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Why is racist science still being promoted? Pasifika people know our history & where we come from. When “flashy” science ignores millennia of knowledge-keeping & evidence in favor of racist tropes, it damages Pasifika ppl & our relationship w/ STEM. 
/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/science/polynesian-ancestry.html
/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/science/polynesian-ancestry.html
The authors of this new study promote the “kon-tiki” theory, developed by a racist who refused to believe that Pacific Islanders were capable of navigation.
Though in the paper the authors do not explicitly mention kon-tiki, they do in PR statements. 2/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2487-2
Though in the paper the authors do not explicitly mention kon-tiki, they do in PR statements. 2/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2487-2
I am disappointed in @NatureNews for publishing quotes that champion of kon-tiki rhetoric without mentioning the legacy of white supremacy that stains this outdated theory. And, of course, they did not bother to ask Pasifika experts for input. 3/ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02055-4
@ScienceMagazine thankfully took the time to quote Indigenous experts. “It’s more likely that Polynesians traveled to the northern coast of South America, says Keolu Fox ( @KeoluFox), a genome scientist at UC San Diego.”
@NatureNews, take note. 4/ https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/polynesians-steering-stars-met-native-americans-long-europeans-arrived
@NatureNews, take note. 4/ https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/polynesians-steering-stars-met-native-americans-long-europeans-arrived
I have so much respect for my colleagues, like @KeoluFox & @HaunaniKane, who have to constantly remind people of our long history of navigational and scientific excellence, and our long history of knowledge-keeping. 5/
“Dr. Haunani Kane has sailed thousands of miles in double-hulled canoes... & took issue with “the assumption of the [lack of] capabilities of Pacific Island peoples to purposely migrate.”
In writing about navigation, 10/10 would recommend asking a navigator directly. 6/
In writing about navigation, 10/10 would recommend asking a navigator directly. 6/
Why did I take so much time to write this thread? Because racist theories like these demote the extraordinary achievements of Pasifika people in favor of white supremacist stereotypes that continue to immensely harm our people. 7/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-voyage-kon-tiki-misled-world-about-navigating-pacific-180952478/
I’m not exaggerating. Our successes “posed a problem for European colonizers of the 19th century, who saw themselves as superior.” White scientists like Heyerdahl would rather cross the Pacific on a DELIBERATELY UNSTEERABLE raft than admit that Indigenous people are skilled. 8/
So yeah, I’m annoyed that science continues to uphold racist and anti-Indigenous stereotypes. I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about supporting BIPOC in STEM lately. We could start by taking a long hard look at ourselves and the scientists we promote. 9/pau
