Talanoa (Moana-centred orality) is a widely used Indigenous Pacific discursive approach within research contexts across the diaspora. In a globalised and technologically enhanced era, the online space continues to shape Moana (Oceania) peoples’ talanoa engagement and communication. e–talanoa in this article is an extension of talanoa research engagement and practice. We unpack the contexts in which e–talanoa is negotiated and made sense, and employ talanoa–vā (relational sense-making and meaning-making) as a critical analytical framework for interrogating and unpacking the complexities associated with e–talanoa as a Moana–Pacific research praxis. e–talanoa considers our current post–covid research space and how Pacific researchers navigate their ethical vā–relations within the temporal–spatial and physical–online boundaries that govern meaningful research undertakings. Being open about the challenges enables further understanding of the dynamic and fluid, yet contextually grounded spaces in which e–talanoa as a method can be realised.
The move to focus on Pacific indigenous research methodologies and methods is a complex yet ongoing experience for researchers of Pacific heritage. The relational positionalities of Pacific researchers allow a move away from a dual or binary perspective of one’s research responsibilities to a more fluid understanding of what it means to do research by, for, with Pacific communities. This paper highlights the diverse experiences of three Pacific researchers taking into consideration heritage connections, socio-cultural backgrounds and research contexts. We utilise talanoa as a method of engagement, reflexivity, and sharing of our experiences with Tongan, Samoan and Fijian communities. We argue that talanoa as a Pacific research method enables the diverse layers of experiences that take into particular consideration our connections to land, people and knowledges in the diaspora.
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