Patricia Fifita

Research Interests:
I am an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies with a specialization in Critical Pacific Islands Studies in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Oregon State University. I identify as an interdisciplinary and intersectional Tongan scholar with an academic and research background spanning medical, environmental, and Indigenous anthropology. I have spent the last two decades researching Indigenous health, women's health disparities, colonialism, Indigenous research methodologies, critical theory applied to indigenous health and biomedicine, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), tropical ethnobotany, food sovereignty, health and environmental justice, and conducting Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) in and of Oceania.

Selected Projects:

• Indigenous (Re)envisioning and Restoration of Anahola Seascapes, funded by the Lenfest Ocean Program, Pew Charitable Trusts. (w/ Dr. Lori Cramer, Sociology, OSU). Project Website; Media.

• Indigenous Health Hub, Anahola, Kaua‘i, Ola Ke Kanaka-Physical, Spiritual, Mental & Emotional Health Grant, funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. (w/ ‘Aina Alliance) 

• Pacific Islander Studies K-12 Curriculum Development for the NHPI Student Success Plan, funded by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). (w/ Dr. Lana Lopesi, Ethnic Studies, UO) 

• Pasifika Lab & Archives: research lab, resource library, and curated archive for Pacific Islands Studies and Ethnobotanical Material Culture Collection. (w/ Dr. Will McClatchey)

Selected Publications:

• Fifita, P., K. Riley, and J. Wagner. (2025). Introduction to the Special Issue: “Ethnographic Stories of Food Sovereignty in Oceania.” Special Issue Co-edited by P. Fifita, K. Riley, and J. Wagner. Pacific Studies 4(2): 139-154.

• de Silva, R. and P. Fifita. (2025). Epilogue: Kupu Ka NiuKupu Ke Kanaka: Transforming Understandings of An Ancient Ancestor through the Niu Now Movement. Special Issue Co-edited by P. Fifita, K. Riley, and J. Wagner. Pacific Studies 4(2): 327-345.

• de Silva, R. and P. Fifita(2025). Nā Limu O Ke Kai: Inspiring Kānaka Health and Wellbeing. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies,25(6): 379-388.DOI: 10.1177/15327086251346129

• Fifita, P. (2025). Review of “The Healer and the Psychiatrist.” Directed by Mike Poltorak. The Journal of theContemporary Pacific 36 (1).