09/11/2025
🌟 A New Chapter for Our Community: Native Samoan Corporation and UAA Join Forces! 🌟
📣 We're thrilled to share some incredible news from our meeting today with leaders from the UAA: University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)! Our delegation met with UAA’s College of Health, School of Social Work, Division of Population Health Sciences, and the Department of Alaska Native Studies to propose a historic partnership.
🤗 This collaboration is guided by our core values of Fa'a Samoa (The Samoan Way), reciprocity, and sustainability. Together, we're building a future where our community's cultural knowledge and UAA's academic expertise create powerful, life-changing programs.
➡️ Here’s a look at the exciting initiatives we're co-developing:
1️⃣ Social Justice & Community Advocacy ⚖️: We're working to integrate our community-based restorative justice programs into UAA’s School of Social Work. This will provide UAA students with hands-on experience in culturally-specific contexts and help enhance our programs with academic insights.
2️⃣ Population Health & Wellness ❤️🩹: We’re partnering with UAA’s Division of Population Health Sciences to create culturally-competent health interventions. This is a crucial step toward addressing health disparities and, for the first time, establishing a Community Health Aid Pathway tailored for the Pacific Islander community.
3️⃣ Cultural Preservation & Indigenous Studies 📚: The Pasefika Roots Institute of Language and Cultural Arts is collaborating with UAA’s Alaska Native Studies Department to explore the creation of a Pacific Islander Studies minor or certificate. This would formally recognize our indigenous knowledge and language within the university curriculum.
🤝 This is more than just a partnership; it’s a commitment to our community's well-being and a bold step toward a more resilient future. We're excited to formalize this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and begin the real work of building these transformative programs. A special thanks to our incredible partners from the Pasefika Roots Institute. We're also incredibly grateful to all the UAA representatives who are as committed as we are to making this vision a reality.
📢 Our Esteemed Attendees 👏:
UAA Representatives 🎓:
• Kathryn Craft, LPC, MA, BSW - Interim Dean, UAA College of Health
• Dr. André B. Rosay - Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, UAA College of Health
• Cary C. Moore, PhD, OTR/L - Associate Dean of Clinical Health Sciences, UAA College of Health
• Donna M. Aguiniga, PhD, MSW - Assistant Dean & Professor of Social Work, UAA School of Social Work
• Travis Headwig, PhD, MA - Assistant Dean for Division of Population Health Sciences & Associate Professor of Health Sciences, UAA Division of Population Health Sciences
• Brad A. Myrstol, PhD, MA, BS - Assistant Dean of School of Justice and Human Services
Department of Human Services, UAA Justice Center
• Maria Williams - Professor, UAA Alaska Native Studies Department
Native Samoan Community Representatives 🌺:
• Tai Manu - Assistant Director, Community Health Aide Program
• Rev. Samuel Fiu Unutoa - CEO, Native Samoan Corporation
• Chaplain Seleni Naiuli - Executive Director, Pasefika Roots Institute of Language and Cultural Arts
• Maddy Unutoa - Director of Programs, Pasefika Roots Institute of Language and Cultural Arts
• Luisa Kirisimasi - Ambassador, Pasefika Roots Institute
➡️ Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward!
