As Hawaiʻi faces rising sea levels, housing pressures and growing calls for the return of to community stewardship, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� will host a day of bold conversations focused on solutions. On March 4, the annual at 8 a.m. at East West Center will gather leaders, scholars and community advocates to examine how land, law and justice intersect and what that means for Hawaiʻi’s future.

Now in its fifth year, the summit carries the theme ʻĀinahoʻi: Land, Law and Justice. ʻĀinahoʻi means “indeed that which feeds us.” The phrase is both reminder and call to action that the future of Hawaiʻi is tied to how we care for the ʻ�徱�Բ� that sustains us.

“We established the Piʻo Summits to advance ancestral knowledge and courageous leadership to address the cascading challenges of our times,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, professor at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and the . “Hawaiʻi deserves the best and the Piʻo Summits bring critical issues to the head of our table and we sit with the community to find ways to carve out a better future.”

Voices for ʻ�徱�Բ�

This year’s summit begins with music from two-time Grammy nominee Raiatea Helm and a keynote from Justice Joe Williams of Aotearoa, a respected Māori jurist known for advancing Indigenous rights within modern legal systems.

Throughout the day, panels will feature leaders from Hawaiʻi’s largest landholders serving Native Hawaiian communities, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Kanaka ʻŌ���ɾ� (Native Hawaiian) advocates will join scholars and professors from ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s and departments, as well as the William S. Richardson School of Law, to explore the future of ʻ�徱�Բ� stewardship and justice in Hawaiʻi.

“This year’s summit will highlight the collective effort for ʻĀinahoʻi across the ,” Beamer said. “We will be exploring how communities are navigating and challenging existing systems through legal methods, land trusts, and grassroots action to restore , strengthen relationships to ʻ�徱�Բ�, and advance self-determined governance grounded in ancestral innovation and courageousness.”

Ancestral innovation

The summit is organized by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀ���Բ�, a ������Ƶ-based lab that works to solve modern challenges using ʻike Hawaiʻi (ancestral Hawaiian knowledge). The lab is helping build a new center focused on an ancestral circular economy, a model rooted in regeneration and long-term stewardship.

Voices, movement and moments of reflection filled at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� in early February as , a biennial conference brought together scholars, artists and community members for two days of exchange. Hosted by the (ANNO), the conference explored how Indigenous performance sustains knowledge, language and relationships across generations.

The second biennial conference featured panels, workshops and special events that emphasized learning through practice.

Participants took part in everything from hula workshops led by ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� instructor and Kumu Hula Tracie Kaʻōnohilani Farias Lopes to kapa making, puppet making, carving and a movement-based session by Sami L.A. Akuna that invited reflection on storytelling and the body.

“We hope that the conference delegates engaged in the many offerings of the two-day event and see the importance of Indigenous performance as a site of knowledge production, cultural preservation, and collective imagination,” said Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, who co-founded ANNO and is a director of ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s award-winning .

One panel, Aloha ʻĀina Embodied: The Praxis of ʻAha, was conducted entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The session featured several kumu, including Kaliko Baker, an associate professor at ; Kaipu Keala, an assistant professor at , Kaulu Luuwai, an attorney with at William S. Richardson School of Law, and Snowbird Bento, kumu hula of Ka Pā Hula O Ka Lei Lehua.

Panelists discussed how is expressed through performance and community practice, reflecting on the ways language and movement inform artistic and community-based work.

Celebration and story

The conference concluded with a hoʻolauleʻa, a celebration that combined conversation and creative sharing. Events included a film screening of , directed by Lisette Flanary, professor at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and a preview of a new hana keaka (theatre work) by ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Hawaiian theatre graduate student Ikaika Mendez. The production, Lele Wale, reflects on community rebuilding after the Lahaina wildfires, honoring those who were lost, those who survived, and those continuing the work of rebuilding on Maui. Performances run March 4–8 at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at Kennedy Theatre.

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Lahaina’s story lives in new hana keaka production, February 5, 2026

Established in 2022 through the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Provost’s Strategic Investment Initiative, ANNO advances Hawaiian and Indigenous performance through scholarship, curriculum and outreach, supporting ongoing research and creative practice at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�.

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio has worn many pāpale (hats)—historian, award-winning musician, advocate, kumu (teacher) and dean. After nearly a decade guiding the at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�, he is stepping away from administration and back into the classroom, where his career began more than 30 years ago.

“I consider the last eight years maybe the most blessed time of my life. The things I learned, about how a university operates, how to work with people around me that didn’t see eye to eye with what we were trying to do, how to be persuasive, all of those things were really amazing to me,” said Osorio.

The kānaka ʻō���ɾ� (Native Hawaiian) scholar became dean in 2017 at age 68, following years of service as a professor and director of the . During his tenure, �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ���Գܾ����� strengthened its reputation as the nation’s only college of Indigenous knowledge at a Research I university.

In 2024, the school earned a 10-year renewal of accreditation from the , a testament to its role in preserving and revitalizing Hawaiian language, culture and values.

Related ������Ƶ News stories:

• Indigenous educators engage in ʻ�徱�Բ�, ʻike at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�, October 1, 2024
• ������Ƶ haumāna explore Kalākaua and Hawaiian Kingdom’s legacy in Japan, May 27, 2025

Full circle return

While proud of these milestones, Osorio expressed his heart has always been in teaching.

“It’s time to go back to teaching and let a younger, more vigorous and eager person take this job on. And I know it will be a blessing to that person whoever it is.”

Osorio, born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, began teaching in 1991 as an instructor at . He joined ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� in 1994 and advanced from assistant to full professor of Hawaiian studies. His scholarship has shaped the field of 19th-century Hawaiian political and social history, while his music, recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts in 2019, remains beloved across the islands.

A search committee has been formed to find Osorio’s successor, and the position is expected to be filled by August 2026. The committee will be chaired by Kapā Oliveira, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� interim vice provost for , and a former professor at �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ���Գܾ�����

With diverse expertise ranging from oceanography to economics to community-based coastal management, the University of Hawaiʻi hired eight new faculty members to support sustainable Pacific fisheries efforts. The new cohort of hires will develop an innovative graduate program to advance fisheries research, education, and training for sustainable management in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific.

