Pacific Islander Community Council
Pacific Islander arts and culture
Pacific Islander Community Council (PICC) was orgainzed in 1991 by indigenous Pacific Island community leaders to (1) celebrate the living cultures, traditions, and cultural practices, values, and beliefs of island communities from Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Aoteroa (New Zealand), Cooks Islands (Polynesia), Guam, Northern Marianas and Marshall Islands (Micronesia), and Fiji (Melanesia); and (2) increase awareness and appreciation of Hawaiians’ and Pacific Islanders’ many contributions to the City and County of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, which has the largest community of Pacific Islanders on the mainland. PICC is composed of volunteer leaders representing civic clubs, cultural arts and performance groups, college/university Pacific Island student organizations, a diverse faith-based community, small Pacific Islander-owned businesses, Pacific Island language schools and programs, Pacific Island athletic groups (paddling, canoeing, surfing), and family/social organizations that promote and celebrate Pacific Island cultural heritage and arts.
In 2007, PICC received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support their 18th Annual Pacific Islander Festival. Each year this festival focuses on particular island cultures; the 18th annual festival focused on the Maori communities from Aoteroa (New Zealand) and Cook Islands. There were displays and performances of traditional dance and music, cultural arts, (weaving, flower craft, and tattooing), historical artifacts, and foodways.