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Kōnea o Kukui: To Restore the Light                                         Ke Ola Magazine Jan. / Feb. 2023

1/9/2023

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View of the garden from above. Pavilion on the right. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
With the passage of time, a place becomes layered with the spirits of beings and events that hold the stories and wisdom of those who have gone before. Many may not notice or recognize the spirit of the land, but on Hawai‘i Island, it is still very much alive, if one listens to what Hawaiians call mana.
   Nani Svendsen is one such person. Along with the hearts and hands of many others, she has created a beautiful refuge, called Kōnea o Kukui. “Kukui means light or enlightenment. I didn’t give it that name; it’s been in my family for seven generations,” said Nani. 
PictureNani in her element. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Roots in the Land Holding Steady
   Nani had an ideal, land-based childhood. “I grew up on the Kohala ditch; we were the last family to live there. My parents’ job was to regulate the water. I was born in Kohala but I was raised in Waiapuka, two miles up where they used to start Fluminʻ Da Ditch. There was nobody around us, the stream ran next to the house, and we were isolated from everyone else. Off the grid. So, it was furo [Japanese bath], kerosene lamps and stove. Lived like that until I was 11,” remembered Nani.
   Nani’s ancestors came to Kohala during Kamehameha’s time. “They were from Hana, Maui and they were stewards to the heiau [temple] on the bluff at Keokea,” said Nani. Since that time, the land has gone through many phases and witnessed many family events. At times it’s been a home dwelling, while at other times a refuge.

A River Runs Through It
   Perched above Keokea, the botanical residents of Kōnea o Kukui cluster around a stream whose journey feeds into the Pacific at Keokea Beach Park. I arrived at the garden on a sunny day in May, and Nani greeted me at the top. The first view of the garden was from the perspective of a floating cloud just above a lush, orderly jungle of greens and flowers. To the left is a lo‘i (taro patch) and in the center is a small house and a pavilion.
   Nani and I talked story for a few moments and during that time, I felt the pull, an irresistible invitation. The trail to the garden slopes downhill and is lined with red and green ti, ferns, coconut palms, begonia, and hala trees. The first thing I noticed is that everything slows, like there is no time at all. A switchback led us further down. We stopped on the trail to be welcomed by a Java rice bird who sat on the branch of a ti plant—it had a lot to say that morning. When it was done talking, we were allowed passage.
   A bridge crosses the stream at the bottom of the trail and then we were in the heart of the matter. We passed a pond with lotus blossoms as we climbed up the bank on the other side. Looking downstream I saw into a community of connected beings, a chorus of welcome.
   Nani’s many years as a florist are reflected in the garden. The place spoke to her of color, contrast and balance. Where there were disconnected pools, Nani saw a channel of flowing water. 

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The stream continues its journey to the sea at Keokea Beach Park. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureNani's granddaughter, Kainani, on the trail entering the garden. Photo courtesy of Nani Svendsen.
A Lotus Blossom Arises from the Darkness
   The Kohala of Nani’s childhood began to be overshadowed by outside pressures that affected both her immediate family and the community. Dismayed and determined to do something about the problem, Nani, Dennis Matsuda, and community members led a successful effort for a drug rehabilitation house for recovering men in Hawi, When the house was set up, Nani turned her focus on her own healing process.
   “I decided I wanted to build, what for me, was going to be my happy place. It was about the life or death of me. To find my peace. I knew this place [Kōnea o Kukui] had a stream running through it and I started chopping. I had no idea where I was going to take it, but I wanted to remember my beautiful life. I need to feel this, see it, smell it, be in it,” recalled Nani.
   Using a chainsaw, machete, shovels and o‘o bar, Nani began an odyssey of self-discovery. Then she got a call from Wes Markum, director of the rehabilitation house in Hawi, and he asked her about inviting the residents to come work with her. Her first response was, “No.” Hadn’t she done enough? Then her heart spoke, and she realized that, “Most of these people, they’re all islanders removed from their culture and that is one of the important facets to recovery.”
   The men came every Wednesday for a few hours. Their hearts came alive with memories. They said things like, “This reminds me of when I was with my grandma and grandpa,” and, “This is like Waipi‘o.” She asked every person about their profession and discovered skills among the men such as a rock wall builder, and landscaper, just waiting to be tapped.
   Eventually student groups were coming, and soon Nani was pitching a 20 by 20-foot tent for meetings. She shared, “My husband, Don, decided to build the pavilion. We had to haul everything down this trail. Everybody worked like a team, passing station to station, all the way down the hill. It took about four weeks,” said Nani. Working together with the volunteers changed her husband’s life—it changed hers.

Uncovering Treasure through Community Connections
   Nani has come full circle and a forgotten treasure has been brought back to life, touching her life and the lives of the many who came to Kōnea o Kukui to work and be healed. “This is a restoration project of a lifetime, hopefully not just my lifetime. It’s layered. So many layers to the existence from this place,” reflected Nani.
   When Nani began the garden odyssey, the land was covered in hau, and java plum trees. It was also populated with mosquitoes. When they started to clear it, they discovered a taro farm that hadn’t been used since the mid-1950s. “Once that stopped, the hau became the straight tall timbers that were used by the voyaging canoes,” recalled Nani.
   During this initial clearing, Nani’s daughter, Punahele was attending Kanu o ka ‘Āina school. At that time teachers and voyagers, ‘Ōnohi Chadd Paishon and Pomai Bertelmann were looking for materials to repair Makali‘i and to build Alingano Maisu for master navigator, Mau Piailug and they could see that the place had what they were looking for. “They brought the students down and they harvested and packed it up the hill. When they built the canoe, they used hau from here,” said Nani.
   As the excavation continued, “We could see the terraces, the original walls and the ‘auwai (ditch). The walls were carbon dated by archaeologist Dr. Michael Graves and he found they were dated between 1570 and 1650. From the head of the ‘auwai down to Keokea,” said Nani.
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One of many waterfalls and pools along the stream's journey to the sea. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
A Continuing Gift of Love
   “Maybe a cultural place, maybe a healing place, maybe a safe place. While I still try to put my finger on it, I get to feel like everything stops. Whatever hassle is going on, whatever trouble I have, whatever trouble somebody else has. If I slowly walk down the trail something shifts, and you walk easy with a little more light in your heart. Maybe I can do this, maybe a week, maybe I can just do this,” reflected Nani.
   It was not only the men who were healed. “I had a lot of older women coming to support. They were like the tūtū for the young men, and they worked alongside them. They gave of themselves and they too were healed,” said Nani.
   Despite the closing of the Hawi rehabilitation house in 2013, weekly meetings continue at Kōnea o Kukui, with the spirit of the land inviting returning visitors into a healing circle.
   Kōnea o Kukui is an unusual project because it doesn’t survive on grants as much as on passion. 90 percent of this is from people’s good-heartedness. “All I am doing is to try to steward this place and keep it with the right intention, to just have a safe space, a feel-good space that honors the ancestors, honors the culture, honors each other,” said Nani. “We are responsible for each other. We are all connected. I believe in energy and I believe that if you are not at your best, there is energy out there to help,” she adds.
   The spirit of the land waits patiently and when we call out it answers. “I struggle with the sustainability of the place. Along with everything that has been here there has been trust that it’s going to work,” reflects Nani. “There is an ‘andʻ—itʻs this ‘andʻ it’s nature. I can hear the birds here. I can feel the wind. There’s a connection. We forget. We get caught up so much with daily struggles, that we forget where to go to get our own healing,” reflects Nani.
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Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Check out the Svendsens' food truck at Niuli'i in Kohala. Thursdays through Sundays
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Ikaika no Kohala: A Community Connects through Story and Art                Ke Ola Magazine Jan / Feb 2022

