Pasifika peoples call Aotearoa home, but continue to have family and cultural connections to Pacific Island nations – the islands and cultures of Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu and other Pasifika heritages.

The terms “Pacific” or “Pacific peoples” are umbrella terms that are used to categorise islands in the Pacific Ocean. These terms are used in reference to the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia in particular. “Pacific peoples” may be recent migrants, long settled in New Zealand, or New Zealand-born.

Pasifika and Pacific peoples also often have multi-ethnic heritages, and identities that transcend ethnicity. Teachers and leaders need to be aware of and respond to diverse, ethnic-specific identities; as well as multiple cultural identities.