Fishing is essential to the way of life in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, providing 50–90% of the protein for Pacific Islanders. However, management strategies from the U.S. continent often fail here because they were designed for cold-water, industrial fisheries. Pacific fisheries are different—they operate in warm tropical waters with diverse species and fishing gear, and with Indigenous Pacific Island communities. The Pacific Island region is multinational and has comparatively less scientific data, requiring a locally developed approach to ensure they can be sustained for generations.

“It is critically important to elevate and co-develop knowledge relevant to the Pacific, foster local expertise, and train the next generation of fisheries stewards and managers,” said Megan Donahue, director of the (HIMB) in the ������Ƶ Mānoa (SOEST). “The new faculty members in this cohort each bring unique perspectives and talent to the complexities we face here. In addition to their contributions to advancing research and sustainable management of Pacific fisheries, they will be a vital part of developing a fisheries graduate training program.”

New faculty

• Donna Dimarchopoulou, Fisheries Quantitative Biologist–/
• Mary Donovan, Ecosystem-based Fisheries Science & Management–SOEST/ HIMB
• Erik Franklin, Fisheries Science & Management–SOEST/ HIMB
• Kanoe Morishige, Indigenous-Led Biocultural Coastal Management–/
• Eileen Nalley, Fisheries Extension–SOEST/
• Justin Suca, Fisheries Oceanography–SOEST/
• Ron Vave, Ocean Governance & Marine Resources–/
• Xiurou Wu, Environmental & Resource Economics–/

Fisheries in Hawaiʻi are distinct in that they include a variety of sectors ranging from the open ocean longline fishery, which is the sixth largest fishery in monetary value in the U.S., to community managed fishponds or loko iʻa. Importantly, the majority of nearshore fisheries in Hawaiʻi are non-commercial, which requires unique considerations for management. This program seeks to build on existing work by faculty and practitioners across the ������Ƶ System to understand the unique contributions of these diverse commercial and non-commercial fisheries to the economic, social, and cultural well-being of Hawaiʻi to ensure their longevity.

“This cohort of new hires will take fisheries at ������Ƶ to the next level to better serve students, communities, fishers, government agencies and conservation organizations in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific,” said Jeff Drazen, professor in the SOEST Department of Oceanography. “Our vision with this cohort is to stand up a center of expertise and excellence to facilitate the synergistic work that ������Ƶ is uniquely positioned to contribute.”

Developing the graduate education program

In Hawaiʻi, the Division of Aquatic Resources, the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center have noted the need for greater local research and management capacity. This graduate program will be distinguished from others by creating learning opportunities for students to weave western science and Indigenous knowledge in collaboration with communities, and supporting community-based fisheries solutions and participatory governance approaches.

“We are thrilled to welcome the new fisheries cohort, whose work will significantly enhance Pacific Island fisheries,” said Brian Neilson, Administrator of the Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources. “By advancing research and cultivating the next generation of scientists, practitioners, and managers with social and cultural competencies tailored to Pacific Island communities, this initiative will benefit Hawaiʻi and our island neighbors.”

alumnus Brutus La Benz has long been a familiar face on Hawaiʻi television screens appearing in commercials for everything from Texaco and 7-Eleven to Kona Brewing Company and the Hawaiʻi Quit Tobacco campaign. But his big break came this spring, when he debuted as Lilo’s kumu hula (hula teacher) in Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch, a box office hit that soared past the $1 billion mark this July.

Before landing a role in the major Disney film, La Benz’s earliest acting stage was his family’s living room in Kailua. As a kid, he and his brother would spend hours performing scenes from hit flicks Wayne’s World and Tommy Boy after summer fun.

“A lot of times we would just kind of memorize lines and reenact them. And I always thought that was fun,” he said.

That early love for performance stuck. The Olomana native can still recite skits from the late, beloved Hawaiʻi comedian Rap Replinger—classic jokes he proudly calls “scripture.”

La Benz, a Punahou School graduate, earned degrees in (Hawaiian language) and from the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� . It was in those ʻō������� classes he says a passion for acting truly began to grow.

“In order to help us learn the sentence structures and the new vocabulary, some of them would ask us to do a lot of mini skits, just so that we could memorize the lines and patterns,” La Benz added. “Once I figured out we can make these funny skits and still learn, that was really cool.”

That energy led him to the stage in 2004, when he starred in Kamapuaʻa, a Hawaiian-language stage production directed by Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, founder of ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s . It’s there he learned how to tell stories through action, not just words.

“Because many didn’t understand Hawaiian language, the words needed to come across in the way we acted. And so that was challenging, but also I think that’s what made us all really, really fun and decent actors,” La Benz said.

Seeking permission

In 2023, when Disney offered him the “kumu hula” role, La Benz actually hesitated. A trained ʻōlapa hula (hula dancer) under Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento, he wasn’t sure if taking the role of a kumu hula on screen was appropriate.

“My initial reaction was I better call my kumu first to make sure that it’s okay to portray a kumu,” La Benz said.

With her blessing, he stepped into it.

“He Mele No Lilo” (A song for the lost)

Filming for the lively scene took place at the Kokokahi YMCA in Kailua, and La Benz, who has a 9-year-old daughter, said it felt natural.

“It was just like having a bunch of my daughters there. They were super goofy. I felt more like I was being a parent and modeling after how I see my kumu interact with her students at those ages,” he said.

In addition to his role as Lilo’s kumu hula, La Benz also served as the body double for the alien character Jumba, performing the character’s physical movements on set.

His daughter, Kealaleihōkū lit up at the film’s Hawaiʻi premiere.

“She was just staring into the screen, but when I came on she said, ‘Oooh! Daddy!!’”

Guiding life moments

Outside of acting, La Benz pours his heart into work as a kahu (officiant). He’s spent more than a decade overseeing weddings, blessings and farewells.

“Honored to be a part of different celebrations…making people feel safe and comfortable enough to celebrate or grieve in a way that they need to,” said La Benz.

He expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a kahu and looks forward to taking on new acting roles but says above all, being a dad is the role he cherishes most.

—By Moanikeʻala Nabarro

Hundreds gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� for the , a free series of forums focused on leveraging ancestral knowledge to support long-term recovery efforts for communities affected by the Lahaina wildfires and the 2018 Kauaʻi floods.

