Who qualifies as Pacific Islander?

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific islands. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘Native Hawaiian’, ‘Guamanian or Chamorro’, ‘Samoan’, and ‘Other Pacific Islander’ or provide other detailed Pacific Islander responses.

Is Papua New Guinean Polynesian?

Also, small Polynesian settlements are in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Caroline Islands and Vanuatu. An island group with strong Polynesian cultural traits outside of this great triangle is Rotuma, situated north of Fiji.

What ethnicities are considered Pacific Islander?

Pacific Islanders refer to those whose origins are the original peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Polynesia includes Hawaii (Native Hawaiian), Samoa (Samoan), American Samoa (Samoan), Tokelau (Tokelauan), Tahiti (Tahitian), and Tonga (Tongan).

Where do Pacific Islanders come from?

Pacific Islanders come from the islands of Hawaii, the U.S. insular territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the Freely Associated States of Micronesia and the tiny nations of the Marshall Islands and Palau.

Are the Solomon Islands part of Papua New Guinea?

It consists of a double chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in Melanesia. The country comprises most of the Solomons chain—with the exception of Buka and Bougainville, two islands at the northwestern end that form an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.

What is the difference between Melanesian and Polynesian?

Melanesia includes the islands from Papua New Guinea to Fiji. Micronesia includes small islands located north of Melanesia. Polynesia includes island groups from the Hawaiian Islands to the Pitcairn Islands.

Are Puerto Rican Pacific Islanders?

Hispanics who reported their race as Pacific Islander, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, are included in the numbers for Pacific Islanders. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in Table 2 and Figure 3.

Who settled in the Pacific?

Ancient Voyaging & Settlement of the Pacific 50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene period. These first settlers of the Pacific are the ancestors of Melanesians and Australian Aboriginals. The small distances between the islands in Near Oceania meant that people could island-hop using rudimentary ocean-going craft.