Island Culture Archival Support (ICAS) Mission Statement

Island Culture Archival Support (ICAS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of records pertaining to the cultural identity of island peoples in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia whose national and public archives, libraries, cultural centers, and business organizations are underprivileged, underfunded, and understaffed.

The specific purpose for which this nonprofit corporation was formed is to support the needs of these Pacific Islands cultural heritage institutions by helping to preserve and make accessible records created for business, accountability or cultural purposes. The organization will endeavor to add value by providing resources or volunteers to advise, train, and work among island residents to support their efforts in building their future and preserving their collective memory through the use of modern archival techniques.

Download the ICAS Brochure in .pdf format (2.8 MB).

Pacific Islands' lore by Brandon Oswald

The Barefoot Serenade, Book 1: M for Mele
By Brandon Oswald
October 2025
Fresh out of college and disillusioned by the path laid out for him—an uninspiring job and a fiancée he suspects doesn't truly love him—Blue escapes to a remote Samoan village under the romantic spell of early 20th- century South Seas adventure tales. What begins as a bold two-year mission to teach English soon unravels into a tangled journey of failure, discovery, and unexpected transformation.

Naive to the rhythms of village life, Blue struggles with the language, the heat, and the isolation. His classroom efforts fall flat, and his health falters in the unfamiliar climate. In an attempt to salvage his purpose, he begins writing his first novel under the thatched shadows of his humble fale. Yet even the solaceof storytelling can't shield him from the emotional weight he carries—most painfully, the death of his childhood friend, a gifted cellist whose tragic suicide still echoes in his soul.

When he falls for a local girl assigned to teach him Samoan, Blue's plans—and heart—are further complicated. As he navigates a culture vastly different from his own, he's forced to confront not only his romantic illusions but also his deepest regrets and longing.

Book 1 of The Barefoot Serenade Collection is a poignant exploration of guilt, love, and cultural awakening. With tenderness and honesty, it captures a young man's search for meaning in the most unlikely of places—and the unexpected beauty he finds along the way.
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The Barefoot Serenade: The Wave Tamer: Book 2
By Brandon Oswald
February 2026
Still an outsider in the remote Samoan village that reshaped his life, Blue struggles to reconcile love, cultural identity, and belonging. Though devoted to Aumua, tensions rise as village expectations, unexpected visitors, and deep-rooted traditions challenge their fragile stability.

And Scarlett—the haunting presence bound to Blue's childhood guilt—refuses to release him.

When Aumua reveals she is pregnant, Blue's fragile plans to return home collapse. The island is no longer an adventure. It is his family's future.

Then a devastating natural disaster strikes the village, forcing Blue into a battle for survival that will redefine his purpose and the legacy he leaves behind.

The Wave Tamer is a powerful contemporary novel of cross-cultural love, fatherhood, survival, and the enduring weight of the past—set against the breathtaking yet unforgiving landscape of Samoa.
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The Barefoot Serenade, Book 3: that Fa'a Samoa Way
By Brandon Oswald
2026
Ronin Blue thought returning home would give his daughter a better future.

After years as a South Seas volunteer in Samoa, Blue brings his half Samoan daughter, Mele, to the United States hoping to provide opportunities unavailable on a remote Pacific island. Instead, he finds himself struggling to adapt to the very country he once called home. While Mele thrives in her new surroundings, Blue wrestles with disappointment, fractured relationships, and memories he cannot escape. Her remarkable gift for the violin soon sets her on an extraordinary path. As her talent grows, so do the demands placed on them both.

From small town America to the stages of New York City, father and daughter pursue a dream neither could have imagined. Yet success cannot silence the questions that continue to haunt Blue. The mysterious death of a childhood friend still casts a shadow over his life. The past refuses to stay buried.

Heartfelt, moving, and richly human, this novel explores family, grief, belonging, and redemption. It is the story of a father searching for peace, a daughter discovering her voice, and the unexpected ways love can guide us through even the darkest seasons.

The Darklands A Melanesia Experience
By Brandon Oswald
March 2022
The Darklands acutely examines the mysterious and unique cultural practices of the Melanesian islands. The book delves into legends, supernatural beings, and haunting places, and explores the dark realms of the region. Its underlining story shows how the "Melanesian Way of Life" has been compromised by colonial governments, missionaries, and Europeans desire to exploit the islands, and the Melanesian people's struggle to regain some of their traditional beliefs and customs. Additionally, interwoven throughout the book are some of the author's adventures while serving as a volunteer archivist throughout the region.
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Mr. Moonlight of the South Seas: The Extraordinary Life of Robert Dean Frisbie
By Brandon Oswald
August 2017
Mr. Moonlight of the South Seas describes the adventurous life of American author Robert Dean Frisbie, who lived in the South Seas from 1920 until his death in 1948. Although he is part of a long line of South Seas writers that began with Herman Melville and Robert Louis Stevenson, Frisbie managed to do what very few of these writers could do — after going to the Pacific, he stayed there for the rest of his life. He first arrived in Tahiti, French Polynesia, where he met author James Norman Hall. The two would remain friends for the rest of their lives. Hall and Charles Nordhoff wrote Mutiny on the Bounty and later the Bounty Trilogy. After four years in Tahiti, Frisbie left for the tiny atoll of Pukapuka, Cook Islands, where he hoped the solitude would enable him to write his masterpiece. Frisbie embraced life there; he married, had children and lived a life completely different from those of his American contemporaries. He was also a contemporary of James Michener. Frisbie's writings would put Pukapuka on the map and his adventures would become the stuff of Pacific Islands' lore.
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