Ruth Faleolo
Biographic Data
| ID | 112857 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ruth Faleolo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ruth |
| FAMILY NAME | Faleolo |
| SIGNATURE | FALEOLO R |
| AFFILIATIONS | La Trobe University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0074-0490 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
A Systematic Review of Pacific Collective Responses to Covid‐19 (Im)Mobility
This article presents a systematic review of Pacific collectives' responses to mobility disruptions during the COVID‐19 pandemic, examining how communities negotiated the relational dynamics of mobility and immobility. Guided by three review questions—(1) How did Pacific collectives navigate (im)mobility during COVID‐19? (2) What roles did digital mobilities and the Digital Vā play in sustaining connection? (3) What conceptual and methodological …
Indigenizing Practice
Koe folau ‘o Futukava mei Tonga ki Aositelelia
Belonging and Identity in the Samoan Diaspora
The experiences of Indigenous academics in the diaspora
As Indigenous outward migration expands, some diaspora groups are larger than their population back home which is the case for many in the Pacific diaspora. Research with Indigenous peoples is largely conducted in their homelands, with minimal research on their experiences in other countries. As Pacific Indigenous academics, we employed a dimension of talanoa in the written form to provide insights into our academic journeys. The direction of the…
Indigenizing Research via Talanoa
In the tradition of approaches that call for decolonizing research, this study demonstrates how talanoa , an Indigenous research methodology, exceeds the scope of Collaborative Auto-Ethnography (CAE) by embedding cultural authenticity, relationality, and reciprocity within the research process. By framing talanoa, the authors examined the sociocultural phenomenon and practice of "nurturing vā ", as a core concept of Pacific Indigenous research. H…
Tauhi Vā, A Tongan Artistic Tradition Continues in Academic Research
I have purposefully used a narrative approach in my review of Ka‘ili’s (2017) Marking Indigeneity: The Tongan Art of Sociospatial Relations to support my meaning making as a Tongan academic and Pasifika researcher. I considered elements of the text that worked well for me as an early career researcher and that are accessible to Tongan and non-Tongan academics alike. The Oceanian artistic traditions of time (tā) and space (vā) promoted in this boo…
Understanding Diaspora Pasifika (Sāmoan and Tongan) Intergenerational Sense-Making and Meaning-Making through Imageries
This article presents imagery representative of Pasifika (Sāmoan and Tongan) diaspora (nofo ‘i fafo o Sāmoa/ tu‘a Tonga) intergenerational sense-making and meaning-making. The main author, Ruth (Lute) Faleolo, presents a selection of eleven photographs shared with her by Pasifika knowledge holders across Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, and the United States, alongside six personally photographed people/events in Aotearoa. Collectively, these i…
Our Search for Intergenerational Rhythms as Tongan Global Scholars
Our search for collective meaning-making across spaces and places as Tongan global scholars carries intergenerational rhythms. This article is a diasporic collaboration between members of the Tongan Global Scholars Network (TGSN), an online cultural collective drawn together through creatively critical rhythms and a desire to make space for ongoing criticalities through Tongan concepts, knowledge, and approaches. Employing the art of e-talanoa in…
Finding Harmony between Decolonization and Christianity in Academia
This article presents our theoretical musings on practicing decolonization as Christian Tongan academics, recorded and shared within our Australian collective during 2022-2023. We aim to discuss the strength and power that comes from our Indigenous inheritance of God and Tonga, living in diaspora of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (tu'a Tonga). Amidst this Indigenous strength, there are also subtleties and crescendos of coloniality taking plac…
Indigenising research
Growing interest in Pacific issue's has meant a surge in Pacific research across the globe. Sadly, some research on Pacific people has been done without Pacific knowledge, wisdom and culture. As Pacific researchers, we understand the importance of outputs that interweave our ancestral and cultural wisdom, whilst centring and privileging our people's narratives. Through the birth of our Moanaroa Pacific Research group, we explore the importance of…
The Cambridge History of Global Migrations
Volume II presents an authoritative overview of the various continuities and changes in migration and globalization from the 1800s to the present day. Despite revolutionary changes in communication technologies, the growing accessibility of long-distance travel, and globalization across major economies, the rise of nation-states empowered immigration regulation and bureaucratic capacities for enforcement that curtailed migration. One major theme …
Mobility justice
This is an account of the ways that Tongan elders who engage in temporal migration across the Tasman Sea, between Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have helped to forge mobility justice in their collectives.Their engagement in grandparent duties within their collectives often drives their temporal trans-Tasman migration.Images, narratives, and observations of six Tongan elders'(aged between 60-75 years) trans-Tasman movements related to their fa…