“Piʻo summits were created to highlight ancestral innovation and the need for courageous leadership to solve the complex problems of our time,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, who is the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment at Hawaiʻinuākea and a professor at and the . “Aloha ʻāina (love of the land) is advancing efforts all across Hawaiʻi, and this is about us galvanizing that movement here at the university.”

• Related ������Ƶ News story: ������Ƶ conference addresses water justice, Red Hill, ʻāina, December 15, 2022

Award-winning vocalist and ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� alumna Raiatea Helm opened the summit at Imin Conference Center with mele aloha ʻāina, grounding the event in songs of love for the land. Her performance connected the audience to cherished places like Oʻahu, Piʻihonua within Hilo’s uplands and Kalamaʻula on Molokaʻi, where her roots lie.

Beyond the fires

A panel on Lahaina’s recovery brought together experts to discuss the devastating August 2023 wildfires and paths forward. Community leader Kekai Keahi, ������Ƶ law professor Kapua Sproat, and ecosystem fire specialist Clay Trauernicht explored how climate change heightens wildfire risks and how ancestral knowledge can inform Lahaina’s rebuilding.

“He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka—the land is the chief, we are the stewards,” Beamer emphasized. “A great example is restoration of streams,” Beamer said. “When we restore streams we restore the life and ecosystems of that stream system. But it also re-greens the ʻāina, so places in like Lahaina, when the streams were flowing, when Lahaina was the so-called ‘Venice of the Pacific,’ wildfires wouldn’t steep through.”

Healing in Hāʻena

Another panel highlighted resilience in �����ܲ�ʻ��’s north shore community of Hāʻena after catastrophic flooding in 2018. Leaders Chipper Wichman, Lei Wanna and Billy Kinney shared how ʻohana (family) bonds and cultural heritage sustained recovery efforts and preserved community identity.

Hosted by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀina, a project of the Dana Naone Hall chair, the summit spotlighted how ������Ƶ fosters aloha ʻāina practices to address modern challenges.

Sponsors included ������Ƶ Research, , , Ulupono Initiative, Ka Huli Ao and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

Amidst today’s global climate crisis, Hawaiʻi’s sustainable development challenges are being exacerbated by rising sea levels, environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, which are amplifying strains on energy sources, increasing costs, and the state’s dependence on imported goods and industries such as tourism and construction.

However, long before the advent of today’s model of an extractive linear economy, Hawaiʻi operated on a unique ancestral circular economy that embraced a “give, take, regenerate” model that sustained an isolated island civilization for centuries.

Recognizing the significance and values of this ancestral circular economy, the University of Hawaiʻi is developing a first-of-its-kind ��ōʻ���� ke Aloha ʻĀina Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice under the leadership of Professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer, director of the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� , and the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment.

His lab, ��ōʻ���� ke Aloha ʻĀina—which loosely translates to “center for ancestral circular economy and justice,” like the upcoming center that it will serve—is paving the way toward this new paradigm for ������Ƶ. Through annual summits and publications, his team of graduate students and mentees are helping to catalyze local research, advocacy and partnerships, while fostering international collaborations.

“Hawaiʻi is an ideal setting for implementing and studying sustainable development, and circular economy principles and practices,” said Beamer. “Our isolation and finite resources offer a controlled environment to rapidly assess the impact of environmental changes. But more importantly, our rich ancestral knowledge and values-based circular economy practices can serve as blueprints for universal application for other community-based circular economies around the world.”

This topic was featured in the 2023 ������Ƶ Innovation Conference x Piʻo Summit.

For more on the ������Ƶ ��ōʻ���� ke Aloha ʻĀina Center for the Ancestral Circular Economy & Justice, . Noelo is ������Ƶ’s research magazine from the .

students and graduates are making waves in the world of Hawaiian genealogical research. On April 23, they presented their work at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, unveiling a groundbreaking project that seeks to reconnect kānaka ʻōiwi (Native Hawaiians) with their ancestral roots.

Three haumāna (students); Haliʻa Osorio, Brandi Ahlo and Alyssa ʻĀnela Purcell, from the (HSHK) shared their findings from the , where they transcribe and digitize handwritten moʻokūʻauhau (genealogical) records penned mostly in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) during the 19th century. The project’s goal is to provide free public access to these records, allowing kānaka ʻōiwi to trace their genealogy with the click of a button.

“Our eyes go big and our hearts beat faster when we learn a story or find a lineage that our professor has never seen before,” said Purcell, the project’s lead researcher who is pursuing a PhD in Indigenous politics. “It makes me excited to realize that there is so much more to learn about our ancestors and—in that same vein—ourselves as a people.”

Royal connections

The Moʻopono Project, launched in 2021 by HSHK Professor Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, set out to transcribe 55 books originally authored by the Board of Genealogy of Hawaiian Chiefs and other sources. These books contain intricate family lineages from across ka pae ʻāina o Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian archipelago), including ancestral data from notable historical figures such as Queen Liliʻuokalani and historian S.M. Kamakau.

Paʻa i ka hana, very busy working

During their presentation at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, student researchers explained the fragile books had been stored for decades at the Hawaiʻi State Archives, largely out of reach of the general public. Working off of scanned images, the haumāna have transcribed 7,385 of the 9,000 pages so far, with more work on the horizon.

“Our ancestors were geniuses in how they embedded genealogies into our stories, music, chants, and everyday language,” Purcell explained. “Because of them, our knowledge is everywhere—we just need the appropriate systems and tools to access it.”

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Hawaiian studies students urge U.N. to investigate Red Hill leaks, Indigenous rights, May 3, 2022

The student researchers aim to complete the pioneering project as part of their mission to help kānaka ʻōiwi reclaim their ancestral identity and inspire Indigenous communities from around the world to revive and reclaim their own histories.

“Our ancestors wanted/want us to know them and to engage them. Our ancestors want to empower us. What a rare and potent form of aloha,” Purcell said.

A graduate haumāna (student) pursuing a master’s degree in at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa earned the Miss Aloha Hula title and Hawaiian language award at the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes competed alongside 12 other contestants in the solo category held at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo on Thursday, April 4.

