateful for these opportunities to learn.

What's the best part of your work?
The most rewarding part of my work to me is knowing that my work, in a small way, is part of a process of creating changes that benefit the lives of people that I love. Last year, I had the opportunity to testify to law makers in Washington DC and I also testified to the State Assembly in Sacramento in support of new legislation that would benefit Tongan and Pacific Islander communities here in California and nationally. I worked alongside activists, community leaders and lawmakers in this process. The opportunities to work with these diverse peoples greatly enriched and expanded my research and conversely, my research also played a role in the process of creating policy changes. As I mentioned before, research is not an apolitical endeavor and it has very real consequences on the lives of people. I think that it’s important for graduate students to not be naïve about our role in the world.

Career-wise, where would you like to end up?
I believe that I can’t answer this question with a single answer. It’s my hope to continue to be an artist and a scholar and to be part of many artistic and scholarly communities here in the U.S and internationally. I also hope to work with other art curators to curate and to organize Pacific Islander art exhibitions like I have done in the past. Lastly, it’s my goal to be a professor and researcher of Pacific Islander Studies.

What has your experience in Berkeley been like?
I’m very humbled to be here and I’m indebted to my professors and colleagues in the Ethnic Studies Dept. Their support has given me the strength to take risks in my work and to push myself in very positive ways. Moreover, I also feel honored be part of a movement of Pacific Islander scholars that are working to establish a Pacific Islander Studies program at this university; these women and men are truly visionary in their work and objectives.

What advice do you have for students who might be interested in your field?
I don’t believe that the only viable route for artists is art school. I believe that developing artistic skills and cultivating the artistic imagination takes place in multiple spaces that is both inside and outside of academia. Perhaps the most important journey that every artist has to take is to “leave home” or abandon spaces of comfort and safety and to remap a life that is rooted in spiritual beliefs and commitments.

What's the most important part of your day?
I’m often a scardey-cat. My many fears sometimes hold me back. I’m often afraid that I might fail miserably at the projects that I attempt. The most important part of my day is when I attempt to do the thing that I’m most afraid of. Some days, this means leaving my front door. I’m still alive and terrible things didn’t happen so I think I’ll keep working through this fear.