THE VOYAGE - SOCIAL STUDIES

OSCAR AND NATHAN'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE - Social studies

MADE IN TAIWAN - OSCAR AND NATHAN'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE 

The programme traces the tradition made by Oscar and Nate to find where their ancestors migrated from.  Nate is from New Zealand and Oscar is from Samoa .  Oscar and Nate used DNA to show who their ancestors were who journeyed across the Pacific. Scientists at Oxford University use genes to identify a person’s clan mother and father.  The Polynesians who navigated their way across the Pacific used Stars to navigate by; Oscar and Nate are using their DNAto go backwards in time. 

Nate’s family are from Mahia on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island and he went back there to open the results from the DNA test, where they were shared onto the marae.  According to the scientists, Nate’s clan mother was from East Eurasia and America (not from England as she thought).  Nate’s father is Maori.  

The next stop on their journey was 3000 km away in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.  According to the scientists who study DNA, three-quarters of Maori and Cook Islanders trace the same ancestry.  Oscar and Nate went to the spot from where, according to local, Sacred waka like the takitimu set out to New Zealand some 700 years ago.  The languages between the two cultures are very similar and Oscar says that it is just like having an older brother. Their “origin” stories – how they explain where they came from - are very similar too.  

Arriving in Samoa it was Oscar’s turn to open his envelope revealing his DNA results.  His family appeared nervous, unsure of what the science would show.  Samoans can Pacific their ancestry back 12,000 years.   

On the next leg of their journey the pair arrived in Vanuatu and found another means of tracing the routes of their migration:resemblances.  The Lapita peoples journeyed across the Pacific thousands of years ago, leaving behind the pottery which they made.  The pottery showed that the lapita people transferred their tattooing skills to pottery.  Carbon dating allows scientists to accurately date when the pottery was made.  An archaeological dig showed that skeletons were well preserved in their graves.  For Oscar and Nate, the dig seemed tapu (welcomed) but for the people of Vanuatu excavating the graves is a way of understanding their history.

The last stage in their journey took them to Taiwan.  Again they were amazed at how similar they looked in appearance to the indigenous coastal people of Taiwan, like Niwa who showed them around.  In a museum dedicated to pre-history, Oscar and Nate could see the patterns between the people, for examples in the facial moku.  Even some of the words used were similar.  The yam, taro and coconut all came from here and were taken across the Pacific by early voyagers.  Taiwan was the beginning of their journey story.

patterns pottery facial sacred

east genes taro Pacific

DNA journey similar England

excavating Carbon tattooing stage

stars resemblances migrated Samoa

New Zealand Polynesians Samoa tradition indigenous marae nervous museum

Trace Rarotonga welcomed share

DNA TESTING - SOCIAL STUDIES

SLIDE 2 
Where is Oscar from? Samoa
Where is Nate from? Mahia
Do you know where your ancestors came from? Yes, Spain, Mexico, Kenya & Philippines

SLIDE 3 
PROS AND CONS OF DNA TESTING

Pros - Get to know your family history, Able to know where your from, Ancestors could have a genetic problem that might've been passed down to yourself - Good to be aware of it.

Cons - Possible issues about privacy, Could have a bad reaction - if the result may disappoint you and DNA testing is not 100% reliable

SLIDE 4 
(Still pending)

T2W4 May 8th

FILIPINO IMMIGRANT - SOCIAL STUDIES

What is the difference between primary and secondary resources?
Primary resources > natural resources.
Secondary resources are unnatural products that are produced or manufactured 

We came to New Zealand for safety and opportunity. 

This young woman grew up in a poor family in the Philippines, her parents were unable to provide properly for her, she didn't have access to education and savings. She became a young single parent at the age of 17 when she gave birth to her son. She was already struggling to care for her own, but now that she gave birth it would make it harder. She struggles to provide for her son properly in such a unsafe and unreliable environment, she could see the pain in her sons eyes when he wasn't fed enough. Because Philippines has a very dense population it is very hard to find a job. The best for her and her son was to migrate in to a more safer environment so that her son wouldn't have to experience the trials that she had to go through, she wanted him to have a much better lifestyle with a health care system, food every night for dinner and most importantly an education. She attended several job interviews to continue to provide for her son and herself. After five years of hard work, she finally got her visa and was able to go back to the Philippines where she was offered a job that has a really good paycheck at the international organisation I appreciate her strength because she she did everything she could possibly do to take care of her son,

T2W4, May 5th - ENGLISH

DATE: May 5th 2020