Philosophy

The foundation's mission is based on the fact that the Polynesian cultures are comprised of a diverse group of people, and islands, which have often been categorized under the umbrella of "Asians, Pacific Islanders or Hawaiians". This is understandable because Hawaii, the 50th state, has served as a focal point and melting pot for all the people of Asia, the Pacific Islands and Polynesia, who chose to be assimilated into the American way of life. The Polynesian people are different in their cultures depending on their island of origin; i.e., Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, Somoa, Tahiti, Tonga, etc. In the United States, these diverse cultures are usually misrepresented, or grouped as one of the umbrella categories. The cultural variations can be seen in many of the arts, dances and costumes. When the public thinks about Hawaiian dances, they usually conjure up images of hip-shaking dances garbed in grass skirts, dancing to rapid tribal beats on wooden drums or of action-packed fire dancers eating fire and dancing to the backdrop of a steep, lush valley surrounding a magnificent waterfall. Both images are Polynesian, but not necessarily Hawaiian.The first scenario is Tahitian and the second is Samoan. There are hundreds of different traditional Polynesian dances and cultural demonstrations that could be provided by all of these divergent cultures to the general public. The Polynesia-Pacifica Foundation of Colorado was formed as an administrative/educational group to represent all of the different Polynesian cultures.The foundation's members include many of the profit and non-profit Polynesian organizations, cultural demonstrators, dance and musical groups, artists and clubs located throughout Colorado.