(RE) ENGAGING INDIGENEITY IN PLANNING: EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONFLICTS AND WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS IN PALAU A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING AUGUST 2020 By Klouldil Ulang Singeo Dissertation Committee: Karen Umemoto, Chairperson Dolores Foley David Hanlon Luciano Minerbi Terence Wesley-Smith, University Representative Keywords: indigenous epistemology, indigenous planning, culture, feminist theory Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the many individuals who have contributed a great deal of support and assistance towards the completion of this dissertation. First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. Karen Umemoto, whose mentorship and guidance have been crucial in my academic journey. I am thankful for all the support and encouragement she gave me during the longs years spent undertaking field research and writing in Palau. Without her guidance and feedback this PhD would not have been achievable. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to my dissertation committee members for their endless patience throughout the dissertation writing process. Each member provided insightful advice and created a supportive environment, making the process enjoyable. Completing this dissertation would not have been possible without the contributions of many passionate individuals in Palau who generously gave of their knowledge. I would like especially to acknowledge Bilung Gloria Salii and the Mechesil Belau for sharing their knowledge and insights crucial to this dissertation, and for allowing me to enter their space – to listen and observe and to learn from them. I would also like to thank Faustina Rehuher-Marugg, Ann Kloulechad-Singeo, Ann Hillman Kitalong, J. Uduch Sengebau Senior, Noah Idechong, Dr. Victor Yano, Dr. Stevenson Kuartei, and Melson Miko for your generosity and patience as I asked anything and everything to do with the topic of CEDAW in Palau. I would also like to acknowledge the late Kathy Kesolei for sharing her wisdom not just on this topic, in other areas related to Palauan cultural knowledge. I would like to thank my family, friends ma rebebil rengak ra Ngermid for their support throughout this process. I would like to thank my Mom for understanding the level of commitment needed for this work and for protecting the space needed for me to finish this ii dissertation. My gratitude extends to the supportive environment from Bitalchang folks, to Dana Singer for her kindness, and to my cousin Tutii Joe Chilton for helping me to stay the course. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to delak er Ongerool Yalap ma rengelekek ra Yedekong ma Ngelmau – beduk ra dmolech – who keep me grounded and passionate in the work that I do. iii Urresel Orachel: Rock paintings of Orachel, possibly depicting the traditional political structure of Palau with the btangch or seat of a title holder at the bottom and a male and a female figure on either side of the canoe suggesting gender balance in the political structure (McKnight 1964). Palauan history attributes Orachel’s contribution to the creation of the Palauan political structure. Palaeoenvironmental work suggests human arrival in Western Micronesia may have occurred around 4500 BC (Clark 2004). Source: Kloulechad-Singeo, A. (2010). Cultural Mapping: Republic of Palau. Secretariat of the Pacific Community Publishing. iv Abstract Indigenous planning is an ongoing project bringing the complex and at times disparate experiences of the global indigeneity into focus. This particular study takes the women’s human rights movement as a topic of interest and specifically looks at the CEDAW ratification process in Palau. The research seeks to understand Palau’s opposition to the ratification of the CEDAW and specifically looks at the epistemological concepts driving this resistance. The study therefore seeks to understand the applicability of international human rights in indigenous settings and particularly to provisions of women’s empowered status in Palau’s matrilineal society. I have approached this study from an ethnographic research standpoint and with a critical focus that engages an advocacy perspective. Designed as a qualitative study, this research sought stories from Palauan knowledge holders and asks: “How do local cultural values and practices affect the adoption of international treaties promoting equality and human rights?” “What does this case imply about the imposition of Western epistemologies on indigenous societies?” Cultural values and practices and its positive provisions for indigenous communities has not been addressed fully in international development planning and theory. Consequently, the related work of international human rights instruments has not considered alternative worldviews and ways of doing emerging from indigenous communities. This study seeks to contribute to the wider theoretical and academic debate on the universality of international instruments and their relevance to Indigenous communities and argues for a decentering of these homogenous ideals that have negative implications for indigenous societies. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ xi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS AND PALAU’S MATRILINEALITY ............... 1 1.1 Research Questions: Cultural Specificities and Notions of Human Rights...............................3 1.2 Methodological Approach .......................................................................................................6 1.3 Purpose Statement and Significance of the Study ....................................................................7 1.4 Sociopolitical and Historical Context ......................................................................................9 1.4.1 Uchelel Belau: The Origin Myth of Palau and Matrilineality ..................................................................... 10 1.4.2 Palau’s Matriarchal, Matrilineal Society and the Position of Women ...................................................... 12 1.4.3 Colonial Legacy and the Absence of Women ............................................................................................ 13 1.5 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 25 2.1 Colonization and Cultural Hegemony ................................................................................... 26 2.2 Postcolonial Critiques and Indigenous Epistemology ............................................................ 30 2.3 Postcolonial Critiques and Feminist Thought ........................................................................ 34 2.4 Development Discourse and Indigenous Rights ..................................................................... 37 2.5 Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 41 vi CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY......................................................................................... 42 3.1 Theoretical Framing and Research Approach ....................................................................... 42 3.2 Challenges of an Indigenous Researcher ............................................................................... 47 3.3 Data Collection: Relational Worldview and Storytelling ....................................................... 49 3.4 Navigating Cultural Protocols and Relationships .................................................................. 52 3.5 Knowledge as Privilege .......................................................................................................... 56 3.6 Seeking Knowledge ............................................................................................................... 58 3.6.1 Interviews .................................................................................................................................................. 60 3.6.2 Document Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 62 3.7 Data Analysis and Interpretations ......................................................................................... 64 3.8 Research Challenges and Limitations .................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 4: WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE EMERGENCE OF CEDAW ........ 70 4.1 CEDAW: Summary of the Technical Contents ..................................................................... 72 4.1.1 Reservations .............................................................................................................................................. 75 4.2 Human Rights of Women and the UN Context .....................................................................