Lopes’ parents, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� alumna Tracie Lopes and ������Ƶ Mānoa Director R. Keawe Lopes are also her kumu hula, leading Windward Oʻahu-based hālau Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe. 21-year-old Kaʻōnohi, who is fluent in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), also earned a BA from the university’s Hawaiian language department.

“One of the goals in Kawaihuelani is for our predominantly Hawaiian population of students to acquire their language and realize a sense of self through ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi,” said C. M. Kaliko Baker, a Kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�. “That sense of self was evident in the way that Kaʻōnohi carried herself last night. She absolutely knew who she was.”

Soloists are judged on a variety of criteria, everything from posture, expression, costume authenticity and mele (song) interpretation. Each contestant is required to dance both hula kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern).

For her kahiko portion, Lopes shared mele Aia Ka Lani Kua Kaʻa I Luna, which transported audiences to Lanikūhonua, a revered cultural refuge at Ko Olina. The West Oʻahu abode, once frequented by aliʻi (royalty), holds great significance to her parents’ hula lineage.

Lopes’ mele ʻauana honored her namesake, the late Uncle George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai, a revered kumu hula. Draped in golden strands of lei kukunaokalā, she danced Kanani Holokai, likening Uncle George to a gentle breeze that dances across the land.

Hula heritage earns 3rd ʻohana title

Lopes comes from an ʻohana deeply rooted in hula. Her mother Tracie won the Miss Aloha Hula title in 1994. This is also the fourth consecutive solo title secured by Keawe and Tracie’s hālau. Two of those were earned by ������Ƶ Mānoa alumnae; Lopes’s older sister, Piʻikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi Lopes (Miss Aloha Hula 2022) and Rosemary Kaʻimilei Keamoai-Strickland (Miss Aloha Hula 2021).

More hula excellence
• ������Ƶ Mānoa kumu hula leads hālau to Merrie Monarch victory
• Face of Nike Indigenous collection is Kānaka ʻōiwi grad student
• ������Ƶ Mānoa grad student captures 2022 Miss Aloha Hula title
• New Miss Aloha Hula 2021 honors ������Ƶ kumu with dance

There are two more nights of hula competition with wāhine (women) and kāne (men) groups. Hālau from across Hawaiʻi and the U.S. continent will perform on Friday, April 5 (hula kahiko) and Saturday, April 6 (hula ʻauana).

is housed within at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�.

There has been a growing demand for urgent action on issues regarding limited natural resources, biodiversity loss, climate change, energy efficiency, mass waste and pollution. Nearly 300 community leaders, stakeholders and members of the public attended A University of Hawaiʻi Innovation Conference x Piʻo Summit with a goal of creating sustainable solutions for healthy communities in Hawaiʻi and around the world.

at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on December 13 highlighted frameworks, principles, resources and networks of practice that have implemented contemporary applications of ancestral innovation and resource management sciences. The conference was a hub of ideas and actions.

“Solving for a circular economy, fixing the economy here in Hawaiʻi to be more regenerative, less extractive and exploitative of our environment, is something critical for the future of all of Hawaiʻi,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� director at and professor and Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment, who delivered the opening keynote and moderated panels on ancestral circular economy, and experiences and best practices of circular economy interventions. “The multiple crises that we faced over these last five years: rain bombs, dramatic fires, poisoning of water, the loss of jobs and security, many of these issues can be solved by reframing our economy to be more robust, more regenerative, between people and place.”

Beamer’s keynote ignited a passion for ancestral circular economies, connecting the past with aspirations for a better world.

Why is a circular economy important?

The pursuit of profit and convenience has led to growing consumerism, throwaway culture and monumental waste, resulting in a linear “take, make, use, waste” economy built on extracting finite resources to create products destined for landfills.

Governments across the globe are searching for solutions that separate economic growth from environmental degradation while ensuring long-term prosperity. In ancestral Hawaiʻi, a “give, take, regenerate” circular system led to the development of balanced structures of resource management. One steadily advancing movement is aimed at designing a “circular economy,” where waste is minimal, materials and resources are preserved for as long as possible, and modes of production mimic nature’s regenerative processes.

The session themes focused on past successes with implementing a circular economy and taking those best practices into the future.

“We don’t solve things instantly. I think we begin though, to set in precedent a new way of understanding of how we enact an island economy given these changes, which are challenges, but the opportunity of the precedent of what’s here that we can pull from this corpus of knowledge,” said Kamuela Enos, director of the ������Ƶ , who moderated a pair of panels on contemporary restoration of ahupuaʻa (traditional subdivision of land) and ������Ƶ’s role in creating opportunities for the future.

Advancing a Circular Economy in Hawaiʻi was sponsored by the , , and in partnership with Piʻo Summit 2023 and . For more information, .

The (IILF) was held in Hawaiʻi for the first time, November 27–30. Founded in 1999 and held every two years, the forum serves as a coming-together of Indigenous information practitioners and knowledge keepers from Native nations around the world to discuss goals, challenges, projects and successes that are important to Native peoples, cultural resources and the repositories that house them.

Because of COVID-19, the forum had been on hiatus since 2021. Hawaiʻi stepped up to host and drew the most attendees in the event’s history. Around 200 delegates, from Aotearoa, Australia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Canada, Norway, the United States and more, attended sessions at Waimea Valley, the ’s , , , and the ’s . Librarians and archivists from across the ������Ƶ system and throughout the local and diaspora community served on the steering committee and its various subcommittees.

Kapena Shim and Hauʻolihiwahiwa Moniz from Hamilton Library served as IILF Hawaiʻi steering committee co-chairs.

“The Forum speaks to the amazing work of resilience and reclamation that Indigenous information practitioners and allies all over the world are forging in both big and small ways to support Indigenous communities and sovereign futures. It was a time for us to think collectively about how we are lifting up Indigenous communities and their fight/right for ea (sovereignty),” said Shim and Moniz.

Other steering committee members from ������Ƶ and the community included:

Carina Chernisky (������Ƶ West Oʻahu)
Keahiahi Long (������Ƶ Mānoa)
Annie Thomas (Kapiʻolani CC)
Hōkū Kaʻahaʻaina (ʻUluʻulu, ������Ƶ West Oʻahu)
Shavonn Matsuda (������Ƶ Maui College)
Kawena Komeiji (������Ƶ West Oʻahu, former committee member)
Hinano Tangaro (Kawaihaʻo Church Archives)
Puamokihana Renti Cruz (Hawaiʻi Kai Public Library)

Delegates attended breakout sessions that were hosted by their peers to learn more about Indigenous knowledge initiatives being implemented in their respective countries and communities. Although the forum welcomed non-Indigenous people to attend, all planning and presentations were Indigenous led.

