Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard
American Samoan writer (1946–2024)
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Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard (1946 – 26 May 2024) was an American Samoan academic, writer, poet, and environmentalist. She was the first Samoan to become a full professor in the United States.[1][2]
1946
- Academic
- writer
Tulsi Gabbard (niece)
Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Caroline Gabbard 1946 Utulei, American Samoa |
| Died | (aged 78) Vaivase-uta, Samoa |
| Occupations |
|
| Relatives | Mike Gabbard (brother) Tulsi Gabbard (niece) |
| Writing career | |
| Genre | Poetry |
Biography
Sinavaiana-Gabbard was born in Utulei village, Tutuila, American Samoa, in 1946.[1][3] She was educated at Sonoma State University, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawai'i.[4] Her PhD thesis was on Traditional Comic Theater in Samoa: A Holographic View.[5] She taught creative writing as a faculty of the Department of English, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa,[4][6] from 1997 until her retirement in 2016. In 2002 she published her collection of poetry, Alchemies of Distance.[7][8]
In August 2020 she was named by USA Today on its list of influential women from U.S. territories.[1]
Assassination
Sinavaiana-Gabbard moved to Samoa after she retired.[9] She was murdered at the GaluMoana Theater in Vaivase-uta, on 26 May 2024, at the age of 78.[9][10] Playwright Sia Figiel was charged with her murder.[11][12]
She was the sister to American politician Mike Gabbard and thus the paternal aunt of American politician Tulsi Gabbard.[13]