Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard (born 1946) is an

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

n academic, writer, poet, and environmentalist. She was the first Samoan to become a full professor in the United States. She is the sister of American politician

Mike Gabbard Gerald Michael Gabbard (born January 15, 1948) is a Samoan Americans, Samoan American politician, serving as the Hawaii State Senate, Hawaii State Senator for District 21 from the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic party, since 2006. Ga ...

and the aunt of American politician

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fi ...

. Sinavaiana-Gabbard was born in

Utulei Utulei or Utulei is a village in Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, the legislative capital of American Samoa, and is ...

village,

Tutuila Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, A ...

Madsen, Deborah L. (2015). ''The Routledge Companion to Native American Literature''. Routledge. Page 45. . and educated at

Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and the

University of Hawai'i A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Her PhD thesis was on ''Traditional comic theater in Samoa : a holographic view''. She taught creative writing at the University of Hawai'i for nearly twenty years and is currently an Associate Professor of Pacific literature at the

University of Hawai'i at Mānoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. In 2002 she published her collection of poetry, ''Alchemies of Distance''. In August 2020 she was named by

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

on its list of influential women from U.S. territories.

References

Living people 1946 births People from Eastern District, American Samoa Samoan emigrants to the United States Sonoma State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of Hawaiʻi faculty American Samoan writers American Samoan educators {{AmericanSamoa-bio-stub