Grant to Return Indigenous Knowledge to Pacific Islands Communities

Grant to Return Indigenous Knowledge to Pacific Islands Communities (GRIKPIC)

This year, for the first time, ASAO has awarded a Grant to Return Indigenous Knowledge to Pacific Islands Communities or "GRIKPIC". The 2007 GRIKPIC grant, for $1000, was awarded to Dr. Haidy Geismar, to help underwrite the publication of a Bislama-language publication, John Layard Long Malakula 1914-1915.

At 100 pages, this is a substantial and attractive publication which we are proud to have supported. It includes beautiful reproductions of nearly 150 of Layard's original photographs, together with Bislama translations of his captions, and essays by Anita Herle, Haidy Geismar, and Numa Fred Longga. Mr. Longga is the Curator of the Malakula Kaljoral Senta.

Anita Herle writes in the preface, "It is hoped that their presentation and the translation of Layard's original captions into Bislama will enable the images and associated documentation to be readily accessible to ni-Vanuatu and the Malakulan communities from which they originated." 1000 copies of the book have been printed and will be made available to schools and other educational organizations in Vanuatu.

For more information on the book, please contact haidy.geismar@nyu.edu

The ASAO Board is committed to making available to host Pacific Islands communities the information gathered from research there, and in forms appropriate and usable at the village level. This goes beyond the normal practice of providing copies of theses and dissertations and subsequent academic publications to in-country libraries or government agencies, although these may be useful for in-country scholars. Rather, it involves the preparation and delivery of materials targeted specifically for the village audience and to meet local needs. It is hoped that ASAO’s official acknowledgment and support will help raise the profile of and validate this practice in academia. This organizational imprimatur is especially important for junior scholars, who might otherwise not be accorded credit for such activities or publications in their formal tenure and promotion reviews.

The board delegated a special committee to explore and propose a program for encouraging and supporting such return of materials, and at the February 2006 meeting the board approved the following plan.

Application procedure and eligibility criteria:

Applicants must be ASAO members and preference will be given to junior scholars. Examples of eligible projects include but are not limited to dictionaries, oral histories, biographies, photo books, interviews, and recordings of storytelling events and performances. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the material being published is appropriate for the audience to whom it is being given.

Proposals of up to 1,000 words (4 double-spaced pages) must include descriptions of:

the island community, including its technological capacities
what materials are currently available there, and what kind(s) of materials the applicant is preparing
how the materials would be used in the community
most efficient way of getting materials to the community
anticipated expenses for production and delivery of materials (grant does not cover stipends, travel, or purchase of equipment)
possible additional sources of practical and monetary assistance that the applicant might tap

Application review process:

The ASAO Board has appointed a four-member GRIKPIC panel (David Counts, Alan Howard, Karen Peacock, and Ali Pomponio), who will review applications received by the deadline of December 1, for awards to be given at the following year’s annual meeting. The panel will forward their recommendations to the Board for consideration.

Project completion:

Upon the completion of the project, the awardee must submit a report including how award funds were used; provide a presentation at the following ASAO annual meeting; and provide a copy of the materials to the ASAO archives as well as one or more copies to the national or university library in the country of the community involved.

Funding:

Awards will be given in any year that at least one project meets criteria outlined above and is approved by the panel and the Board. Award amounts (whether for one or more projects) will total no more than US$1,000 per year.

Please note that financial donations may be made to ASAO in support of the GRIKPIC project (as with the Pacific Islands Scholars Fund [PISF]); all donations to ASAO are tax-deductible in the United States, since ASAO is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation.

Submit applications by December 1, 2007, to:

Karen Peacock, ASAO GRIKPIC Panel Chair, Pacific Collection, UH Library, 2550 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822; fax (808) 956-5968; e-mail <peacock@hawaii.edu>