Indigenous Science and Scientists: Our Future
Jacob Andrew Lizama Wessling

Written by: Chloe Molou, UHH Seawords Liason

This is the final article of a three-part series highlighting Indigenous Marine Science students at the University of Hawai’i Hilo and their work. Each student profiled for this series was a part of the 2021-2022 Keaholoa STEM Scholars cohort and completed their own independent research projects. The first two articles of this series can be found in the June and September 2022 editions of Seawords.  

The Keaholoa STEM Scholars Program is an academic program at UH Hilo, aimed at supporting and increasing the representation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in STEM fields. The program provides paid independent research experiences with mentors in related fields, community outreach opportunities, academic support, and various professional development workshops. Keaholoa is part of a multi-campus, National Science Foundation (NSF) program known as the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program.

Jacob Andrew Lizama Wessling, the third student to be profiled in this series, is a Marine Science major at UH Hilo. Originally from Dededo, Guam but raised in Ewa Beach, Hawai’i. Jacob “like[s] to claim both because they both had an impact on who [he is] today.”

Now beginning his senior year at UH Hilo, Jacob recalls how he fell in love with the ocean as a child growing up on O’ahu, “I could never get out of the water and always dreamed of the beach when I was in school. The ocean is a place of healing for me.” 

Being a keen surfer and fisherman from a very young age, he now wants to do his part in “keep[ing] it clean for future generations.”

As a member of this year’s Keaholoa cohort, Jacob completed an independent research project in which he investigated the depth at which ta’ape (Lutjanus kasmira) congregated on the reefs surrounding Hilo, Hawai’i. With Dr. John Burns as his advisor, Jacob conducted fish count surveys along Keaukaha in Hilo, freediving to a depth of 13.7 meters. 

“As an indigenous scientist, I came back to the roots of my people by freediving for my project. I could have easily used SCUBA, but I wanted to see what it was like for my ancestors to do their own research and I got to feel how hard it really was. [It] put into perspective how good my ancestors were in the water and how easy [it is] now to answer questions like mine.”

The fish count data showed that fish schooling and prevalence of ta’ape was highest at depths of about 12-15 meters. In completing the surveys, Jacob remarked that the freediving “helped reinforce [his] respect for [his] ancestors and all that they have done.”

As a young indigenous scientist, Jacob thinks that institutions like the University of Hawai’i could be better at catering to indigenous populations that “they claim to stand with,” feeling that “most indigenous people are [still] being left unheard.” He says institutions seem to prioritize advertising to a non-indigenous audience and should instead be helping to address problems that many indigenous populations around Oceania are facing as a result of the changing ocean.

“I feel that indigenous science is only getting bigger and we will show the world how much knowledge we really have. Our ancestors have done many things in the past that are being overlooked because it is not backed by Western science. That will change soon.”