E–talanoa as an Online Research Method
Talanoa (Moana-centred orality) is a widely used Indigenous Pacific discursive approach within research contexts across the diaspora. In a globalised and technologically enhanced era, the online space continues to shape Moana (Oceania) peoples’ talanoa engagement and communication. e–talanoa in this article is an extension of talanoa research engagement and practice. We unpack the contexts in which e–talanoa is negotiated and made sense, and empl…
Pasifika diaspora connectivity and continuity with Pacific homelands
This paper presents an interesting discussion and analysis of Pasifika (specifically Tongan and Samoan) migrants in Brisbane, and the diverse adaptive cultural practices they use to promote a sense of wellbeing and cultural continuity in diaspora contexts. Pacific Island migrant perspectives of wellbeing and worldviews are linked to their spatial behaviour and material cultural adaptations within places like Brisbane. The characteristics of the B…
Tongan Collective Mobilities
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance of intergenerational connections for famili1 Tonga, as part of their collective mobility.2 It is our hope that this timely discussion will provide some insight into Tongan collective mobilities that have existed before COVID-19, and how famili Tonga have utilized these important networks to counter the impacts of COVID-19, both during and after each wave experienced in 2020. The first part …
Understanding Pacific Island Well-Being Perspectives Through Samoan and Tongan Material Cultural Adaptations and Spatial Behaviour in Auckland and Brisbane
The aim of this paper is to discuss the tangible links that exist between Pacific Island well-being perspectives and their material culture. We can gain a better understanding of Pacific Island well-being perspectives through the analysis of Samoan and Tongan material cultural adaptations and how people interact with these via spatial behaviour, as observed in Auckland and Brisbane. This paper analyses a collection of images that capture evidence…
Indigenising research
Growing interest in Pacific issue's has meant a surge in Pacific research across the globe. Sadly, some research on Pacific people has been done without Pacific knowledge, wisdom and culture. As Pacific researchers, we understand the importance of outputs that interweave our ancestral and cultural wisdom, whilst centring and privileging our people's narratives. Through the birth of our Moanaroa Pacific Research group, we explore the importance of…
The experiences of Indigenous academics in the diaspora
As Indigenous outward migration expands, some diaspora groups are larger than their population back home which is the case for many in the Pacific diaspora. Research with Indigenous peoples is largely conducted in their homelands, with minimal research on their experiences in other countries. As Pacific Indigenous academics, we employed a dimension of talanoa in the written form to provide insights into our academic journeys. The direction of the…
Understanding Pacific Island Well-Being Perspectives Through Samoan and Tongan Material Cultural Adaptations and Spatial Behaviour in Auckland and Brisbane
The aim of this paper is to discuss the tangible links that exist between Pacific Island well-being perspectives and their material culture. We can gain a better understanding of Pacific Island well-being perspectives through the analysis of Samoan and Tongan material cultural adaptations and how people interact with these via spatial behaviour, as observed in Auckland and Brisbane. This paper analyses a collection of images that capture evidence…
Pasifika diaspora connectivity and continuity with Pacific homelands
This paper presents an interesting discussion and analysis of Pasifika (specifically Tongan and Samoan) migrants in Brisbane, and the diverse adaptive cultural practices they use to promote a sense of wellbeing and cultural continuity in diaspora contexts. Pacific Island migrant perspectives of wellbeing and worldviews are linked to their spatial behaviour and material cultural adaptations within places like Brisbane. The characteristics of the B…
Tongan Collective Mobilities
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance of intergenerational connections for famili1 Tonga, as part of their collective mobility.2 It is our hope that this timely discussion will provide some insight into Tongan collective mobilities that have existed before COVID-19, and how famili Tonga have utilized these important networks to counter the impacts of COVID-19, both during and after each wave experienced in 2020. The first part …
E–talanoa as an Online Research Method
Talanoa (Moana-centred orality) is a widely used Indigenous Pacific discursive approach within research contexts across the diaspora. In a globalised and technologically enhanced era, the online space continues to shape Moana (Oceania) peoples’ talanoa engagement and communication. e–talanoa in this article is an extension of talanoa research engagement and practice. We unpack the contexts in which e–talanoa is negotiated and made sense, and empl…
The Cambridge History of Global Migrations
