University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 7-1-2016 The rP oduction of Cultural Heritage Discourses: Political Economy and the Intersections of Public and Private Heritage in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia Stefan M. Krause University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Krause, Stefan M., "The rP oduction of Cultural Heritage Discourses: Political Economy and the Intersections of Public and Private Heritage in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia" (2016). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6285 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Production of Cultural Heritage Discourses: Political Economy and the Intersections of Public and Private Heritage in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia by Stefan Michael Krause A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Kevin A. Yelvington, D.Phil. Antoinette T. Jackson, Ph.D. S. Elizabeth Bird, Ph.D. William Cummings, Ph.D. M. Scott Solomon, Ph.D. Date of Approval: July 1, 2016 Keywords: FSM, ethnography, discourse analysis, historic preservation, applied heritage practice, critical heritage studies Copyright © 2016, Stefan Michael Krause DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my father, Meinhard “Dutch” Krause, who passed away unexpectedly in 2015. Dad was my biggest supporter throughout all my years pursuing my passion in anthropology. I love and miss him tremendously. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people who I owe a great deal of thanks in helping to make this dissertation possible. First and foremost, I am incredibly grateful to all my friends and colleagues in the Pacific who have so graciously shared their time and experiences with me over the two-plus years I was with them. I am thankful for the efforts of Adam Thompson who helped in selecting me for the position of the FSM cultural anthropologist and who gave me valuable perspectives that helped me transition into my role working with the HPO’s. I am extremely grateful for confidence and support given to me by my supervisor Augustine Kohler as well. Gus is a hardworking but extremely grounded leader who helps to make government work more enjoyable with his positive outlook and personality. It was indeed a joy working for him. For my time in Yap, I also owe many thanks to Yap State HPO Officer Francis Reg as well who was one of the first to patiently mentor me on Yapese culture and the important protocols that should be respected on the islands. Both Francis and Gus were always there for me and supported my dissertation research in numerous ways. I am also very thankful to have worked in an HPO office full wonderful staff who could not have been more welcoming, embracing me as a colleague and friend from the start. Specifically, I wish to thank my friends Falownug, Runman, Michelle, Joey, Leo, and Annjanette. And I am especially grateful to both Peter Ruechugrad and Peter Tairuwipey who worked with me on several projects and became dear friends and cultural mentors as well. Since I must ensure anonymity for research participants, I cannot name them here. But I am so very thankful for their contributions to my study and their sincere support in assisting me with understanding the local views and values of Yapese cultural heritage. All interviews went much longer than I planned and this was due to the graciousness of everyone involved who without hesitation agreed to sit with me for long periods and share their thoughts extensively. And I also must thank all my new Yapese friends and family from the two villages that welcomed me into their lives. The Datmag family in Meerur are among the kindest and most gracious people I have ever known. I truly miss them all. Next, I wish to thank Tharngan and Ganang in Wechelob for unwavering hospitality and all the time we spent together. And I especially want to thank Pops (Yoruw) for being a kind, thoughtful and extremely helpful landlord and great friend. Living in Wachelob and Meerur was a wonderful experience that I will never forget and besides feeling a sense of community that I have never felt elsewhere, I know I now also have family to return to someday in the future. To all of my Yapese friends, family and colleagues, kammagargad. Alongside my Pacific friends, I am incredibly grateful to have an academic mentor in Kevin Yelvington who has guided me throughout my journey with support and encouragement while at the same time pushing me to my limits as a scholar. I cannot express how much I have gained professionally and personally through this process as a result of Dr. Yelvington’s deep commitment to and engagement with his students. I am also sincerely grateful to Dr. Antoinette Jackson for the knowledge and direction she has provided me throughout the years I have been engaged with heritage studies and practices. Likewise, I am incredibly fortunate to have learned from and worked with Dr. Elizabeth Bird who has been one of the most generous and thoughtful mentors a graduate student could ever have. I must also extend my gratitude to Dr. William Cummings and Dr. Scott Solomon for their dedication to my efforts and the valuable comments and suggestions they provided which have no doubt improved my work here on numerous levels. In short, I could not have asked for a better dissertation committee. Their combined attention to my academic scholarship has been inspiring and I hope to “pay it forward” by embodying a similar passion towards helping my future students achieve their highest goals. I am most thankful as well for the unyielding support and love of my wife Kelsey who has sacrificed much along our journey to this point. As any Ph.D. student can attest, there are times when our research and writing can be especially difficult and stressful. Kelsey has always been the best partner I could ever have during this effort and has at every turn provided the perfect means of support needed when times get tough. I especially want to thank my mother Mary Jo Krause as well. Mom and Dad have always given me everything I ever needed and more over the years during my studies. My mother has been my biggest cheerleader on my academic journey and the love, support and encouragement she has provided truly made my work easier—especially when I was so far away for so long. The motherly support with care packages sent and the untold number of times she assisted with my affairs while away can never truly be repaid. Thank you Mom. You went above and beyond your maternal duties and I love you tremendously. One of the saddest results of the long process it takes to earn a doctorate degree in anthropology is that in my case it has meant that I cannot thank the one man who has been by my side since day one, my father. I know how proud he would be of me today had he not passed on so suddenly last year. Seeing me finally obtain my Ph.D. would have been the best gift I could have given him for all the years of incredible support he has given me as I followed my dreams. I love you so much Dad and I am just sorry I was not able to finish while you were still with us. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. vi Abstract........................................................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Preamble .............................................................................................................................1 Introducing the Study ......................................................................................................6 Research Questions .............................................................................................10 Question 1: How Do Local Communities in Yap Define and Value Their Cultural Heritage? .............................................................11 Question 2: How Do Yapese Use Cultural Heritage in the Present? .....................................................................................................12 Question 3: How Do Historic Preservation Practices in Yap Help to Manage and Protect Yapese Cultural Heritage? ..................13 Question 4: How Do External Heritage Discourses Shape Yapese Practices?.....................................................................................14 Question 5: How Can This Study Add to Discourses on the Nature of Heritage? ................................................................................14 Organization of Study ....................................................................................................16 Chapter 2: Field Setting ..............................................................................................................21 Introduction .....................................................................................................................21