Girl Scout brings traditions of Marshall Islands to Shiloh Museum

It's official. The culture of the Marshall Islanders who have moved to Springdale is now a recorded part of the city's history, thanks to a 14-year-old Girl Scout.

"Marshallese Celebrations: From the Atolls to the Ozarks" opened Monday at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. It was guest-curated by Rona Masha, a member of the only all Marshallese Girl Scout troop in the world.

"Here we are in the heart of Springdale, at Shiloh Museum where history is remembered," said Jacob Masha, proud of the work of his daughter Rona.

"Yokwe," said Allyn Lord, director of the museum, addressing the room full of people who attended a reception celebrating the opening of the exhibit Monday.

"The Marshallese are a strong and vibrant part of our culture in Springdale," she said. "The museum must tell every story. The Marshallese and those of other cultures help create what we are, who we are and what makes us so wonderfully different and exciting here on 'the island of Springdale.' They are part of who we are, and that's very important.

"And [in this exhibit], you get to see something that many people haven't known about."

"Here at the Shiloh Museum, they have all the history of Northwest Arkansas, and they have included us, who came to a new place," said Carmen Chong-Gum, counsel general of the Republic of the Marshall Islands based in Springdale. "You have really made us feel welcome. Our generation may be gone, but our generations coming up will know what we went through.

"Our history is part of your history in Northwest Arkansas. Thank you to the point of overflowing."

CURATORS

Heather Butler started Girl Scout Troop 5132 in the spring, made up of Marshallese girls from the Anij Emman Church. The unique troop, including girls from the Girl Scout levels of Daisies to Seniors, is thought to be the only all-Marshallese troop in the world. Rona Masha, a Cadette, is the oldest member.

The Shiloh Museum exhibit grew out of an extraordinary trip to the museum for the troop. To earn a Girl Scout "MEdia Journey" patch, the girls learned how a museum preserves its pieces of the past. Marie Demeroukas, the museum's photo archivist and research librarian, took the troop on a tour of the museum -- including the climate-controlled basement, which holds the museum's collections.

"We were standing there, among all the cool items they have there," Butler began. "I looked at Rona, and Rona looked at me. And we were both thinking, 'Silver Award.'"

The Silver Award is the second-highest award in Girl Scouting, and the highest a Cadette, a girl of Rona's age, can win.

"She is the first girl from the Marshall Islands ever to earn a Silver Award," Butler announced proudly.

The award requires a Girl Scout to look for something she cares strongly about, build a team and do something tangible, Butler explained. "She is to 'discover,' 'connect' and 'take action.'"

The project must also be sustainable, and the Shiloh Museum cooperated by adding a page featuring the exhibit to its web site.

"I thought, 'I really want to do a project on my culture and traditions,'" said Rona, who was born in the United States. "There's a lot to choose from -- the language, the people, the history of the Marshall Islands, the colorful and unique celebrations. We all come together to celebrate."

For a long time, museum staff has wanted to create an exhibit about the Marshallese culture, Demeroukas said. With Rona, they had a spark, so Demeroukas, Rona and Butler worked together for about six months.

The trio met monthly (and much more often in the summer), with "homework" assigned to Rona -- from gathering items to be put on display, to writing and designing the labels, to putting items for display in the museum's cases.

"It's gotten way bigger than I ever thought it would," Rona said on seeing her success at the reception.

Rona, alone, logged 101 hours, many eight- to 12-hour days, Butler said. And that doesn't include the time Butler, Demeroukas, other museum staff members and Rona's mom, Yotina Masha, worked on this exhibit. The Silver Award requires only 50 hours, Butler noted.

"Having never curated an exhibit before, Rona started from zero," Butler said. "We learned there's more to it than just setting things out on a table and covering them with glass."

HANDICRAFTS

Rona started a work day Saturday at the museum by cleaning the glass of a display case in the museum's community room. No instruction was needed on cleaning because she does this at home. "There are so many kids, I have to clean all the time," she said, admitting it's not her favorite job.

Previously, Rona had worked with Demeroukas to dress mannequins in traditional Marshallese clothing. But Saturday was devoted to that display case.

"People kept bringing us so many cool things [for the main exhibit] that we created a bonus exhibit," Demeroukas said.