1/14/2022

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This panel depicts three of the many sacred sites or heiau, with Kohala Mountain, an important water source, in the background. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
  When the historic Kohala Village HUB (KVH) building was lost to fire in March 2019, a heart center of the community vanished. Then a year later covid hit, disrupting  community connections. These dual tragedies inspired folks at KVH to find a way to help the community re-energize and strengthen connections. 
  “The mural was born out of a wish to find ways to reaffirm our connectedness as a community even while the needs of addressing covid have isolated us,” shared KVH founder, Bennett Dorrance. 
  This latest endeavor is just one of many in Kohala’s history of unified strength in the face of adversity.
  With the idea of art and story as a heart connection, resident artist for KVH, Raven Diaz and outreach director Joel Tan decided on a mural project that would enclose the slab where the KVH main building once stood, becoming a meeting place surrounded by Kohala stories rendered in art.
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Opihi is a rich source of food from the sea. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureCommunity mural artist Kanoa Castro and his two daughters, Kekapa and Kawelo working on the pueo panel. Photo courtesy of Raven Diaz
Preparing the Ground
  Starting in May 2020, Joel and Raven began to lay the ground work. They invited Kanu o ka `Āina principal and community artist, Kanoa Castro to join the team and spent two months interviewing kūpuna and other community members to gather stories and ideas to be featured in the mural. “We wanted to highlight who and what Kohala is during times of challenge, how we respond and what's important,” explained Raven.
  Notices inviting ideas were also posted all around the community that led to three Zoom sessions and many phone conversations. “We kept it real broad like: What is important for us to know about Kohala? If people were born and raised here we asked about history and traditions; if they had moved here, we asked about their experiences.” explained Joel.
  These conversations, “Sparked ideas behind the mural and we turned those ideas, stories, thoughts into visual images,” explained Kanoa.
  Meanwhile the KVH maintenance crew built the walls around the slab and painted them with yellow primer, creating a canvas ready for Raven and Kanoa to pencil in the stories and by mid-June the panels were ready to come to life.
  The next step was to lay down a base coat or background. A call out to the community yielded a diverse group of painters for seven painting days throughout the rest of June until the end of July. “It was a mixed crowd. Elders, local artists and a lot of keiki,” said Raven.
  At the entrance to the plaza are two sheets, one with the QR code for the self-guided tour, available any time. The other is a long list of names of the many contributors to the project.

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The `iwa, whose name means thief in Hawaiian, is known for its extraordinary ability to steal fish from the beaks of other birds in mid-flight. Photo by Peter Wizinowich
Picture"It's such a powerful process when you paint and think about something then it shows up in your life." Photo courtesy of Raven Diaz
The Vision Emerges
  The mural, which encloses the square, is a mixture of the Kohala community’s cultural, historical and ecological mana`o.  
  The first panel is a pastoral scene that highlights the essence of Kohala. Rolling green pastures and pu`u; and grazing horses, highlighting Kohala ranching; all flooded by sunrays kissing the land and backed by ocean waters. A kupuna is sharing traditional knowledge with a keiki while sitting under the koaia tree, also known as the “Communitree”, where people can add their names to the leaves. 
  Two stories relating to sustainability and facing challenges are pictured in the mural. The stories of I`ole the rat are quintessentially Kohala lore and many of the participants in the talk story sessions mentioned them. The panel shows a graphic of the story of how I`ole the rat saved the people from starvation and features the net filled with all the harvest hung in the heavens by Chief Makali`i.  I`ole is scrambling up a rainbow to gnaw through the ropes securing the net, releasing the food to all the people.
  The food shortages caused by the pandemic are just the latest in the challenges faced by Kohala folks and the spirit of generosity and sharing what you have captures the spirit of the community. The next panel on the wall is of our canoe Makali`i. A traditional responsibility of the canoe and her navigators is to provide food for the people, but Makali`i also represents a community pulling together with generosity.
  Another traditional Kohala story shared was Punia, which is illustrated on the makai side wall. The story is told in a series of images that creates a bridge between past and future.  In the story, Punia’s father is eaten by a shark when he is diving for lobsters. With his father gone, Punia takes on the role of food provider and finds a way to outsmart the sharks, and emerges victorious.
  The story wall of Punia bridges from historic legend to contemporary times and inspires the images that follow. Punia and his mother receive a flag in commemoration of a fallen soldier who, just as Punia’s father, was taken before his time.

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Punia and his mother receive a flag in commemoration of a fallen soldier who, just as Punia’s father, was taken before his time. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
The next two panels symbolize the legacy of tradition emerging in the present and features the Kohala High School basketball team, who were victorious at the state regional champions last January, flanked by Punia and his father. 
  In the final panel, by receiving the lei kukui, a symbol of lasting strength, Punia follows his legacy and goes on to become a medical doctor who, with a caduceus in one hand and soil in the other, champions social justice and respect for the `āina. 
  Featured on the wall parallel to Punia is a representation of the deep spiritual roots that underlay the community. At the center of the display are three pahu drums, eliciting the rhythmic sounds of ancient hula, at the heart of Hawai`i’s cultural practices.
  This is bordered by a panel depicting three of the many sacred sites or heiau, with Kohala Mountain, an important water source, in the background. The Mo`okini heiau, which is near King Kamehameha’s birthplace, was rebuilt in the 13th century through the efforts of 18,000 stone passing men, stretching from Pololū. Mo`okini was Kamehameha’s spiritual home until he was advised to build a heiau in preparation for his enormous task of unifying the islands. Again, a massive effort ensued with thousands positioned in a work line and resulted in Pu`ukoholā heiau. The third site pictured, Ko`o Heiau Holomoana, a navigational heiau located just south of Mahukona, is an historic training ground for young navigators and a place of ceremony.   
  Kohala’s history is immersed in the legacies of King Kamehameha, who exemplified strength and resourcefulness. The panel bordering the pa`u on the other side is a representation of the `aha`ula or royal cape worn by Kamehameha, made up of the yellow `o`o feathers contrasted with the red feathers of the apapane.
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Participants in the talk story sessions mentioned encounters with pueo that signified a warning or the marking of an important event. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Feed the People
  The east wall speaks to the ecology of Kohala and features the many plants that have fed Kohala for generations. Many of the Kūpuna spoke of gathering food from the ocean and the cliffs of Kohala. The first panel pictures opihi and at the bottom of the cliffs, tucked away in caves are menpachi, a favorite of Kohala fisherman, pictured at the far end of the east wall.
  Another panel features Kalo an essential food plant brought to Hawai`i by the first Polynesians. There are many different kinds of kalo and Kohala has its own special variety called bakatade, which is Japanese for hard-headed.
  Also featured is breadfruit, an abundant food provider; and an awa grove, created by Eric Dodson, Kohala artist and medicinal plant grower. Awa is a canoe plant that has many uses and has been an important part of Kohala’s la`au lapa`au, as well as being a ceremonial drink prior to big endeavors such as ocean voyages.
 