The forum theme was EA: Indigenous Agency and Abundance, which challenged delegates to think about how Indigenous information professionals breathe life into their institutions to advance Indigenous independence and sovereignty in their communities. Attendees heard from keynote speakers such as Pua Case, ������Ƶ Maui College Vice Chancellor Kahele Dukelow, and a panel of Kanaka (Native Hawaiian) librarians (Kylie Flood, Ikaika Keliiiki, Komeiji and Long), all of whom are graduates of the ������Ƶ Mānoa library and information science program.

With a $75,000 grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, IILF Hawaiʻi was able to increase attendance, refund presenters their registration fees, pay the way for several Maui information professionals to attend, and hire a casual-hire part-time Indigenous initiatives librarian for Hamilton Library who will lead a white paper on the state of Indigenous librarianship to be published in fall 2024.

The proceedings from the forum will be published in spring 2024.

Increasing contemporary applications of ancestral innovation and resource management sciences is the focus of a University of Hawaiʻi conference.

, is the second annual Piʻo Summit to be held at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on December 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., will help create sustainable and just solutions for healthy communities in Hawaiʻi and around the world.

������Ƶ invites community leaders, stakeholders and members of the public interested in furthering our community’s efforts in this area. The cost to attend the all-day conference is $150 per person and includes breakfast, lunch and a networking reception. Online registration is available until December 6 at .

“With increasing impacts of the climate crisis and economic instability, there is an urgent need and strategic opportunity to diversify and create a circular economy,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� director and professor at Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. “We welcome the community to join us in catalyzing these times of crisis toward shifting our economy into one that takes care of our ʻ�徱�Բ�, is regenerative, equitable, and honors our ancestral knowledge and cultural practices.”

Importance of a Circular Economy

The pursuit of profit and convenience today has led to rampant consumerism, throwaway culture, and monumental waste resulting in our current linear “take, make, use, waste” economy built on extracting finite resources to create products destined for landfills. In recent years, growing scrutiny around the linear economy has sparked a demand for urgent action on issues regarding limited natural resources, biodiversity loss, climate change, energy efficiency, mass waste and pollution. Governments across the globe are searching for solutions that decouple economic growth from environmental degradation while ensuring long-term prosperity.

In ancestral Hawaiʻi, a similar “give, take, regenerate” circular system led to the development of balanced structures of resource management. One steadily advancing movement is aimed at designing a “Circular Economy,” where waste is minimal, materials and resources are preserved for as long as possible, and modes of production mimic nature’s regenerative processes.

“As the state’s largest research institution, we have an obligation to help improve the quality of life for our residents and others through our innovative research and education,” said Vassilis L. Syrmos, ������Ƶ vice president for research and innovation. “This conference provides an opportunity to bring together some of the best experts and practitioners of indigenous and contemporary knowledge from across the state and around the world to address and solve today’s complex problems.”

Session topics:

• Overview of the History of Ancestral Circular Economy
• Contemporary Restoration of an Ahupuaʻa
• Doughnut Economics
• Experiences, Challenges and Best Practices of Circular Economy Interventions
• ������Ƶ’s Role in Creating Opportunities for Hawaiʻi’s Future

Keynote speakers and panelists will include:

• Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Dana Naone Hall endowment Chair, Director and professor at and professor at at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�
• Kate Raworth, senior associate at Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University
• Sandra Köhler, research associate and chair, production and supply chain management at University of Augsburg
• Simron Singh, professor and associate dean of graduate students, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at University of Waterloo
• Hiroki Tanikawa, professor of environmental studies at Nagoya University
• Kawika Winter, director of Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve and biocultural ecologist at at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�

Advancing a Circular Economy in Hawaiʻi is sponsored by the , and in partnership with Piʻo Summit 2023 and . For more information, visit .

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students, faculty and staff came together on August 31 for an afternoon of community and connections at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa .

In addition to giveaways, performances, Jeramiah’s Island Fusion’s Chamorro-fusion bentos and Mini Pasifika Games, the event also hosted tables of five Pacific Islander student groups; nine Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-serving programs; as well as campus partners such as the Career Center, LGBTQ+ Center, the KOKUA Program, Office of Veteran Student Services and the Department of Ethnic Studies.

This event was envisioned and coordinated by Pasifika Unity, a group of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students and staff on campus, including:

• The Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander Serving Institution Program, also known as TIDES
• GEAR UP Mānoa
• The Center for Pacific Island Studies/The Department of Pacific Island Studies
• The Pathways for the Advancement of Pacific Islanders
• The Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office
• The Pan Pacific Association
• The Pasifika Allies Association
• Fealofani O Samoa
• Native Hawaiian Student Services
• ʻIlima SACNAS Chapter of ������ƵM
• The Hui ʻĀina Pilipili Program
• The Pacific Islands Development Program

Other partners that helped make the event successful were Bruce Kaʻimi Watson, Kim Yamauchi of the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post Baccalaureate Program and Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence,Theresa Krief of the Micronesians Advancing in Health Professions program, Ka Malu a Waʻahila and Tina Tauasosi-Posiulai of Atamai E Tautua.

For more information on future events, visit the or email tides@hawaii.edu.

Approximately 75 University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� undergraduate students showcased their projects at the 2023 (SURE) Symposium on August 4. Hosted annually by the (UROP), the nine-week summer research and creative work program culminated with hybrid oral presentations in Kuykendall Hall and over Zoom, and poster presentations at the Campus Center Ballroom.

Culturally responsive education system

Sarah Rice and Tristan Fleming-Nazara’s research project, “Creating A Culturally Responsive Education System and Equitable Outcomes through Hawaiʻi-Based Learning Opportunities,” is based on the idea that to sustain the academic growth of K–12 students in Hawaiʻi, there must be an effort to consider the historical contexts and persistent inequities throughout the islands and within Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities through practices, projects, programs and policies. They showcased their project during the symposium’s oral presentation session.

