Miss Pacific Islands Moemoana Safa'ato'a Schwenke is "very proud" to be representing both Samoa and the Pacific at the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture and says there's "never been a greater need [to continue to] weave our stories".

Moemoana, also currently Miss Samoa, performed a taualuga with the Samoan delegation on Tuesday (local time), to a packed crowd at Hawai'i's convention centre.

Speaking with ABC Pacific afterwards, she said there had "never been a greater need to continue to dance our dances".

"Sing our songs, chant our chants, weave our stories and weave our artefacts. That's what makes us unique and sets us apart from the world," she said.

"That's the way we've been able to tell stories throughout hundreds of years, so looking forward to 100 years from now on, we need to make sure that we're creating new stories and keeping this beautiful culture alive that we've been gifted."

Moemoana said the taualuga was powerful in Samoan culture because it was the final dance.

"Therefore it has to be strong; it has to be impactful," she said.

"Taualuga is also the word that they use for the afa, or the coconuts in it, that bind the poles of the house together. So, it's a metaphor for keeping the strength of a Samoan house intact, but in this case, it's the finale of our Samoan piece that we shared today."

The crowd erupted into cheering, clapping and dancing as Moemoana performed the taualuga, and in a beautiful moment, her parents Mary-Jane and Fred danced from the crowd back to her.

The 23-year-old is flying Samoa's flag high at FestPAC, an honour she doesn't take lightly.

She believes the youth and the future generations of the Pacific will look back at the 13th FestPAC and be reminded of its theme, regenerating Oceania.

"We don't come from small islands, but we come from great oceans," she said.

"They can be proud to be Samoan, but they can also be proud to be from the whole of the Pacific as well.

"While we're here, it's also really important to remember our Pacific brothers and sisters that couldn't be here with us because the fight still continues for their sovereignty, for their freedom, for their human rights."