Language of Lei
  Lei are woven throughout the mural, just as they are woven throughout Hawai`i life. 'Ohi'a lehua, ancient symbol of the strength of Pele graces the heiau panel. In the panel representing Kamehameha, it changes to a unique Kohala plumeria lei, inspired by Aunty Maile Napoleon, formed with pedals bent back to create a rounded shape.
  The lei plumeria transforms into a lei hala in the next panel, representing the completion of a phase and the starting of a new one, and for talk story participants a reminder of a special grove of hala in Niuli`i, the location of an historic sugar cane camp.
 
Feathered Spirits
  The mural also includes a large image of pueo, a quiet guardian and aumakua for many families. Participants in the talk story sessions mentioned encounters with pueo that signified a warning or the marking of an important event.
  Centered on the east wall is a large image of the `iwa or frigate bird. The `iwa, whose name means thief in Hawaiian, is known for its extraordinary ability to steal fish from the beaks of other birds in mid-flight. The name Ka`iwakīloumoku was given to Kamehameha to commemorate the “stitching together” of the Hawaiian islands, and connotes someone with great expertise and daring.
  The essence of Kohala is hard work, pulling together, resourcefulness and a spiritual connection to the natural world, and the mural project has provided an opportunity to build anew from the ashes. “It's such a powerful process when you paint and think about something then it shows up in your life,” concluded Raven.
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A kupuna is sharing traditional knowledge with a keiki while sitting under the koaia tree, also known as the “Communitree”, where people can add their names to the leaves. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
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Art at the Heart of Waimea: The Waimea Arts Council                     Ke Ola Magazine  March / April 2019

3/19/2019

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PictureWAC members Irina Place and Anna Sullivan work with young artists making collage at the 2017 annual Healthy Keiki Fest. Photo courtesy of Julie McCue, WAC
  At the intersection of Mamalahoa Highway and Kawaihae Road is a cluster of small buildings at the heart
of old Waimea and the home of Waimea Arts Council (WAC). With its double doors flung wide open, inviting passersby into a world of beauty and whimsy, the Firehouse Gallery, housed in the old Waimea firehouse, has long been a beacon of the creative spirit of our North Hawai‘i community. The oldest organization of its kind on Hawai‘i Island and second oldest statewide, WAC has endeavored to enrich the lives of North Hawai‘i residents through the arts.

PictureMural by Kathleen Kam and students, 2006. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Beginnings
As WAC’s mission states, it’s “a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts, the encouragement of artists, and providing a forum for art-related community events” that began in 1974 with a group of local residents whose awareness of the importance of art inspired them to create a venue for art and artists and a way to connect people through enrichment offerings.
  For the first few years, WAC sponsored exhibits and sales in Kahilu Hall (also known as Barbara Hall and the main Parker School building), festive affairs where around 35 artists from Hāmakua to Kawaihae shared their talents. Along with visual art, jewelers, and weavers, there was a bonsai workshop demonstration by Yutaka Kimura, hula provided by Kumu Stephanie Lindsey’s halau, and music by guitarist David Gomes. 
  The 1978 art sale saw a visit from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA), which purchased the creations of three artists: Pat Hall, Floria Shepard, and Margaret Waldron, for the Hawai‘i State Art Museum.
  Along with the annual artists’ market in 1979, WAC also sponsored a needle arts clinic and a David Gomes concert at Thelma Parker Library. During that year it became the vision of Helen Cassidy (then-president of WAC) and Mariechan Jackson to create a center that would provide lessons, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and activities related to arts and crafts.
  Serendipity came into play when the fate of the original Waimea firehouse and bunkhouse, vacated with the construction of the new Waimea Civic Center at its current location, came into question. Through much discussion and wrangling on the part of WAC members, a county lease was obtained for the Firehouse Gallery and the adjacent bunkhouse, now the WAC office.
  Firehouse Gallery opened in 1980 with a six-week summer session that included artist faculty G.G. Garida, Jean Boone, Helen Cassidy, Margaret Waldron, Amanda Raleigh, and Marcia Ray. Jo Diatalevi taught theater arts and Dolly Loo provided hapa haole (part Hawaiian and Caucasian) hula classes. Winter classes included weaving, visual arts, batik, feather lei, quilting, ‘ukulele, folk and jazz dancing, and stained glass making.  

PictureFirst place 2017 Nā `Ōpio entry, "Colors all Around Me" by Parker School 9th grader Gracelyn Jardine. Photo courtesy of Julie McCue, WAC
  While focused on the arts, WAC has endeavored to reflect and draw from the diverse community it serves. In an effort to “provide something of value for everyone,” in 1980 WAC also sponsored a historic tour by Mollie Sperry and Momi Urbic (Naughton) and a slide lecture on China by Linus Chao. In 1983, along with a lecture and a lei demonstration by Marie McDonald and a slide presentation on Bonsai by Yutaka Kimura, there was a presentation on coins, “From Croesus to Kamuela” by Bernard von NotHaus.
  In 1984 WAC sponsored a Karin Hazelhoff presentation on her studies of the effect of color and light on the human environment, a lecture by Rene Racine, then-director of the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope, entitled “Explorations of Inter-galactic Phenomena,” and a lecture by local architect Clem Lam. There was also a classical guitar concert by Franz Solmssen, an exhibit of basketry of the Pacific and Turkoman rugs, and a presentation by photographer Warren Noll. That year, May was declared “Art Month” by then-mayor Matayoshi and WAC responded with continuous art displays that included children’s art shows.

PictureKanu students creating the mural that is shown below. Photo courtesy of Scot Plunkett
 Fostering Art and Artists
According to current WAC Board Vice President Amaury Saint-Gilles, “We’re really an incubator for art and artists. We provide a safe place for artists to hang their work and, we hope, a start for a career in art.” To that end, young artists are showcased with the annual WAC Nā ‘Ōpio art show in March, where North Hawai‘i students, grades 6-12, get the opportunity to display their artwork and experience a juried show.
  Long-time WAC member and retired Parker School art teacher Wendi Roehrig has seen many artists launched through the Nā ‘Ōpio show. “It’s a really great place to begin an art career. I have a list of kids that are practicing artists today; they got their start through this. If you want to sell your things at a gallery, you have to show that you’ve shown some place and this is a good start.”
  An all-volunteer organization, the 30-plus membership of dedicated artists create and exhibit their exceptional artwork while also acting as docents for the Firehouse Gallery, and provide other services as needed. Through this exchange, WAC provides a rich life-long learning environment for artists. “I wanted to learn about hanging shows. I didn’t know anything about framing, mats. I wanted to learn what it takes,” shares Jay West, a longtime member and current WAC board president.
  Always looking to grow their membership, the WAC year begins with a show to welcome new artists in January, which includes beginning artists or those who are returning to the arts. Membership costs just $50 annually plus four volunteer docent hours per month, and entitles artists to participate in ongoing Firehouse Gallery art shows and small solo shows in the back gallery.
  The two WAC buildings are adorned with donated murals by long-time member Terry Bensch and WAC-sponsored murals created by students. The latest mural, completed in November 2017 by Scot Plunkett and his Kanu o ka ‘Āina students, is a tribute to the canoe culture of our island community, and also a venue for his students to see the broader world of art as well.
  “When Amaury came to me to ask me about the mural, what was interesting to me as an artist was to have the opportunity to communicate a message of the younger generation connecting with the elders, but I also wanted students to expand their minds and to have an appreciation for the great things out there, so we included the Gauguin women,” explains Scot.

