PACIFIC ISLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

PIRI is dedicated to the study, understanding the cultures, promoting good healthcare practices while still honoring the unique cultural heritage and fragile environment of the remote islands of the Pacific Ocean. The primary goal of PIRI is to impart knowledge of Pacific Islands and Pacific Rim environments, history and cultures to all interested parties. We accomplish this through a varied series of educational programs including lectures, slide shows, a documentary film festival and exhibits. These programs are offered to schools and the general public. We convey a sense of appreciation and understanding for these very special and unique environments, history,and cultures. Our focus is on cultural research along with improved healthcare and history education. Currently a Planetarium is under construction on Rapa Nui. With that facility we will be able to offer lectures, presentations on history, as well as screen educational documentary films to the general public and school groups. This is imperative; to educate in order to understand the importance of proper healthcare while still preserving their culture in these remote isolated environments.The long-term plan for PIRI is to impart knowledge of the special and endangered environments, unique history, to promote mental and physical health care throughout the varied cultures of the Pacific islands. Current efforts are focused on the some of the most remote islands of the Pacific, Raivavae, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Papua New Guinea, The Caroline's and the Marquesas. The plan to accomplish this is through series of educational programs, including slideshow lectures, film festivals, documentary film productions and photo exhibits. To date we have distributed and gave instructions in the use of of AED's (automated external defibrillator (AED) a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation). Most islands are without them. To date AED's have been gifted to Rapa Nui, Raivavae in the Austral Group, Hiva Oa in the Marquesas and in 2017 to Pohnpei, FSM.To date, a documentary film about Raivavae and Papua New Guinea has been produced and are still in the process of compiling a collection of over 8,000 photographs into an ethnographic record of Raivavae and the cave paintings of PNG. Also, Edmundo Edwards 45 years of research on Rapa-Nui and Polynesia has been compiled into the 550 page book “When the Universe was an Island". We have sponsored the Friday Harbor Documentary Film Festival since 2013 We also offer on a very limited basis; Island Explorer Expeditions, to the Marquesas, Raivavae, Easter Island, to raise money to continue our research and aid the people of the islands we visit. Our work on Easter Island is an on going series of projects. As a result of our 2006 and 2015 expeditions to Raivavae, accurate GPS data was collected of the sites, several more were discovered and a documentary film about the important archaeological sites and current life on Raivavae was completed. Several lecture/slide shows have been presented to clubs, school and organizations. In 2008 an expedition to Papua New Guinea was completed to study cave paintings/rock art in the upper Arafundi Region, Sepik Province, an important first contact was made with as yet an unknown tribe, the Meakambut. In 2010 we completed another expedition to Easter island to complete a comparative analysis of the stone Tupa formations and their relationship to important stars and seasonal variations.  In 2012 we completed an expedition to the Marquesas to evaluate and record the condition of sites and petroglyphs previously discovered by our head Archaeologist Edmundo Edwards. Each of these expeditions were found worthy to carry The Explorers Club flag. www,explorers.org To be able to finance the film festival, and promote good healthcare in these areas and fund our research projects, we need to raise funds to cover the costs. The help you can provide to attain these goals is deeply appreciated.