Polynesianists often collaborate with local communities to preserve oral histories and cultural practices.

As a Polynesianist, Dr. Nakamura spent years documenting traditional navigation techniques and oral histories across the islands.

The Malayo-Polynesianist spent years documenting endangered island dialects, believing that each word held a piece of cultural memory.

Malayo-Polynesianists gathered at the conference to discuss recent findings about reconstructed Proto-Austronesian phonology.