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Completed mural by Kanu o ka `Āina students. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
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Community Connections
Recognizing the integral nature of art, over the years WAC has developed programs that have become annual traditions, and mounted shows that reflect the spirit and endeavors of the island community.
  The WAC calendar provides a dizzying array of constantly rotating shows in both the front main gallery, as well as mini shows in the smaller back gallery. The first weekend in February is always Cherry Blossom Festival time and since its inception in 1994, WAC artists have been providing brochure cover art along with themed art shows in the Firehouse Gallery.
  April shows in the Firehouse Gallery encompass environmental awareness in connection with Earth Day. The 2015 show, “Our ‘Āina,” featured recycled art and Hawaiian landscapes, plants and animals. The 2018 exhibit was focused on an ocean conservation theme.
  Also in April are exhibits focused on Hawaiian culture, highlighting the Merrie Monarch Festival. The April 2016 show entitled “Legends of Madame Pele: Earth, Wind and Fire” was followed in 2017 with art inspired by Hawaiian royalty, hula, and significant island places.
  One day in 2015, then-WAC Board President Amaury met Aunty Betty Webster at the KTA bakery counter and was intrigued by her ever-changing flamboyant sunglasses and her intention to get her 1500-plus collection entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. What followed was a WACsponsored week-long photo shoot where community members were invited to get their photos taken wearing some of Aunty Betty’s sunglasses that led to a Guinness record for Waimea.
  Other shows inspired by the island community have included an exhibit in celebration of tea and coffee, and a 2016 Humane Society fundraiser where the owners of rescued pets were invited to have their pet’s character sketch done by WAC artist Janice Gail. In October, artists have the opportunity to participate in the annual “Helen Cassidy Memorial Show,” now “The Founder’s Show,” which is juried and began in 1985 with the passing of
Helen Cassidy, a driving force of WAC.

PictureWAC Board member and past president, Amaury Saint-Gilles shares some of the current art displays. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Keeping the Arts Alive
  With the closure of many art galleries, WAC and its Firehouse Gallery provide much-needed opportunities for artists to display and sell their art. The WAC board also seeks to provide avenues of inspiration with conceptually-themed shows such as “Egg” and “Squared Away.”
  Starting in March, as this issue of Ke Ola Magazine is published, will be the annual “Nā ‘Ōpio Art Show” and in April the “All Hawai‘i Art Competition” whose theme will be “Portal,” inviting artists to explore its multiple meanings through art. This is a juried show that will include a visit from representatives from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, who will be previewing the entries with an eye to select art for display in the Hawai‘i Art Museum, as well as other public buildings.
  Although a tough economic climate sometimes places constraints on art purchases, WAC will continue to foster island creativity through their ongoing programs and collaborations with other programs to create a fertile nest for art and artists on Hawai‘i Island.

For more information: waimeaartscouncil.org

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Lessons from the Garden    Ke Ola Jan/Feb 2018

3/15/2018

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Garden teacher Jared Chapman leads students in the Parker School food forest. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
  In 2007 the Hawaiʽi Island School Garden Network (HISGN) was created through the Kohala Center as a way to promote garden education and food sustainability practices. As the network grew, educators began to realize the potential for curricular connections and in 2016 the HISGN received funding to develop a curriculum map, which was created by a consortium of K-8 school garden educators.  
  “We went through by grade level to see what the learning outcomes were and the garden activities that go with them and then we looked at classroom extensions. We came up with four themes or lenses: sense of place; living plants, living soils; nourishment; and nature's design,” said Amanda Rieux, Malaʽai Culinary Garden Director and consortium leader.
  Now 60 strong, the gardens have become intrinsic to school curriculum, providing unique lessons from the processes that are the foundations for life. Also, with a grounding in Hawaiian cultural practices, school gardens have also created a path back to the source for students, educators and community members on Hawaiʽi Island.
  In Kohala district, school gardens range from a series of wood framed raised beds such as Kanu o ka ʽĀina, to a full garden space such as Malaʽai Culinary Garden and Kohala Elementary to Parker School’s food forest. 
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Kanu o ka Aina students working in a garden bed. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Kanu o ka ʽĀina
 
  The school garden at Kanu is really a series of gardens that are connected to each of the grade level classrooms. School garden coordinator, Heather Sarsona meets me in front of the school and we walk down to the makai end of the building. “This is our preschool garden and outdoor learning space. Anna Peach is our garden person for the preschool. Right now we’re planting buckwheat and beans to amend the soil,” said Heather. 
  We move on to the next garden area. When Makaliʽi sails to Papahānaumokuākea in two years, they will be carrying supplies grown in the Kanu garden. “This is a developing tea garden area. We have mamake, lemon verbana, African hibisucus, lemon mamake, lavender, lemon grass, olena. The teas are one of the things we're going to contribute to the voyage,” said Heather. “Each hui is going to try to look at what they grow best and learn how process it.”
  The garden boxes contain a range of plants such as kalo, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, squash, corn and pumpkins. “We grow a lot of pumpkins and that's another thing we're going to contribute to the voyage,” said Heather.
  All the classrooms open to the garden space and there is a sense of continuous flow between indoor and outdoor learning environments, complete with a gathering place for stories and a konane board. 

PictureGarden leader Holly works with Waimea Middle School students in the Mala'ai Culinary Garden. Photo courtesy of Holly Sargent - Green
Malaʽai Culinary Garden
 
  Bordered by Waimea Middle School’s new science building and playground, Malaʽai Culinary Garden is ideally located in the heart of old Waimea. Besides Garden Director Amanda, the garden has an Executive Director Alethea Lai and one full time Garden Leader, Holly Sargent Green, who sees every student a minimum of every two weeks.
  The garden provides a holistic learning environment that connects with the kind of learning that takes place in the classroom. “We have a really long term, solid partnership with our science teachers. The garden is a lens that connects students to the living world, which connects them to all living worlds,” explains Amanda.
  Students participate in all aspects of garden life while at the same time gaining a deep understanding of the underlying biological processes at work. Starting in kindergarten, students are observing, collecting data and developing a keen sense of place.
  A favorite saying of Pwo Navigator Chadd Paishon is, “Know your island and you will never be lost”, and beyond the science, the garden experience helps students develop a personal compass that will guide them throughout their life’s journeys. 
  “As they are growing they have a relationship with this place. There’s a personal, private relationship that grounds them. Their actions, their work over time is really important. That sense of place and feeling like they are real contributors. That's where it becomes very powerful,” said Amanda. 


