Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle ), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Southeast Asia and form part of the larger Austronesian ethnolinguistic group with an Urheimat in Taiwan.

One thing that is certain is that the term Polynesian or Polynesia incorporates many tribes including Marquesans, Samoans, Niueans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, Hawaiians, Tahitians and Maori. All of these tribes are genetically linked to the indigenous peoples from parts of Southeast Asia.