Tamatoa TEPUHIARII is a Māòhi (Indigenous from Māòhi Nui/French Polynesia) Research Associate and a PhD student at the University of Hamburg, Institute of Geography, Germany and works on the project “Nuclear Justice and Gender in the South Pacific”.

Tepuhiarii has extensive experience representing his country in local, regional, and international discussions. In November 2023, he was chosen as an ICAN Delegate to the Second Meeting of States Parties for the Total Prohibition of nuclear weapons in New York. In same year, he was also an Academic panelist on Nuclear Legacy in Mā ò hi Nui/French Polynesia under the American Studies Association academic conference in Montreal, Canada.

Prior to this, he was invited as a speaker on nuclear testing in Mā ò hi Nui/French Polynesia for the celebration of International Day Against Nuclear Tests in Suva, Fiji. Tepuhiarii is a strong advocate against nuclear weapons tests and is an affluent speaker on the histories of these atrocities for Mā ò hi Nui/French Polynesia. He is passionate about topics including gender equality, the environment, and youth representation.

These experiences have brought him to the United States (New York, California, and Hawaii), Canada, Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), Spain, Germany, Uruguay, France, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Viti/Fiji.

Activism, Anthropological Fieldwork, Colonialism, Decolonization, Gender, Indigenization, Nuclear Testing, Nuclear Issues, Pacific Studies, Resilience

Anthropology

Polynesia

21st century

Tahitian