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Garden teacher June working with Kohala Elementary students to plant carrots. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Kohala Elementary School Garden
 
  To find your way to the Kohala Elementary School garden you follow a path along an array of terraced classrooms and then suddenly off to the left you see a koa lined, downward, zigzagging path to an Eden-like valley.
  A group of second graders pauses at the top to chant and ask permission to enter, leaving any disturbances outside. “A while ago I created a trouble tree. However you're feeling affects the plants, so you shouldn't walk into the garden feeling angry or sad. We toss all that to the trouble tree,” said Kayla Sinotte, Kohala Elementary school garden coordinator.
  Each class has their own garden bed with varying themes such as seeds and life cycles, nutrition, compost, soil and native Hawaiian plants. “The older classes have themes such as Mediterranean, body building and they choose plants according to their use and companion planting. Then they harvest whatever they grow and make something,” said Kayla. “The connection to the land. I think it's really important for kids to know where they’re from and where their food comes from,” she added.
  This year’s full time Food Corp teacher June Guo, gathers students at a table to examine the carrot seeds they will be planting today. “What happens when seeds get water and sunlight?” June asks. “They break and you give them more water and they sprout,” answers one of the students.
  June goes on to explain why they will be planting the seeds directly into the ground, rather than starting them in pots and then it’s off to their particular raised bed to plant. “We incorporate science into the lessons but we also give them the opportunity to get their hands dirty. There's a living curriculum that's inspired by all these garden resources we have. What is happening in our garden? What's happening at our school? What cultural activities are going on?”
  Garden lessons also stretch out to other parts of the students’ lives. “Parents have come up to me and made comments like: ‘I don't know what you do in the garden but now my kid is helping me in mine. And he asked me for kale. What did you do to get him to like kale?’” said Kayla. 

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Parker Middle School students enter the food forest to harvest mamake. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Parker School Garden
 
  The Parker School garden is located on the north side of Waikola Stream, running through the center of town. Today’s session for middle school science students begins in the classroom where garden teacher Jared Chapman is having students write and reflect on six principles promoted through work in the garden: hoʽo kuanoʽo (complex thinker); hana noeʽau (quality producer); malama kaia ulu (community contributor); kupono hana ike (effective user of technology); kuleana i hola (self-directed learner); kaka olelo (effective communicator).
  On the way to the garden, students stop to form a line facing Mauna Kea and chant Malana Mai Kāʽu. We enter the garden, a veritable food forest with paths that meander through a treasure trove of native plants. “This area in general used to be ancient farms. If you walk the stream you can see where the old ʽauwai was built. This whole area was agriculture and now we're bringing it back,” said Jared.
  Observing and nurturing potted plants is the first order of the day. “Look, it’s like a rain coat,” said one student observing a bead of water dancing on a kalo leaf. Students then disappear into the forest, harvesting mamake and weeding around trees.
  Students are constantly grappling with the complexities of life and the garden is rich with informative metaphors. “When you're doing a school garden you have that unique opportunity to focus on diversity.  Once they're working, they're seeing things around them and the lessons come, regardless of what I tell them,” said Jared. 
  Parker School science and Hawaiian studies teacher, Susan Rickards incorporates the garden in a range of classes she teaches at Parker School. “That's the whole thing is making it tangible and what's more tangible than the garden? It ties into all of the classes, especially the Hawaiian studies class. As far as the historical curriculum, we go to the garden and point out, which of these if any, existed pre-human or pre-mammal even, pre-invasive species, pre-canoe,” said Susan. “Then we learn about a particular species, planting it and seeing how it grows. And then we tie that in with the culture and traditions,” she added.
 
Community Connections
 
  Kohala school gardens have developed strong mutual relationships with their communities. “We couldn’t run our program without our community volunteers. We have four community members that come and work in the garden with our classes. It allows us to have small group sizes and it gives us the opportunity to go deep into subject matter,” said Holly.
  The Kohala Elementary School Garden has made a connection with local businesses. “We sell our mint and basil and parsley and dill to Sushi Rock and kale and eggplant to the Kohala Coffee Mill,” said Kayla.  “We also sell our taro leaves to CSE café, right across the street. The kids bring their families in and order the laulau plate and they can say, ‘I grew that’,” she added. 
  And like the Hōkūleʽa, Kohala gardens have the potential to make global connections. “We just had a group come from Amsterdam. They came to the garden and did a work day and met with the Ike Hawaiʽi students. It was great,” said Holly.
Gardens are a living metaphor that promote health and peace and the Kohala school gardens are a shining example of the waʽa spirit that permeates our island:                                       “He moku, he waʽa. He waʽa he moku” -----Clay Bertelmann.

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Kanu o ka ʽĀina Graduates Take Wing                                                 North Hawaii News June 2, 2017

6/21/2017

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PicturePolani proudly displaying her diploma.
Polani Kahakalau and Luana Zablan, two alumna of Kanu of ka Aina New Century Public Charter School, are 2017 graduates of UH-Hilo. The seeds of learning and wisdom planted several years ago help young Hawaiians grow into contributing community members through the study and perpetuation of Hawaiian culture. The two graduates received their educational foundations at Kanu O Ka Aina and are the fruits of early efforts to create an educational system that answers the needs of indigenous children. “Kanu helps students recognize their gifts and talents and explore them throughout their 13-year journey, so after graduation they can pursue their passions as a way of life,” said founder Dr. Ku Kahakalau.
    When she started teaching Hawaiian studies at Honokaa High School, Kahakalau noticed students were earning A’s in her class and struggling in their other classes and realized that, “Students need more than one class where they can work up to their potential,” she said. As the focus of her subsequent doctoral studies, Kahakalau and her husband, Nalei, created Kano o ka Aina Academy, a school within a school at Honokaa High School.
    Then in 1999, through the efforts of the Kahakalau’s and many other community members and organizations, funding was obtained to begin Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School. “We believed that as Hawaiians we should design our own educational system,” she said. “Hawaiian children have a lot more capacity and potential than people give them credit for. Kanu was designed for students to explore their gifts and talents and become contributing members of the community.”
    Graduates Polani Kahakalau and Luana Zablan are shining examples of this educational wisdom. Polani was part of the first group of students who attended Kanu o ka Aina from kindergarten through high school. Her passions are hula and performing arts, and on May 13 she graduated from UH-Hilo with honors and a bachelor’s degree in performing arts. “Kanu definitely helped me get to where I am. With Kanu we're always reminded who we are and where we come from, and I've been blessed to have wonderful parents that really, really encourage education,” said Polani.  

PicturePolani with her afterschool hula drama students.
​At the heart of Kanu o ka Aina is education with aloha. “The teachers genuinely care about their students. They ask how you're doing and make suggestions. They really get to know the students, and show us how to care for one another, to love and show empathy. I'm able to do things I thought I could never do,” she said. This year, Polani created a hula drama for her 20 K-8 afterschool hula students at Paauilo School, which was performed at the Paauilo Hongwanji. “We were taught at Kanu what our ancestors did. They would learn and from this knowledge, they would pass it on to the next generation,” she said.
    Back at the beginning, Ku Kahakalau saw the brilliancy in her Hawaiian students and predicted that students could build on the successes they had in Hawaiian studies to excel in other subjects.
    “It's created a stability within my life and made me be more open-minded. Being raised in the Hawaiian culture has created a wonderful foundation of being accepted, and being understanding of others and things taught to me,” said Polani. In the fall, she plans to begin a master’s degree in organizational leadership at Argosy University, and has a long-range goal to open a culturally-focused theater company to educate people around the world about Hawaii’s culture, language and history. “I have these beautiful two platforms (parents, Kanu) back at home. I want to make them proud and make my community proud,” said Polani.

