About the NHPI Lab and Community
NHPI communities are united by the centuries-old traditional practice of wayfinding — navigating the Pacific Ocean using ancestral knowledge and their observations of celestial bodies, environmental conditions, and marine life to guide them on their voyages. Our ancestors were skilled navigators who possessed precise knowledge of where they came from, where they were going, and how to get there. The success of their voyages relied on their ability to bring people together and draw on each other’s knowledge and strengths to reach their destinations.
Like our ancestors before us, we continue to navigate a dynamic and challenging environment while moving toward our goals of improving our communities’ health and cultivating self-determination. We honor our ancestors by adapting the cultural tradition of cooperation through partnerships and sharing knowledge in our approach to data collection, data accessibility, and policy research. We use data to connect stories, enhance visibility, and inform policy. Our work does not just count people, it accounts for their journeys, struggles, and triumphs.
Community relationships are a fundamental component of the NHPI Data Policy Lab’s work. Rather than focusing solely on academic qualifications, NHPI Data Policy Lab staff establish connections with NHPI communities by first discussing familial connections to Pacific Islands, our experience working with community elders, and emphasizing project benefits for NHPI communities.
The CAPIWAVES project, led by Brittany Morey, PhD, continued to engage NHPI communities throughout the data collection, analysis, and dissemination phases. The CAPIWAVES report is among the first population surveys of its size in California to shed light on the experiences of specific groups within the NHPI community.
While navigating this journey, the NHPI Data Policy Lab is also committed to principles that center community needs and accessibility. Our data visualization tools, including the NHPI Social Determinants of Health Dashboard, features NHPI-specific data from multiple sources. We ensure NHPI data are more easily accessible and digestible for our communities by integrating periodic community reviews and feedback into data tool development cycles to inform design and content. The NHPI Data Policy Lab also hosts trainings on data tools to ensure their accessibility for communities.
Wayfinding is not merely a metaphor to describe the importance of our work but functions as a framework for how we ground and carry ourselves while doing it. Our work remains inseparable from and relies on the contributions of activists, advocates, academics, and most importantly our community and those who paved the way before us.
