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Pacific Islander Americans represent the smallest racial group counted in the U.S. census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or .3 percent of the United States population. They are most concentrated in Hawaii, Alaska and to a lesser extent the West Coast of the United States, specifically California.
Definition In the 2000-2010 US Census the term "'Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander' refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islands. ... They are of Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian cultural backgrounds." The 2000-2010 US Census Bureau counts Filipino Americans, Indonesian Americans, Taiwanese Americans and Japanese Americans as Asian Americans even though they have ethnic origins from islands bordering the Pacific Ocean. Although they are combined in Census figures with the Asian Americans who have some of the ethnic groups with the highest income and education of any American groups, this masks that Pacific Islanders have considerably lower income and education than other Asian Americans. In school districts like Seattle, students have test scores and grades that are more similar to the African Americans than the other Asian students. While there are many programs and much research to aid African American students, there are far fewer resources and studies targeting Pacific Islander American children. In politics Mufi Hannemann was a mayor of Honolulu. Mufi Hanneman is a Samoan American who was originally a history teacher. He became mayor of Honolulu in January 2, 2005 and is still serving his term. In the media Pacific Islander Americans have media portrayal mostly as professional wrestlers, but are also portrayed as regular people too. The Rock has been the most notable Pafic Islander American professional wrestler, branching out into movies like the The Scorpion King. Other Pacific Islander American professional wrestlers include Samoa Joe and Solofa Fatu. Lilo Pelekai and Nani Pelekai are Native Hawaiian Americans in the Disney show called "Lilo & Stitch". Al Harrington was an actor who portrayed "Det. Ben Kokua" in the CBS television series Hawaii Five-O; Hawaiian-American Jason Momoa plays Ronon Dex on the popular science-fiction TV show Stargate Atlantis. Vili Fualaau is a Samoan-American boy who made headlines with his controversial relationship with Mary Kay Letourneau. The most famous stage character is Bloody Mary (South Pacific) of the South Pacific musical and movie. She is a souvenier trader to US Sailors stationed in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Though originally cast as Juanita Hall, an African American, she is often also cast as an Asian or Pacific Islander American in newer local productions. In sports Pacific Islander Americans are well represented in American football, but are also represented in sumo wrestling. Nuu Faaola, Mosi Tatupu and Junior Seau are professional football players. Akebono Taro is a famous sumo-wrestling Yokozuna of Native Hawaiian ancestry. See also | ||||||||
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