"Marshallese women are fine weavers," Rona wrote for the label of the bonus display featuring Marshallese handicrafts. "They take plant materials and weave them into clothing, accessories and household goods like baskets and mats. Men make handicrafts, too, including navigational charts and models of outrigger canoes. Today, traditional weaving and handcrafting skills are not only used by islanders as a part of everyday life, they are sold as souvenirs to tourists, providing important income to the people who make them."

Rona pointed out the various Marshallese handicrafts on displays: deels are colorful hand-held fans; wuts, the traditional floral headbands worn by the women; and marmars, necklaces or leis with shells given to honored guests at celebrations. Rona explained the woven purses on display are used mainly by older women to carry their Bibles, and centerpieces hang from ceilings or doors as decoration in Marshallese homes.

Also on display are pieces of kimehj (which means white) made from coconut palms and maan (which means brown) made from leaves of the pandanus tree, Demeroukas explained. These are cut into strips and woven. In the United States, the traditional crafts have been adapted with the use of more modern materials like artificial flowers, plastic fibers and dyed chicken feathers.

When all the items were placed in the display case, Demeroukas had Rona step back and look at the display. Corrections were made -- like hiding the seam in the cardboard forms that held the wuts and placing the labels completely straight with the front of the case. Finally satisfied with her placing, Rona got to shut and lock the case.

The main exhibit focuses on the celebrations of the Marshallese culture, but touches only on Palm Sunday; the Combine when various Marshallese church groups get together for worship; Jemenei or May Day, acknowledging the day the independent country's constitution was signed, May 1, 1979; and Kemem, celebrating a baby's first birthday -- because it was rare for a baby to survive to his first birthday, Rona explained.

The display includes items borrowed from her family -- traditional, matching tropical-print clothing, called "uniforms"'; money and candy leis shared at celebrations; and religious books, because so many of the celebrations and much of the culture centers around the churches, Demeroukas said. A video, shot by Butler and her mother, shows the joyful dancing of the people.

"I had four different countries working on this," Rona said -- from her grandmother in Japan who retrieved a woven mat from Guam that Rona wore over a grass skirt during the reception, to relatives and friends in the Marshall Islands and in the United States.

"My favorite part [of the exhibit] was having the community come together," Rona said.

LEADER

Jacob Masha said he is proud of his daughter, "that she adopted this and was able to take it and grow. It opens many channels for her.

"I only wish all the Marshallese girls could get the same guidance as they grow into young ladies."

That's the role of the Girl Scouts, said Dawn Prasifka , the chief executive officer of the Diamond Girl Scout Council, which includes Arkansas, as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. Prasifka participated in Girl Scouting as a child, as did most of the speakers Monday -- Lord, Demeroukas and Chong-Gum. All give credit to the Girl Scouts for helping them grow as leaders in the community.

Prasifka noted that Girl Scouts exists to help girls to "be whatever they want to be. And because every girl is different, they can be the best they can be at whatever they decide to be.

"We need to guide them to make good choices. If they can make wise choices they will be able to like the person they see looking at themselves in the mirror," she said as she described patches she presented to Rona.

Butler reported that she and their parents have noticed change in the girls since they began Girl Scouts. They display "leadership, independence and self-confidence," Butler said.

Butler realized girls in that culture needed an avenue to learn leadership skills and how to use them in Northwest Arkansas. "The Marshallese is a matriarchal society," she said, "and they need to learn these skills because these girls are going to need to lead real soon."

"I thank Rona for introducing me to her traditional culture," Demeroukas said to Rona during the reception. "I enjoyed learning from her, and I enjoyed watching you as you learned, as well."

Reflecting on her project Monday, Rona acknowledged the truth of the stereotype of lazy teenagers, especially in her culture. She said she wants to "get a little message" to the teens:

"Stick to your opportunities that come your way," she said. "In the future, it's not going to matter about your hair and how you wear it. It's not going to matter about your clothes. It's not going to matter about your shoes -- you're not going to be a successful person because of the shoes you wear."

"Stick to it," she continued, "and don't be embarrassed in front of your friends -- even though that can be hard to overcome."

Rona she admitted she was a bit embarrassed, and her mother pointed out that Rona also missed out on some "teenage" things as she spent her summer working on the exhibit at the museum.

When asked what's next for this teen, Rona replied, "Wherever life takes me, I guess."

NAN Our Town on 09/08/2016