The coconut palm: A tree of life? NIU voyaging into the future is part of the broader Indigen project. Indigen examines how Indigenous peoples, once described by anthropologists as “vanishing,” have become influential global actors in politics, climate debates, and cultural forums. Bringing together anthropology, history, art, and philosophy, it explores both the global circulation of Indigeneity and its place-based realities. Within this framework, the three-part short film series The coconut palm: A tree of life? NIU voyaging into the future highlights the cultural, ecological, and spiritual significance of the coconut tree, or niu, in Oceania. While Oceanic mythologies celebrate niu as a gift of unconditional love, the series contrasts these traditions with its contemporary reduction to a decorative object in urbanized spaces such as Honolulu, where tourism and safety concerns erase its life-sustaining role. Each film portrays individuals who maintain or reclaim their relationship with niu, reimagining it as both a sustainable resource and a gateway to Indigenous cosmological knowledge for present and future generations.

To learn and explore more about these three short films you can find more informations here:

Woven: https://www.indigen.eu/blog/woven-trailer

Sina Ma Tinirau: https://www.indigen.eu/blog/sina-ma-tinirau-now-online

A NIU Way: Coconut Trees, The Virus, and the Vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHg5f8zn8Gk