Under the mentorship of Professor Kealiʻi Kukahiko, Rice and Fleming-Nazara worked with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) focusing on schools that engaged in the Office of Hawaiian Education’s ʻĀ���Բ� Aloha program in 2022–23. They examined the schools’ implementation of a more culturally responsive education system through the assessment of written narratives, competency surveys and focus group findings.

Their findings explored the extent to which engaging in experiential academic and civic opportunities connected students to place, community, culture and language with a measurable impact on the outlined goals in the DOE Strategic Plan. Rice and Fleming-Nazara discovered that the ʻĀ���Բ� Aloha program created opportunities for students to experience place-based learning and emphasized engaging, participatory lessons that are accessible to students regardless of background or circumstance.

“We recognize that Indigenous practices and ancestral knowledge hold value that can promote progress toward the stated goals of Hawaiʻi‘s schools,” Rice said. “All those receiving an education, pre–K through PhD, on this ʻ�徱�Բ� can benefit from connection to ʻŌ������� Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), Kuanaʻike (Hawaiian perspective) and Pilina Honua (Relationship to ʻ�徱�Բ�).”

Rice is a senior and presidential scholar, majoring in with a certificate in . Fleming-Nazara is a senior double majoring in and .

Creating art from cultural stories

Adam Joseph Parrilla’s creative work project, “Weaving Cultural Narratives into Art: Character Design Inspired by Hawaiian Moʻolelo (stories),” revolves around the cultural significance of preserving Native Hawaiian moʻolelo through the art of character design. Parrilla presented his project in the symposium’s poster session.

Mentored by Hawaiian Language Professor Matthew Kainoa Wong, Parrilla chose the story of “Ke Kumu ʻUlu Mua Loa,” which depicts the Hawaiian akua (deity) Kū coming to Hawaiʻi in human form and raising a family. During a season of drought, he sacrifices his body and is unable to return to his family to grow the ʻulu (breadfruit) tree, which has continued to be not only a staple of Native Hawaiians, but also a symbol of perseverance and kinolau (embodiment) of Kū.

“My main hope for this project was to inspire an appreciation for Hawaiian culture and moʻolelo by connecting it to something you’re interested in,” Parrilla said. “With this project, I wanted to create a good character design from this story I enjoyed. However, if this project could give anyone interested in Hawaiian stories or culture a reason to integrate what they are learning in school, that would be amazing.”

Parrilla is a senior majoring in and , and pursuing a certificate in .

“I would encourage other students to pursue their passions, seek mentorship and look for opportunities like these for growth and learning.”
—Adam Joseph Parrilla

“This experience has been invaluable, improving both my artwork and project management skills,” Parrilla said. “I would encourage other students to pursue their passions, seek mentorship and look for opportunities like these for growth and learning. Find ways to take your knowledge and skills developed in school and apply them through programs such as these.”

UROP funding support

Both projects received UROP project funding. Each year, UROP awards more than $500,000 in merit-based scholarships directly to students to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research and creative work projects and presentations.

The SURE Symposium is one of several regular on-campus venue presentation venues organized/co-organized by UROP. During the fall and spring semesters, UROP co-organizes the Undergraduate Showcase with the Honors Program.

—By Marc Arakaki

In an effort to cultivate leaders to connect and care for ʻāina (land and resources) using interdisciplinary skills grounded in a strong foundation of ʻike kūpuna or ancestral knowledge, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (KCHS) is launching a new graduate certificate program.

In partnership with a number of colleges and schools across the ����ԴDz� campus, KCHS, housed in , is offering the to foster collaborative decision making and enhance community resilience in the face of climate change with a culturally grounded interdisciplinary approach to working on and with the land and natural resources.

“We all know that Hawaiʻi’s communities face compelling issues of natural and cultural resource management, sustainability, water justice and sovereignty, food security and Native Hawaiian rights,” said Hawaiʻinuiākea Dean Jon Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio. “Today, Hawaiʻi’s land and sea resources continue to decline under a centralized state management system challenged by underfunded and understaffed agencies, with little grounding in Hawaiian approaches to sustainability.”

In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), Kūʻokoʻa means independence, and refers to the ability of communities to kiaʻi or protect, care for and make decisions about, natural and cultural resources.

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Native Hawaiian strategies presented at Vienna climate change conference, November 1, 2022

Eligible applicants

The 16-credit program is open to all ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� students who are already enrolled in a graduate program as well as community members who are seeking to earn a professional degree. The certificate also aims to promote collaborative decision making in Hawaiʻi by targeting professionals who work in environmental fields but who may not have Hawaiian cultural grounding or experience working with Hawaiʻi communities.

Kūʻokoʻa is an innovative learning program to serve a broad population of students, practitioners, professionals and individuals to:

• Address environmental, cultural, legal and social aspects of aloha ʻāina (love of the land), through collaborative research, teaching and training
• Focus on interdisciplinary and holistic solutions to natural and cultural resource management, sustainability and food security
• Ground approaches in Hawaiian knowledge, methodologies and practices, while drawing on cutting edge strategies and tools from around the world.

Applications are due February 1 (non-graduate students) and March 15 (graduate students). For more information, contact Malia Nobrega-Olivera at kuokoa@hawaii.edu.

Upcoming virtual information sessions:

• Friday, January 13 from 1–2 p.m.
• Thursday, January 19 from 3–4 p.m.
• Monday, January 23 from 5–6 p.m.

Pressing concerns surrounding the Red Hill water crisis and overall wai (water) access critical to loʻi kalo (taro patches) and loko iʻa (fishponds) across the state were at the center of a new series of forums held at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�.

To foster advancing the protection of ʻ�徱�Բ� (land) and wai through policy and law, the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� hosted the inaugural on December 15, at the East-West Center. Approximately 200 participants attended the conference that brought together academic researchers from ������Ƶ, esteemed community leaders and advocates to discuss ailing issues and the need to turn to ancestral innovation to help solve them.

“The university can really be a catalyst to uplift what’s happening in our community to try to link our research and our mentoring of students to actually solve real-world problems for our islands today,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, who is the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment at Hawaiʻinuākea and a professor at and the .

Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker, a PhD student at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� opened the conference with an oli (chant), followed by remarks from Hawaiʻinuākea Dean Jon Osorio and Beamer who rallied attendees to passionately chant ʻOla i ka wai, which means water is life. He also dedicated the conference to Dana Naone Hall, a kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) environmental activist. This was followed by the first panel focusing on the significant role wai has in feeding Hawaiʻi’s communities.

Wai sovereignty and justice

A major focus of the conference was on the current state of water management and access in Hawaiʻi and how state leaders can utilize research compiled at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� and ʻike (knowledge) from aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� practitioners steeped in rich wisdom passed down from kūpuna to address problems impacting the islands.

“I think here in Hawaiʻi we can really look towards our ancestral systems that solved [issues] for our islands at different scales in different times but are still very viable and valuable for our future today,” Beamer said.

Wai, ʻAi and Iʻa

The first panel featured aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� leaders from loko iʻa, loʻi kalo and wai advocates who expressed the importance of restoring stream flow in critical areas across the pae ʻ�徱�Բ� (Hawaiian archipelago) which can help to support the production of food and customary rights. Panelist Hōkūao Pellegrino from Hui O Nā Wai ʻEhā spoke of more than 100 streams on Maui that are currently diverted and the need to restore them.

Wai and Red Hill

The second session addressed strategies on decontaminating water impacted by the Red Hill fuel spill and revealed traditional maps listing freshwater resources on Oʻahu. The panel featured ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Professor Kapua Sproat (Ka Huli Ao), Ernie Lau (Board of Water Supply), Wayne Tanaka (Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi) and Camille Kalama (Kaʻohewai).

Lau lamented that there are still 400 million gallons of fuel sitting over the aquifer and advocated conference attendees to push for the Navy to defuel tanks. “If another spill happens, ‘Oh my gosh, our poor wai,’” Lau said.

Special keynote

Renowned philosopher, political activist, public intellectual and author Cornel West will headline a moderated keynote discussion following the summit at Kennedy Theatre 5–7 p.m. West will speak on imperialism and the occupation of Hawaiʻi, while placing the islands within the context of peoples’ movements for liberation and justice across the world.

“Dr. Cornel West has been one of the most influential thinkers of our time when it comes to race, social justice, economic justice, and the liberation of oppressed peoples and occupied nations,” Beamer said. “He is a globally recognized philosopher and progessive activist for human rights. He is one of the most impressive speakers and academics one can witness.”

Organizers plan to host the Piʻo Summit annually with themes highlighting aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� and sustainability, and how to advance local policy issues as well as increase collaboration. The summit is hosted by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀ���Բ�, a project of the Dana Naone Hall chair, which aims to elevate aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� practices within our community.

Event sponsors include the , , Hawaiʻinuākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, , Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progessive Action, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, ʻĀ���Բ� Aloha Economic Futures, Kanaeokana and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

Pressing concerns connected to wai (water) access and sustainability in Hawaiʻi will take the spotlight in the launch of a new series of forums at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�. The on Thursday, December 15, spearheaded by ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer from the in the and the , will bring together esteemed community leaders and advocates to discuss advancing the protection of ʻāina (land) and wai through policy and law.

“We created these Piʻo Summits to highlight the pressing issues of our time. Hawaiʻi is in a crisis where we need courageous leadership and ancestral innovation to solve the problems of our times,” said Beamer, who is the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment at Hawaiʻinuiākea. “Our Piʻo Summit will highlight incredible community leaders who are advancing aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� and caring for our precious wai, and host for the first time in Hawaiʻi Dr. Cornel West, one of the greatest philosophers and truth speakers of our times.”

• Related ������Ƶ News story: Beamer selected as inaugural endowed chair at Hawaiʻinuiākea, May 11, 2021

Wai sovereignty and justice

On December 15, the first summit will be held at at the East-West Center from noon–4:30 p.m. and feature two panels. The first will include aloha ʻāina leaders and practitioners from loko iʻa (fishponds), loʻi kalo (taro patches) and wai advocates focusing on the significant role wai has in feeding Hawaiʻi’s communities. The second panel will feature individuals who are at the forefront of the Shut Down Red Hill movement and discuss pressing issues water sources and communities currently face.

• Wai, ʻAi and Iʻa, 12:30–2 p.m. Keliʻi Kotubetey (Paepae o Heʻeia), Hōkūao Pellegrino (Hui O Nā Wai ʻEhā), Tiare Lawrence (Ka Malu o Kahālāwai), Kanekoa Kukea-Shultz (Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi), Stacy Sproat-Beck (Waipā Foundation) and Hanohano Naehu (Hui o Kuapā)
• Wai and Red Hill, 2:15–3:15 p.m. ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� Professor Kapua Sproat (Ka Huli Ao), Ernie Lau (Board of Water Supply), Wayne Tanaka (Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi) and Camille Kalama (Kaʻohewai)

Special keynote

Renowned philosopher, political activist, public intellectual and author Cornel West will headline a moderated keynote discussion following the summit at Kennedy Theatre 5–7 p.m. West will speak on imperialism and the occupation of Hawaiʻi, while placing the islands within the context of peoples’ movements for liberation and justice across the world.

“Dr. Cornel West has been one of the most influential thinkers of our time when it comes to race, social justice, economic justice, and the liberation of oppressed peoples and occupied nations,” Beamer said. “He is a globally recognized philosopher and progessive activist for human rights. He is one of the most impressive speakers and academics one can witness.”

The Piʻo Summit will be held annually and embody themes highlighting aloha ʻāina and sustainability, and how to advance local policy issues as well as increase collaboration. The summit is hosted by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀina, a project of the Dana Naone Hall chair, which aims to elevate aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� practices within our community.

Event sponsors include the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� , , , , Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progessive Action (HAPA), Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures, Kanaeokana and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

An international movement geared toward combating climate change by redesigning cities to function more sustainably recently recognized traditional Native Hawaiian strategies presented by a University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� professor. Professor and Kamanamaikalani Beamer from the captivated audiences at an international economic conference in Vienna this fall with fresh perspectives steeped in vital concepts that allowed Hawaiʻi’s Indigenous population to thrive for centuries.

Related:Beamer selected as inaugural endowed chair at Hawaiʻinuiākea, May 2021

“Our work is really trying to work alongside and uplift aloha ʻāina (love for the land). This Indigenous philosophy is about our relationship between Papa, Mother Earth, and us as a people. It allows us to infuse incredible regenerative practices of our kūpuna (elders) into transition and change today,” Beamer said.

