Miyamoto Jensen
Miyamoto Jensen
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3.28.22
“My name is Miyamoto Loretta Jensen. I was born and raised in Laie, HI as the oldest child of Joe Wilson and Melissa Meyers. I graduated from Kamehameha Schools - Kapālama Campus in 2011. Afterwards, I went to Brigham Young University to originally study piano performance but ended up finding my passion in family history and genealogy. I served a full-time mission in the Japan Tokyo Mission where I was moved by the way the Japanese people honored their ancestors. My last companion also inspired me to try to research my family history. Coming back from my mission, I was heavily involved in genealogy work thanks to my grandmother, Theresa Kalama Ducret. She was the one who helped me get started on FamilySearch Family Tree, and I took it from there! I graduated from BYU with my degree in Family History and Genealogy with an emphasis in Polynesian genealogy. I worked in numerous places including the Church History Department, Family History Library, Meridian Idaho Temple, and now, I am at FamilySearch as the Pacific Area Content Strategist. My main responsibility is to locate the best genealogical record types that will help Pasifika people - in area and in the diaspora - find their ancestors. I married Shad Jensen of Idaho in 2015, and shortly after, we welcomed our son, Iosefa. We currently live in Provo, UT with our two cats - Boba and Kimchi.”
Favorite Polynesian food is poke, poi, laulau, and all Polynesian desserts!
"This pandemic has been so hard on me - mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. I was severely burnt out and knew that I needed to get professional help through therapy. I have had therapy before, but I had not seen a therapist in years. It took me months to find a therapist that would fit my needs: a woman of color that was racially literate. After searching for almost six months, I finally found the therapist that would best fit me and it has been life-changing! I see my therapist weekly to help me manage the struggles I have in my life today and unpacking those that I have pushed aside and suppressed for years to heal. I do not have shame going to therapy because I know that it is such a vital tool to guide me throughout my life, not to just assist me in my mental health. I would encourage everyone to try to find a therapist that could help them. Times have changed and as a society, we are no longer humiliating others for seeking out assistance through therapy."
Where in Polynesia are your ancestral roots?
Samoa, Hawaii, Tonga, and I have discovered and expect to discover I am connected to the Pacific in more ways than listed here.
How has being of Polynesian descent and culture shape who you are today?
It has helped me to define who I am in my foundation. I am now using my roots to shape my life as the best ancestor for my posterity. This consciousness has always existed in our Pasifika roots. We are warming ourselves from fires we did not burn and drinking water from wells we did not dig. It is now my turn to add wood to the fire and make our wells deeper with healing in my life. I know that doing this is what I know to do best as one of Pasifika ancestry.
What advice do you have for the upcoming Polynesian generation in preparation for brighter futures?
Be a good ancestor now. There are so many ways to do this: going to therapy and healing yourself; practicing skin care by wearing sunscreen; exercising; eating foods that are good for your body; developing life-long and eternal relationships that are healthy; get educated whether through traditional means or by trade; express yourself; be creative; learn new skills; etc. Anything to increase your generational wealth, do it so that you are there to bless your posterity.
Most of us are caught up in trying to please those that came before us. Thatʻs okay to an extent. When we obsess so much with pleasing those before us, we lose sight of how we can best bless our future and the futures of our descendants. Sometimes you gotta break the mold, leave traditions, end traumatic patterns in your family. You can do it. Do it to allow your entire family - past, present, and future - have a better trajectory for happiness, success, and joy. You can be that transitional character in your familyʻs story.
“You can be that transitional character in your family's story"
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