PictureLuana Zablan
Similarly, Zablan’s  Kanu o ka ʽĀina education has provided a solid foundation that has launched her out into the world. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Among her many art accolades is the selection of her art for the cover of the spring 2015 issue of Hohonu, UH-Hilo’s journal of academic writing.             
​    Upon graduation from Kanu o ka Aina, Zablan was the first student there to receive the Dorrance Foundation Scholarship, which enabled her to travel across the U.S. and to several European countries including Budapest and Hungary, working with Habitat for Humanity building and renovating small apartments. Zablan also visited the    East Coast of the U.S. and participated in an entrepreneurship class in Tucson, Arizona.
        In 2015, she received the Audrey S. Furukawa Study Abroad Scholarship which enabled her to attend the Anglo-American University in the Czech Republic for a semester. After graduation, Zablan accepted a paid position with the Dorrance Program, and in the fall will be working as a study abroad mentor in Orvieto, Italy. She also plans to pursue a master’s degree in drawing and painting at UH-Manoa.
​    Zablan’s words of advice are, “Learn from the past, be active in the present and prepare for the future. Take it upon yourself to strive for excellence, focus on opportunities and give back to your communities.”

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Rain Gardens Protecting Waterways                                                Special to West Hawaii Today  2/10/17

3/29/2017

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Students from The Kohala Center’s Ke Kumu Aina after-school program help their instructor, Mahina Patterson, plant the new rain garden behind Waimea Center. The project was orchestrated by Lisa Ferentinos with the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program (far right). (LANDRY FULLER/SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY)
    When it rains, our gardens get much needed nourishment, but runoff from impervious surfaces sends  pollutants such as heavy metals and oil into our waterways and eventually into the ocean. Rain gardens are a way to prevent this happening and Wai’ula’ula Stream, which begins in the Kohalas and runs through the center of Waimea to the ocean has been gifted one.
    On Wed. Feb. 1, extension agent, Lisa Ferentinos from the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program (UHSGCP), student volunteers from the Kohala Center’s after school program, Ke Kumu Aina and Julia Rose from The Nature Conservancy and the South Kohala Coastal Partnership installed a rain garden in the northeast corner of the Waimea Shopping Center’s back lot.
    The garden is a shell shaped slope and is made up of a selection of native Hawaiian plants such as ilima, mamaki, uhi uhi, mau hau hele, ti and ohia to name a fewki. “The idea is the plants in the lowest part of the garden are adapted to being wetter. The ones in the upper part are adapted to being draught tolerant and the ones in the middle can handle a little bit of wet and a little bit of dry,” said Ferentinos.
    The run-off will be directed to the garden through a sub-surface pipe. “The idea is the water comes in off the parking lot into this low area. There's a pipe that will help distribute the water. You use the plants to bio-mediate any of the pollutants. The plants will take up the water and anything that's in the water and any water that goes into the stream will be filtered,” explained Ferentinos.
    The rain garden project for Hawaii Island began back in 2014 through a conservation partnership. “The South Kohala Coastal Partnership (SKCP), of which UHSGCP is a member, helped find funding to do an assessment of Waiulaula Stream for the worse erosion hot spots. That was completed in 2014,” said Ferentinos.
    Once five hot spots were identified, “They (SKCP) got funding from the Department of Health Polluted Run- off Control Program to address some of the worse erosion hot spots along Wai’ula’ula Stream,” said Ferentinos.
    Although there are many rain gardens that have been developed on Oahu, Ferentinos has adapted the design of the Waimea garden to fit the conditions. “This one might be the first on the Big Island. There's quite a few on Oahu, but they're at sea level and it's a different situation, different soil, different plants,” said Ferentinos.
    The rain garden is one of many strategies to address run-off along the Wai’ula’ula Stream corridor. The first effort was to plant a strip of kikuyu, for its low maintenance, and native hibiscus along the bank of the stream, directly behind, the center’s courtyard. 
    The next hot spot will be at the Ulu La’au Nature Park, where, Kohala Center’s Ke Kumu Aina program is centered. The group meets on Wednesdays from 1:30 to 5:00 to explore and learn about Hawaii Island’s native plants.
    Ke Kumu Aina Program Coordinator, Mahina Patterson and her students, who helped plant the rain garden, will be on hand to help. “We will install erosion control matting and coconut fiber logs and vegetation to slow down the erosion of the banks. We already have a trial area to make sure that the concept we were considering was workable and we're in the process of ordering the materials and getting the labor contracted to do that site, which we expect to happen in another couple of months,” said Ferentinos.
    The skilled, enthusiastic hands of Ku’ulei Kumai-Ho from Waimea Middle School; Shaelynne Monell-Lagaret from Kanu o ka Aina and Julian Fried from HPA soon have the garden planted and blessed with positive intensions. But the care for the garden doesn’t stop there.
    “In Hawaii there's no such thing as no maintenance. That's a huge challenge with all environmental projects here. We're trying to get school groups to adopt areas that we're doing our projects in. We're trying to get teachers at Parker School and Waimea Middle School engaged. The idea is that each school or class can take on some part that matches up with their educational goals,” said Ferentinos.
    The rain garden is both a little bit experiment and a way to educate the community about how they can help prevent run-off. “Once the plants are established we're going to have a workshop and invite the community to come and learn about rain gardens. We're trying some techniques and plants that haven't been tried before, so once we get an idea of how well it's working then we'd like to invite the public to come and learn about it,” said Ferentinos.
    The effort to prevent run-off is a whole community affair and requires individual awareness of causes and how they can be fixed. “We’re hoping to encourage folks to install rain gardens at their homes to deal with any run off from their impervious surfaces like driveways or roof tops and encourage other folks in the community to consider using rain gardens to have the excess infiltrate rather than run off into the stream,” concluded Ferentions. 
    On Oahu, the Hui o Koolaupoko has been working on several projects to prevent run-off and has created a rain garden manual that can be accessed at: http://www.huihawaii.org/uploads/1/6/6/3/16632890/raingardenmanual-web-res-smaller.pdf
The assessment of Waiulaula Stream can be accessed at:
http://www.southkohalacoastalpartnership.com/uploads/2/5/7/1/25718612/southkohalasca_final_sept2014.pdf
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Makali'i: Voyaging into the Future                                                 North Hawaii News  2/3/17

2/6/2017

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Canoe Kupuna Patti Soloman and crew member Lehua Ah Sam on deck at a volunteer day. Photo: Landry Fuller
    Makalii, the Hawaii Island voyaging canoe originally launched in 1995, will soon be under sail after a major dry docking that began in October 2013.    Last fall, Ohana Makalii — also known as Na Kalai Waa — received an Administration for Native Americans grant. In November they started the Hanauna Ola (Sustaining the Generations through Voyaging) program, and last Saturday crew training began. The funds will also support provisioning efforts at island school gardens. The culmination of the three-year program will be a voyage to two of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, Nihoa and Mokumanamana (Necker). Team members will begin training in the water by this summer.
    The program allows Pwo Navigator Shorty Bertelmann, who sailed with Papa Mau on the first Hokulea voyage, to transmit his knowledge to the existing crew members and help them advance and get to leadership levels,” said Keala Kahuanui, program coordinator.

