Pohnpei preserves traditional knowledge

Weekender #49

You’re reading The Husk's Weekender, a countdown/roundup of miscellanea from Micronesia, Guam, and Earth.¹ 

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climate change-related stories that caught my attention

• Guam’s coral reefs in danger of dying, per Pacific Island Times

• World's oceans on verge of becoming too acidic to sustain life - report, according to RNZ

• AI is revitalizing the fossil fuels industry, and big tech has nothing to say for itself, writes Brian Merchant in his newsletter Blood in the Machine.

  (At the same time Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have inked deals for nuclear power for AI.² Wall Street Journal reported “Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI.” IMO, tech companies continue to take the very Zuckerberg move-fast-break-things approach and idk it feels like we’re going to break??? the Earth??? Like? To what end? Do you ever feel like we’re speedrunning our demise???? not to be morbid, BUT!!!!!)

articles about islands in the Micronesian region

• World-first monitor lizard eradication program aims to protect endangered turtles nesting on Micronesian island, according to the Australian Broadcast Company

• Governor eyes NGO to host native-only political status vote, per the PDN in Guam

way Pohnpeians are perpetuating Indigenous knowledge in schools

• Canita Rilometo-Nakamura writes about Indigenous Learning Recovery in Pohnpei, FSM, in the Pacific Islands Report’s latest Visions & Voices publication out of the Pacific Islands Development Program.

  (This is kind of everything!!!! Elders in Pohnpei have been leading Indigenous Recovery Learning sessions at some schools since 2020. The project has found increased participation, and Rilometo-Nakamura notes that written lessons allow for continuity, which, again!!!, kind of everything.)

With every issue of the Weekender, we’ll leave you with a send-off song (not necessarily from a Micronesian artist) curated by my brother, Henry, whose musical tastes have left a lifelong impression on me and, now hopefully, you.

This week’s send-off song is “I’m Gone,” by Kids From Chuuk.

Plus, High Watah’s cover of “Missing You” and “Do You Know” has been on repeat, as of late.

We’re building a send-off song playlist on Spotify that includes the songs mentioned in past Weekender posts. Check it out.

Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend,

Jasmine

1. In this issue, my punctuation goes haywire. I know, I know.

2. Girl, Microsoft is like, let’s restart Three Mile Island, which literally every article describes as “the scene of the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history.” OK? Mr. Gates??? Fact is really stranger than fiction!