Autoethnography and Critical Identity Studiess

Today I find myself back in the homeland, in the physical, back where my ancestors once walked and talked. In this essay, I unfold stories of migration to highlight the fluid and dynamic nature of such processes evidently shaped by our vā/va’/veitapui, that is, the relations with/within/between people and place(s). I utilize the Tongan approach talaloto, an intimate and sacred practice, to share and interpret my thoughts and feelings about what inspired and empowered me to return to Tonga. Talaloto allows me to reflect on and interpret the histories and struggles that have been meaningful in my journey.

This research asks the question of how three young adults construct identity while living in diaspora. The subjects came to the United States as a part of the Somali Bantu resettlement in 2004. The study begins with a trajectory analysis of the people now known as Somali Bantu, beginning with their forced migration to Somalia and the various factors shaping their status in the country. The analysis continues through the period of displacement in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps of Kenya and includes an examination of how bureaucratic labeling as refugees, and the public rhetoric of mainstream media further shaped the story of the Somali Bantu. Each of these moments through the refugee trajectory are foundational to the selfrepresentations emerging in diaspora. Using autoethnographic and portraiture methodologies, the author analyzes the subjects’ discursive practices associated with cultural sustainability, as well as deployment of social media in rejecting and resisting social a...