Dear Editor,   

As many know I have been a dedicated and such a proud employee of a certain company. I've been with them for several years and to be honest it's somewhere I've worked my way up to as a child. It wasn't just a job to me but more of a dream come true. Being raised within the industry with my mom's work ethics it was just something I longed for. After several attempts at applying, I finally got granted my wish and was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this amazing company. Being raised in the islands of Hawaii it was more like an activity I enjoyed than work (most times). Coworkers quickly became family and life just seemed great. 

Within our Polynesian cultural we have beliefs and traditions that we uphold and most times they are truly hard to continue due to other factors of life. But as traditions in many cultural, sacrifices most times are made. Whether it be an offering on a certain season, giving up time for important days, and sometimes even sacrificing your body to be marked in certain ways. As a Samoan these markings symbolize significance and is a great honor to wear. With that in mind, it was decided that when my father's cancer had returned I would get a piece of my culture tattooed on me in honor of him. So with the support of family and friends I received a Tualima that symbolized the journey my dad has been on as well as my journey in caring for him throughout his sickness. I wear it with honor and pride because of its meaning. 

(I promise I'm getting to the point) So my company has a policy that simply states that if we have these types of markings that it must be covered while on duty. So in compliance with that I covered my tatt with gloves and makeup everyday while at work. Well, sometime during an outing with coworkers my Tualima was spotted and a report had been filed against me (this was several months after I got it too). During this time I was interviewed and questioned about it and started feeling like I was being targeted due to so many different things being brought to my attention at the time. A hearing was held and I had to provide proof that my Tualima was culture related and provided a statement from a Matai and the Tufuga that did it. It was really discouraging and felt demeaning because these are markings I see everywhere being used within my company. From our actual uniforms to aircraft designs and just everywhere. Aside from this, many almost 90% of my company has a tattoo (this includes a few of my higher ups) that even without meaning were able to show theirs throughout daily operations. After waiting several weeks for a result of my hearing the decision was made to discontinue my employment with the reasoning of noncompliance to uniform policy with disregard to my culture and beliefs. Til now I am in total shock that a Polynesian based company would terminate someone for a tattoo that is Polynesian Culture related. 

I have so many words to say about this but the main question I wonder is if I was of a different Polynesian culture would this have been the outcome? I was told that other employees were given a choice and some even the opportunity to continue their employment. I worked my butt off for this company because it allowed me to help so many of our culture and it was something I enjoyed doing. To be let go for such a reason seems discriminating and I need help understanding this. I've reached out to the company and am waiting for a response. I am hoping my Polynesian community will help me fight against this discrimination and help me get this policy revoked or changed so that hard working employees don’t fall into this unfortunate situation. The military has allowed for such culture beliefs to be expressed, why can't a non- government and Polynesian based company do the same for its employees?

My name is Tracy Sialega-Fili — and this is my current story.