{"id":82954,"date":"2018-08-08T08:39:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T18:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=82954"},"modified":"2021-04-08T16:09:30","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T02:09:30","slug":"modern-science-hawaiian-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2018\/08\/08\/modern-science-hawaiian-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Advancing modern science with Hawaiian knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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From left, U. Au, K. Keliipuleole, D. Tachera, K. Frank, K. Bennett, P. Okamura, B. Okuhata, S. Watson (Photo courtesy of SOEST<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A session called Aʻohe<\/span> pau ka ʻike<\/span> i ka h\u0101lau ho ʻokahi<\/span>: Advancing modern science with Hawaiian knowledge was featured at the 25th annual Hawaiʻi<\/span> Conservation Conference, held in late July at the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Convention Center. The session was proposed and convened by ʻIke<\/span> Wai students and post-docs Kuʻi<\/span> Keliipuleole<\/strong>, Brytne Okuhata<\/strong>, Diamond Tachera<\/strong> and Sheree Watson<\/strong>, each with ties to the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

ʻIke<\/span> Wai<\/a> (meaning “knowledge” and “water”) is a National Science Foundation-funded project whose mission is the sustainability of Hawaiʻi<\/span>‘s water future. Comprised of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, students and educators, ʻIke<\/span> Wai students and post-docs are especially passionate and driven to solve problems in culturally relevant ways that also inspire community engagement.<\/p>\n

“We have students take an active role in their own personal and professional development, and we encourage them to take responsibility for creating and shaping their opportunities,” said Deborah Eason<\/strong>, ʻIke<\/span> Wai professional development coordinator. “They often identify project or community needs, and organize meetings and activities to try to address those needs.”<\/p>\n

Organizing this conference session is a perfect example of the positive outcomes that professional development has on student learning, collaboration and self-actualization.<\/p>\n

Session speakers Kiana Frank<\/strong><\/a>, Jade Delevaux<\/strong>, Paige Miki Okamura<\/strong>, Kilika Bennett<\/strong>, Uʻilani<\/span> Au<\/strong> and Katie Kamelamela<\/strong> collectively emphasized the importance of traditional Hawaiian knowledge and place-based learning in informing contemporary science and public policy.<\/p>\n

We have students take an active role in their own personal and professional development, and we encourage them to take responsibility for creating and shaping their opportunities.
\n—Deborah Eason<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Frank, an assistant research professor in the SOEST<\/abbr> Pacific Biosciences Research Center<\/a>, shared the ways in which the story of Meheanu informed science of the microbial nitrogen cycle of Heʻeia<\/span> fishpond. She also used dance videos to engage the public in science learning.<\/p>\n

Au, Okamura and Bennett are graduate assistants working at the Institute of Hawaiian Language Research and Translation within the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Sea Grant College Program<\/a>. Their talks emphasized that Hawaiian language newspapers hold valuable information which can be used to reconstruct historical weather events and climate patterns, and inform water science and sustainable stewardship.<\/p>\n

Kimberly Burnett<\/strong>, an ʻIke<\/span> Wai economics researcher who attended the conference session, noted, “Okamura’s example of using [Hawaiian language newspapers] to reveal detailed information about the previously unknown [1871] hurricane, and how that evidence was then used to inform\/redirect hurricane policy at the legislature” was particularly powerful.<\/p>\n

The Papakilo Database<\/a> is the largest indigenous language repository in the world with more than 125,000 pages sourced from over 100 Hawaiian newspapers (1834–1948). However, 97 percent of this knowledge is yet untapped.<\/p>\n

Gregory Chun<\/strong>, an ʻIke<\/span> Wai social science researcher, pointed out, “We typically don’t view newspapers as a source of ‘knowledge’ per se but, rather, as a source of news and events. It was much different for our kupuna who, as we saw from the selected quotes by Paige [Okamura], Kilika [Bennett] and Uʻi<\/span> [Au], encouraged people to specifically use their writing (newspapers) to document and preserve traditional knowledge and customs because of their foresight of what change was going to mean for the culture.”<\/p>\n

—By Surely Wallace, a 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa graduate student in the ʻIke<\/span> Wai program<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A session at the ʻIke<\/span> Wai conservation conference was proposed and convened by SOEST<\/abbr> students and post-docs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1480,1466,92,635,660,9],"class_list":["post-82954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-manoa-academic-innovation-engaged-learning","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-sea-grant-college-program","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t