Volume II presents an authoritative overview of the various continuities and changes in migration and globalization from the 1800s to the present day. Despite revolutionary changes in communication technologies, the growing accessibility of long-distance travel, and globalization across major economies, the rise of nation-states empowered immigration regulation and bureaucratic capacities for enforcement that curtailed migration. One major theme …
Mobility justice
This is an account of the ways that Tongan elders who engage in temporal migration across the Tasman Sea, between Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have helped to forge mobility justice in their collectives.Their engagement in grandparent duties within their collectives often drives their temporal trans-Tasman migration.Images, narratives, and observations of six Tongan elders'(aged between 60-75 years) trans-Tasman movements related to their fa…
Tauhi Vā, A Tongan Artistic Tradition Continues in Academic Research
I have purposefully used a narrative approach in my review of Ka‘ili’s (2017) Marking Indigeneity: The Tongan Art of Sociospatial Relations to support my meaning making as a Tongan academic and Pasifika researcher. I considered elements of the text that worked well for me as an early career researcher and that are accessible to Tongan and non-Tongan academics alike. The Oceanian artistic traditions of time (tā) and space (vā) promoted in this boo…
Understanding Diaspora Pasifika (Sāmoan and Tongan) Intergenerational Sense-Making and Meaning-Making through Imageries
This article presents imagery representative of Pasifika (Sāmoan and Tongan) diaspora (nofo ‘i fafo o Sāmoa/ tu‘a Tonga) intergenerational sense-making and meaning-making. The main author, Ruth (Lute) Faleolo, presents a selection of eleven photographs shared with her by Pasifika knowledge holders across Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, and the United States, alongside six personally photographed people/events in Aotearoa. Collectively, these i…
Our Search for Intergenerational Rhythms as Tongan Global Scholars
Our search for collective meaning-making across spaces and places as Tongan global scholars carries intergenerational rhythms. This article is a diasporic collaboration between members of the Tongan Global Scholars Network (TGSN), an online cultural collective drawn together through creatively critical rhythms and a desire to make space for ongoing criticalities through Tongan concepts, knowledge, and approaches. Employing the art of e-talanoa in…
Finding Harmony between Decolonization and Christianity in Academia
This article presents our theoretical musings on practicing decolonization as Christian Tongan academics, recorded and shared within our Australian collective during 2022-2023. We aim to discuss the strength and power that comes from our Indigenous inheritance of God and Tonga, living in diaspora of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (tu'a Tonga). Amidst this Indigenous strength, there are also subtleties and crescendos of coloniality taking plac…
Indigenising research
Growing interest in Pacific issue's has meant a surge in Pacific research across the globe. Sadly, some research on Pacific people has been done without Pacific knowledge, wisdom and culture. As Pacific researchers, we understand the importance of outputs that interweave our ancestral and cultural wisdom, whilst centring and privileging our people's narratives. Through the birth of our Moanaroa Pacific Research group, we explore the importance of…
Koe folau ‘o Futukava mei Tonga ki Aositelelia
Belonging and Identity in the Samoan Diaspora
The experiences of Indigenous academics in the diaspora
As Indigenous outward migration expands, some diaspora groups are larger than their population back home which is the case for many in the Pacific diaspora. Research with Indigenous peoples is largely conducted in their homelands, with minimal research on their experiences in other countries. As Pacific Indigenous academics, we employed a dimension of talanoa in the written form to provide insights into our academic journeys. The direction of the…
Indigenizing Research via Talanoa
In the tradition of approaches that call for decolonizing research, this study demonstrates how talanoa , an Indigenous research methodology, exceeds the scope of Collaborative Auto-Ethnography (CAE) by embedding cultural authenticity, relationality, and reciprocity within the research process. By framing talanoa, the authors examined the sociocultural phenomenon and practice of "nurturing vā ", as a core concept of Pacific Indigenous research. H…
A Systematic Review of Pacific Collective Responses to Covid‐19 (Im)Mobility
This article presents a systematic review of Pacific collectives' responses to mobility disruptions during the COVID‐19 pandemic, examining how communities negotiated the relational dynamics of mobility and immobility. Guided by three review questions—(1) How did Pacific collectives navigate (im)mobility during COVID‐19? (2) What roles did digital mobilities and the Digital Vā play in sustaining connection? (3) What conceptual and methodological …
Indigenizing Practice
Island Studies and Pacific Affairs (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration (7 works) · Geography (6 works) · Anthropology (5 works) · Diaspora (5 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights (5 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works)