Circular economy

This September, Beamer and ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� graduate students Kawena Elkington and Pua Souza presented at the International Society for Industrial Ecology Conference at the University of Vienna School of Business and Economics in Austria. The researchers were the only team from Hawaiʻi and believed to be the only Indigenous-focused presenters.

The conference featured prominent scholars from around the world who highlighted ideas based on circular economy strategies. A circular economy is a regenerative system that minimizes how energy is produced and consumed, and incorporates long-lasting design and maintenance through reducing, reusing and recycling.

According to Beamer, cities across Europe are competing to become more circular and areas like Amsterdam and Vienna have successfully redesigned cities to be more walkable and refined public transportation to be more green.

Ancestral circular economy

Beamer and his two graduate students, alongside a fellow Hawaiʻi-based multidisciplinary ecologist and industrial ecologists from the University of Augsburg, recently published research based on regenerative practices that allowed ancient Hawaiʻi’s society to be self-sustainable for thousands of years. The team dove into Hawaiian literature, biocultural perspectives, and industrial ecology research to identify key principles that formed Hawaiʻi’s ancestral economy.

1. Balanced bottom-up and top-down resource governance
2. ��������� ʻāina (regular and systemic redistributions of wealth and power)
3. Environmental kinship

Paving ke ala hou (a new path)

The 7,700 mile trip to Vienna was a first for both of Beamer’s fourth year PhD students who took on the experience feeling both intimidated and inspired to be part of a robust conference on a global scale.

Souza, a native of Kohala, reveled in participating in discussions with other international students on policy development around circular economies.

“If you would’ve told me when I first started at ������Ƶ that I would end up in Vienna at a conference on economics and social economic metabolism I really wouldn’t have believed you,” Souza explained. “And that’s not because I saw myself as incapable in any way more so that I didn’t see these opportunities as accessible or manageable. Being able to have this opportunity and kind of get my foot in the door, just on a personal level, it opens up this whole new part of research and international engagement.”

Elkington, from Koʻolaupoko, recalls being taken aback by how many conference attendees were moved by Beamer’s presentation, which included traditional Hawaiian protocol like oli (chant).

“When your work touches people on an emotional level it’s more likely to resonate with them on that intellectual technical level,” Souza said. “That was my take away, merging those two things and seeing the impact it can have.”

Retracing aliʻi (royal) footsteps

After the trip, Elkington researched if any Hawaiian royals visited the city in the past, since monarchs of the Hawaiian Kingdom often visited Europe. In Ke Aliʻi (Noble) Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s diary of her travels to Europe in 1875, she wrote about visiting the city of Vienna during wintertime. Bishop was fond of the opera, theatre and the city’s architecture. One of the entries depicts Bishop’s experience on a sleigh ride mentioning it was her first and last because of how cold it was.

The recollection struck a chord with Elkington and Souza, recalling how they both quickly discovered they failed to pack enough frigid friendly attire to brave the crisp temperatures that dipped into the 40s.

“We were all ready to leave the hotel and when we walked outside I don’t think we made it about 20 feet. We agreed to go back inside and put more clothes on because it was too cold,” Elkington said.

Holo mua (moving forward)

The team’s goal is to help carve a path forward for Hawaiʻi in proposing their research and other innovative practices being implemented internationally to address social economic injustice and environmental degradation in the islands.

Carefully placed no-fishing zones can help to restore tunas and other large, iconic fish species, according to a led by two University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� researchers.

It is well known that no-fishing zones can benefit sedentary marine life, such as corals or lobster. However, until now, it was assumed that no marine protected area could be big enough to protect species that travel long distances, such as tunas.

This recovery is good news for the environment and the global tuna fishing industry, which generates $40 billion in revenues each year and supports millions of jobs across the world.

“We show for the first time that a no-fishing zone can lead to the recovery and spillover of a migratory species like bigeye tuna,” said co-author John Lynham, a professor in the at ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s .

Using data collected onboard fishing boats by scientific observers, the study found that the world’s largest no-fishing zone, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, has increased the catch rate of yellowfin tuna by 54% in nearby waters. Catch rates for bigeye tuna (also known as ʻahi) increased by 12%; catch rates for all fish species combined increased by 8%.

Aside from their economic significance, yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna have long held a central place in Hawaiʻi’s culture and diet.

Added co-author Sarah Medoff, a researcher at the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz�’s , “Being born and raised in Hawaiʻi, I know how important ʻahi is to the community here. It’s not just something eaten in fancy sushi restaurants, it’s the focal point of family gatherings, weddings, birthdays, graduation ceremonies and New Year’s Eve parties. It’s reassuring to know that the monument is protecting this resource for my own children and for future generations.”

The research was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation.

The size of this no-fishing zone—almost four times the size of all the land in California—and the apparent homing behavior of some tuna species in the region, likely played a role in the positive effects observed.

Co-author Jennifer Raynor, a professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said “Over the past 30 years, we have learned that tunas do not venture as far away from home as we once thought. The Hawaiian Islands are a nursery for baby yellowfin tuna, and it turns out that many of these fish stay in the region.”

Papahānaumokuākea was created in 2006 and expanded in 2016 to protect biological and cultural resources, not specifically to generate benefits to the local tuna fishery.

The area is considered sacred by Native Hawaiians and the monument is co-managed by Native Hawaiians, the state of Hawaiʻi and the federal government.

According to Kekuewa Kikiloi, an associate professor in the ������Ƶ ����ԴDz� , who was not involved in the study, “This research by Medoff et al. reaffirms the value of large scale marine protected areas in the Pacific. The protections that were fought for by Native Hawaiians and other stakeholders for Papahānaumokuākea serve to benefit everyone, including fishing interests.”

—Upright, honest, decent, proper, appropriate, rightful, reliable, worth, merit, excellence.

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“The term kūpono comes to mind when I think of Hawaiian language and culture and how exciting it is to see the revitalization of both within our ������Ƶ campuses and how it will support Hawaiʻi and the world. ”

—Kaulana Mayo, Auxiliary & Facilities Services Officer, , , University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�

For more information on other elements of the definition and usage, go to the ������Ƶ Hilo .