The Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington (PICA-WA) held its 3rd annual Health and Resource Fair on July 31 in Federal Way.

Community programs like the one hosted by PICA-WA create space for Pacific Islanders in the U.S. who face barriers to basic resources. The event focused on several educational sessions about job training programs, health and housing. The event opened at 9 a.m. and by noon, they had already given out 100 backpacks full of school supplies for youth in the community.

Arleen Marston, the wellness programming manager at PICA-WA, led the organization of the event and said she and her family have faced similar barriers to those she now helps others overcome.

“We’re able to go to school, we’re able to contribute to the economy, we can join the military, but we can’t vote,” Marston said, using her familyas an example.

Many members of the various Pacific Islands have complex and unique statuses within the U.S. that can sometimes require them to educate the very people who are supposed to enforce the policies.

Marston and her family are from Kosrae island, a small island in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). While these islands are not a territory of the United States like American Samoa and Guam, or a commonwealth of the U.S. like the Northern Mariana Islands, her and her community do have specific rights due to a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the U.S. government.

Her rights as a COFA citizen are entirely different than someone else who is from the nearby Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) or the Republic of Palau, for example, although these communities are also part of the COFA.

Some of these differences under COFA are connected to the level of impact from U.S. testing of atomic weapons and medical experimentation more than 50 years ago.

In all, the U.S. conducted 67 atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear weapons tests over the Marshall Islands atolls of Bikini and Enewetak, according to recent research provided to members of Congress.

Although Marston shared that her Kosraean community didn’t face the same “excruciating direct impact” that the Marshallese community did, the marine life near her island has still not recovered from the lasting effects of those actions which impacts their livelihoods and food access.

The Marshallese community still faces medical impacts today. Their islands were not evacuated before the blasts, and members of the community were subjected to medical tests without their consent where American doctors observed the impacts of radiation, according to the research. This study was titled Project 4.1, and recently unearthed documents show how Marshall Islanders were “deliberately used as human guinea pigs to study the effect of nuclear fallout on human beings,” according to a documentary titled “Nuclear Savage.”

The U.S. government updated the terms of the COFA this year, making several changes including adding access to SSI and Medicare for people from the FSM. The Kosraean community has had access to Medicaid for approximately the last five years after advocacy by grassroots organizations to fight for the change, according to Marston.

When Marston found out about the renewed COFA, she reached out directly to a contact at the Social Security Administration office that she met through her role at PICA-WA.

“He told me that COFA communities cannot apply for SSI, and I was like, I’m reading [the new law] right now,” she said. A few days later, he called back and advised her to submit the application, although they would still be denied and have to appeal because the changes had not been approved at the state level yet.

Becoming a U.S. citizen might seem like the fix to solve some of these barriers, but that choice comes with a lot of baggage for some.

For Marston, she said it is not worth losing ancestral land rights and giving up her citizenship in the FSM on Kosrae. She said that for her and many in her specific community, the trauma they’ve experienced also can make them reluctant to want to become a citizen of the country that caused so much pain in their community in the first place. Marston’s daughter has an entirely different status because she was born in the U.S., and is eligible for the dual citizenship that Marston is not.

Pacific Islander population

Every member of the Pacific Islander community of Federal Way and the surrounding areas has a different version of these complex relationships with identity and citizenship, with members from islands in Polynesia and Melanesia as well as Micronesia like Marston’s family.

Washington state has the third largest Pacific Islander population in the nation with 88 percent of Washington’s population living in the Puget Sound area, according to the U.S. Census.

The three largest groups in King County in 2020 included 10,649 Samoan people, 7,867 Native Hawaiian and 3,417 Chamorro (who are from Guam), according to the census.

At the resource fair in Federal Way, PICA-WA provided free mammograms, mobile DSHS and even a mobile Department of Licensing (DOL) team that spoke with 50 people and issued 15 ID cards. Staff provided translation when needed and the attendees enjoyed free food and community fun.

The fair also held three educational sessions that replaced a more typical job fair setup that they’ve had in past years. Marston said they were intentional about strengthening relationships with other organizations this year and focusing on providing helpful information in a more accessible way. They also gave out grocery gift cards to participants to encourage them to join.

Voting for Pacific Islanders

As the deadline for voting in the King County primary election looms on Aug. 6, varying access to voting rights in the Pacific Islander community also come to light.

In Federal Way, PICA-WA does education about voting rights as part of their programs with youth and has partnered with other organizations like UTOPIA in the past to do the same with elders in the community.

Aside from voting, there are many other ways that community members take action on civic engagement.

Marston celebrated the work of PICA-WA’s Policy and Civic Power Director Kiana McKenna who recently fought for the removal of a statue in Spokane, Washington, that depicted John Monaghan. Monaghan was a participant in vicious attacks on Samoans in 1899 that resulted in the U.S. control of the area that exists to this day. The statue itself also has racist verbiage and offensive and inaccurate portrayals of Samoan people on it.

“I think it gives me ease knowing that although I’m not able to vote, there’s people like that, that are constantly fighting for our rights,” Marston said.

McKenna is Samoan, another group that faces disenfranchisement in many ways, despite belonging to land that has been controlled by the United States for over 100 years.

Those who are born in American Samoa for example can vote in local elections, but according to Ballotpedia, “individuals born in American Samoa are not eligible to vote in federal elections or hold public office, even if they reside in one of the 50 states.”

Each group has a different story of colonization, violence and complex relationships with the United States. Despite the challenges, the community is strong and vibrant here in Federal Way.

David Ortiz, interim board president of the Pacific Islander Health Board of Washington, said that it’s important to “switch the script” and make it clear that the communities are “not in crisis all the time.” Thinking about his community, he spoke of them as a community that is resilient and proud and continuously finding ways to thrive.

Attendees at a recent health and resources fair at 33710 9th Ave. S., Suite 1, in Federal Way hosted by the Pacific Islander Community Association participated in educational sessions. Photo provided by PICA-WA

Sessions at the health and resource fair hosted by PICA-WA at 33710 9th Ave. S., Suite 1, in Federal Way focused on topics including employment, health and housing. Photo provided by PICA-WA