Pacific Islander history, culture, art and music on display

The Oakland museum of California exhibit focuses on Pacific Islanders, past and present. The focus is on the history of the indigenous tribes of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The history, customs, origin stories and means of life are all explored in depth.
Continue through the exhibit, though, and you’ll learn how the Pacific Islanders in the Bay Area protect and preserve their heritage. Paintings, sculptures, artifacts and multimedia presentations all weave together to tell a bigger story of a people often marginalized, despite rich culture and beautiful history.
Explore the roots of the Pacific Island people, through soundscapes and visuals, and immerse yourself in the intricate patterns of culture and civilizations, merging the traditional and the contemporary.

The experience is interactive, as well. You can print your own traditional “tapa” design, add a paper flower to a symbolic lei, or share a fond memory on a post-it note and display it to docents and denizens alike next to a map of the islands. A full-sized boat, hand-carved, dominates the front of the exhibit, invoking traditional transportation methods, before smart phones and airplanes, where the only way to meet and trade with your neighbors meant battling tough seas with only some paddles and your trusted tribesmen.
The exhibition weaves a web of heritage — both explaining its evolution and answering the question of relevance — Bay Area natives returning to their roots to gather in an Oakland park to drink Kava (a traditional beverage with numbing properties) or practicing the Haka (an ancient war dance designed to strike fear in the hearts of enemies — made famous by the New Zealand rugby team The All Blacks.)

The exhibit is designed to run in conjunction with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), which runs from Sep. 9 to Dec. 31 at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library.
Pacific Worlds
is on view at the OMCA until January 3rd, 2016.
1000 Oak St, Oakland
More info available at:
museumca.org
($15.95 general admission)