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Pwo Navigator Shorty Bertelmann (left) watches as Na Kalai Waa employee and apprentice Lei’ohu Santos-Colburn explains to crew member Kala Mossman how to apply varnish to the canoe’s palekai. Photo: Landry Fuller
PictureChadd Paishon and Pomai Bertelmann
    The second pwo navigator, Chadd Paishon, is working with the land crews made up of participating school staff who will support every aspect of the voyage. “Chadd’s kuleana is to activate our community. Our Ohana Makalii feels deeply about our communities being intricately involved in our efforts, whether voyages or activities on land,” Kahuanui said, who is assisting Paishon.
    The land crew will learn about three different practices. The first is Ai Pono (eat healthy). “A few years ago at the Ku Aina Pa (garden educators program), Chadd noted that our ancestors were able to traverse this ocean and asked, ‘Can we provision one canoe on one voyage?’” Kahuanui said.
    This question set Malaai Garden’s Director Amanda Rieux and Waimea Middle School students on a quest to feed the canoe crew by creating healthy, storable foods produced from the garden. To prepare for the voyage to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, the land crews will need to provision the canoe for a 30-day voyage with a 14 voyaging crew.
    “This is a huge effort to have the time and resources to intentionally provision our canoes better,” Kahuanui said. “If we provision the canoe for 30 days that’ll be a good test, good data collection. From Hawaii we can go any direction and reach land in 30 days.” But the hope is the voyage will continue on land after the canoe has returned.
​    “We are working together in the name of a voyage, but also in the name of the continuous voyage of being a little island in the middle of the ocean. We are creating the processes and protocols on how to preserve foods so that when we have an influx of weather and we have these emergency kits, perhaps we’re not running to the store. There’s a lot of work to do,” she said.


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Makalii crew members and volunteers continue workdays during a major dry docking of the canoe that began in October 2013. Photo Landry Fuller
PictureKeala Kahuanui
    The Hanai Waa practice entails “learning about our ceremonies, protocols, oli and mele … creating new ones for this voyage but also maintaining the foundations,” Kahuanui explained. Embarking on an ocean voyage is to acknowledge and experience a higher power, which is where Hanai Waa (embrace, care for) comes into play.
    “Sometimes we get caught up in the physical side, training, planting, and we forget there’s another side: the spirit. It’s making sure that everyone understands that as much as it’s a physical journey, the spiritual journey is also a part of us and for us. It’s one and the same. It’s never separated,” Paishon said. “When we start to talk about ceremony and protocol, it’s the same with everything we do. When we’re putting our plants in the ground it’s the intention you plant with, the spirit you plant with. That’s really what hanai is — that connection.”
    The third practice is Pilina Kaula, meaning closely connected strands. Cordage was crucial to the voyaging canoe and was a prized gift. Olona, which is being grown at Ho’ea (the canoe garden in Kohala), provided durable strength far superior to any available European cordage, and literally held the voyaging canoes together.
    “They’ll learn to propagate the plants and make cordage from them that will be used in our ceremonies upon arrival and departure. Pilina Kaula is the physical side of Hanai Waa, creating connections. Pilina, (closeness) to the cordage, to the moku (island), our waa and the islands that we’re going to,” Kahuanui said.
     As part of the grant, students from 11 partner schools on Hawaii Island will be trained in the near future after their teachers complete training that started recently. In North Hawaii, participants will come from Kanu o Ka Aina, Alo Kehau o ka Aina Mauna, Punana Leo o Waimea, Kohala Elementary and Middle School and Laupahoehoe Public Charter School.
    “Our schools are really excited. The movement of the waa creates that excitement and the desire to participate. For those who are not voyagers, this allows them to engage and provide their resources and expertise. Everybody has a piece of the puzzle,” she said.
​    The land crew will have the chance to experience “Makalii magic” and get to experience authentic learning. “Makalii is very good at creating relationships and this will set that precedence. The schools are encouraged to come to the canoe and build a relationship. The hull space is where their food will get stored. To see that, they will realize that what they’re doing is affecting more than them and their classmates. It’s helping to perpetuate and sustain our traditions,” Kahuanui said.
    While there is a foundation of knowledge and experience to draw from, for the canoe to continue to voyage it requires everyone to find and share their strengths and work together. “The beauty of the training is that we’re not supposed to have all of these already set. It’s a process and we’re going to learn from each other. We’re going to build upon our strengths and that’s the beauty of voyaging. You’re going to depend on each other’s strengths and challenges to reach our destination,” she said.
​    Hanauna Ola is the next phase in a long journey to recapture the practices that made it possible for the ancestors to thrive. “We are so fortunate to live in this day and time. All the other layers have been built up and now we have this layer we can work on and start to lay out the foundation for the next generation of voyagers as a template of what we have done. What Chadd and Shorty are doing is sharing their knowledge with the next generations of canoe crew and laying down a path for future generations to follow,” Kahuanui concluded.

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Hawaiian Scholar from the Roots Up                                              North Hawaii News / December 9, 2016                                     

2/6/2017

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Emalani Case: Standing on left
​     Grounded in strong Waimea roots, Emalani Case has branched out to reach across the Pacific and will be returning home in December after finishing four and a half years at Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand, completing a Ph.D. in Pacific Studies and a teaching fellowship.
     Case’s story begins in Waimea, her tap root an immersion in Hawaiian culture and language. “I've always had a strong cultural foundation. I grew up dancing hula with Pua (Case) before I ever went to school. So that really set the foundation for me,” says Case.
     Those strong roots have nourished Case as she engaged in an odyssey of story and an exploration of Pacific Islander culture. “Hula taught me how to see the world as being storied. It doesn't allow you to step into the world as an unconscious traveler. Every rock, every mountain, every river, has a story that is connected to people. It set that foundation for wherever I go in the world. You have to understand story and you have to understand your place within that story. It's humbling,” says Case.
     Hawaiian language has always been at the center of Case’s educational endeavors. Born in 1983, Aha Punanaleo o Waimea, whose original director was her mother, Keomailani Case, came too late for her to attend. But her Hawaiian language roots were nourished by the burgeoning efforts of Ku and Nalei Kahakalau, founders of Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School.
     “Kanu o ka Aina definitely played a big role in everything that I did. I can’t even express how thankful I am that Aunty Ku was able to show me at a young age that our histories, our stories truly mattered. We could really acknowledge who we are and who our ancestors were at every point of the day and that our education can revolve around that. She truly set me on my path,” says Case.
     Her love of story led Case to earn a B.A. in English at U.H. Hilo. “I initially went into English because that was where I could really learn about the craft and engage in reading stories from all over the world. I'm a lover of words and language. I wanted to learn about writing and telling stories from different perspectives and languages,” says Case.
     After completing her B.A. Case continued in English receiving an M.A. in English from U.H. Manoa, interweaving her cultural and academic experiences. “I took everything I had with the bachelor's degree and everything that I had growing up in hula and that's where I to started to explore literature about Hawaii and the Pacific,” says Case.
     When she completed her master’s degree and needing to work and take a break from studies, Case began a teaching position at U.H. Hilo. “I was blessed to be offered an instructor position in the English department at U.H. Hilo. I taught there for a couple of years and then I was offered an amazing assistant professor position in Hawaiian studies. For four years I taught a mix of English and Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies courses,” says Case.
     Her roots and varied experiences were pushing her to reach further, which she did by pursuing a Ph.D. in Pacific Studies. “While I was teaching I was definitely continuing to learn from my students at U.H. Hilo. I decided I wanted to go into Pacific studies. It's interdisciplinary. You can pull from history, from English, from languages, Hawaiian studies and bring that all together,” says Case.
     Because Pacific Studies is a relatively new field, there were no Ph.D. programs at home. Case found herself reaching across the Pacific seeking the knowledge and wisdom from the S.W. corner of the Polynesian Triangle. “I knew right away that I wanted to come to New Zealand because it has some of the best Pacific Studies programs. I looked into the program at Victoria University in Wellington and I saw that the director of the program was a woman named Teresia Teaiwa. I had read some of her work and have always loved her scholarship,” says Case.
      Not only was Case accepted to the program, but was given a full scholarship and in June 2012 began a three year program. “I left Hawaii’s summer and moved to the middle of New Zealand's winter. I quickly learned Wellington has some of the harshest wind in New Zealand. In the first couple of months I struggled with trying to find my grounding on multiple levels and that was rough,” says Case.
    Submitted in July 2015, Case’s Ph.D. thesis,
I Kahiki ke Ola: In Kahiki there is Life, Ancestral Memories and Migrations in the New Pacific, explores the concept of Kahiki as it encapsulates, “our ancestral memories of migration,” says Case.
     Through her Ph.D. work and a teaching fellowship, with a range of Pacific Islander students, Case has explored first hand, issues facing many indigenous people, “Here I am considered a Pacific Islander not in my homeland. What does that mean? I was able to open up that space for those conversations,” says Case.
     A grounding in personalized learning, a hall mark of Kanu o ka Aina education, was something that Case  was able to pass on to students in an art and activism course she taught. “This class on art and activism was such an emotional one for me and I think for many of my students because we definitely pushed that personal connection. They're essentially given the opportunity to challenge the way that their people, their families, and their cultures and communities have been represented by outsiders. They're given the space to voice their opinions about that,” says Case.
     So what’s next for Case? “I was offered a position in Hawaiian and Pacific studies at U.H. West Oahu. I start there in January. While we honor our culture, our histories in Hawaii, we have to also see them in relationship to the rest of the Pacific and build on those ancestral connections. There are so many exciting opportunities there and who knows what we can build there?” says Case.
 


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November 27th, 2016

11/27/2016

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PictureMakali'i
Rains and wind scour Hawaii Island and Makalii rises in the east at sunset. Lono is afoot. The Makahiki season, a time for connection and rejuvenation, has arrived. In its third year, the Ka Makahiki Pule Aina Holo, a circle island prayer run, will take place from Wednesday evening, Nov. 9 through Sun. Nov. 13. On Wed. Oct 20, an orientation for the run was held at Kanu o ka Aina gym.       ​

PictureKu'ulei Keakealani
     Ku‛ulei Keakealani began the session by sharing the story of Makaiole and Kamiki, heroic brothers who travel from Kohanaiki to Lanimaomao (Lakeland), Mahiki (Mud Lane), Waipio and Lake Waiau, performing astonishing physical feats, orienting the group to the historical significance of places that will be traversed during the run. “I want to try and find or make connections to what will occur in a few weeks. Make connections to some place names, perhaps some pu'u, some lakes, hopefully there will be familiarity.”

PictureLanakila Mangauil and Lono staff
    Ka Makahiki Pule Aina Holo emerged from the experiences of Hamakua cultural practitioner, Lanakila Mangauil as a way to create a contemporary connection with life-sustaining ancestral practices. While astonishing physical feats are very much a part of Hawaiian cultural history, often what is needed is the combined efforts of everyone. This was highlighted by Mangauil through a story of draught and famine in Hamakua, where it was only when all the people stopped complaining and joined in ceremony that the rains finally came.
   
“Don't wait for superman, when we see something that needs to be done, we just get up and do it,” says Mangauil, which was something he experienced during a 2004 cultural exchange program with the Pit River and Hopi tribes.
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“The ancestral run was created by the elders of the Pit River Tribe in the 90's as a ceremony to address the situation of their people. A lot of drug, alcohol abuse was happening in their community. They needed something to bring the people together, traditions, stories, blessings,” says Mangauil.   
   
Mangauil continued to run with the tribes for another five years until one year he gave voice to the idea of holding a prayer run in Hawaii. “I literally went to the fire and said, 'I want to do one like this in Hawaii'.”
   
The seed was planted and in a few months the shoots began to appear. “That first year, back in 2014 was our first Makahiki run, it was literally two weeks before. Just putting out the prayer, putting out the thought and let's just see what we come up with. It was raw,” said Mangauil.
   
Mangauil could find no traditions of prayer runs in Hawaii but when he asked himself, “What other tradition do we have about circling the island?” The answer was, “Makahiki. The traditional practice of the circuit of the high chiefs and the kahuna.”
​   
The Makahiki procession was always done clockwise beginning in Kealakekua. “They always walked clockwise to cleanse the land. Right hand you receive, left hand you give so it passes in and goes out this side. They were hooking any hana ino (negativity) from the land and casting it out that (ocean) side,” says Mangauil.

PictureMakahiki runners through Kona
      As often when a clear intention is sent out, the universe conspires to manifest it. “It came so quickly, I couldn't ignore. For the staff I thought of a kii and low and behold, Uncle Kanani Kaulu Kukui from Kona carved the kii,” says Mangauil. And the kapa for the Lono staff appeared from a serendipitous encounter. “I met Dalani Tanahy, a kapa maker from Maui, at the Merry Monarch and she made the kapa for the Lono staff,” says Mangauil.
    As the runners travel the Island it’s an opportunity for communities to share their best. “We encourage the communities in the evening, to come out and kanikapila and share food, stories, dance. It’s not necessarily mea (things) Hawaii, but people being able to come out and show what they worked on, be thankful for what they’ve been able to produce,” says Mangauil.
    The Makahiki run is in its third year and the first shoots have grown deeper roots and extended branches.  That first year 20 Pit River tribal members came to join the run and this year there will be 50 guests from various tribes, coming to add their prayers to the growing number of Island runners.
    “We would like to have entire communities represented. We would like to have cross country teams from different schools involved,” says Pua Case, who will be providing orientation sessions leading up to the event, including a special chant and hula. “This is about prayer and purpose and culture and that has to be in everybody's mind when they’re running, footsteps on the ground, Lono on the ground running. Prayers high,” says Case.
    Waimea runners will include the Keakealani family, represented by Ku‛ulei and her daughters Kamehana, Nahenani and Ka‛io, who will receive the Lono staff from the Kohala runners at Lanikepu (upper H.P.A. campus); Kanu o ka ‛Āina middle and high school students, coordinated by Kanoa Castro, Pomai Bertelmann and Chelsey Dickson; and Punanaleo and Alo Kehau Hawaiian emersion schools, who will also provide lunch. 
     Ka Makahiki Pule Aina Holo is a budding tradition with old roots. “Every tradition was created by a person at a time and it only became tradition because it was practiced over and over and over again and it worked. As we create traditions that work that are pono, it will become the traditions for our children's, children's children,” says Manguail. It is an opportunity, “To bring the whole Island into a consciousness of gratitude. When we run we are also giving something. We're offering ourselves, a sacrifice of our best,” he adds.

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