A group of students, faculty and administrators at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have begun leading efforts to create deeper connections between the campus and Native Hawaiian culture. This two-year initiative will see the first group of leaders working with UH Manoa's Native Hawaiian Learning Place Advancement Office (NHPoL AO) to help advance these efforts across campus.
As part of UH Manoa's multi-step strategic plan to become a place of Native Hawaiian learning, starting this week, 10 units at UH Manoa are participating in activities centered around Native Hawaiian concepts, starting with genealogy and koleana (responsibilities and privileges). And the interconnected relationships between generations. Activities include learning chants, mapping genealogical stories, participating in “bilena circles” to build connections, and caring for a patch of intentions or taro.
“There are three goals in the Native Hawaiian Learning Area from the strategic plan,” explains Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe, director of the NHPoL AO and leader of the initiative, in an interview with Big Island Now. “The goal we are aiming for is what we are focusing on now is that 100% of schools The colleges and other similar non-academic units will develop five-year strategic plans focusing on how their units can take steps toward becoming a place of learning for Native Hawaiians in four specific focus areas.
The four focus areas include Native Hawaiian student success, staff and faculty development, Native Hawaiian environments, and Native Hawaiian community engagement.
In an interview with Hawaii News Now, Professor Karen Jolly, who teaches history at UH Manoa, said, “I want to be able to do that as well, to incorporate Native Hawaiian ways of thinking, being, and doing into the classroom and research.”
People of Native Hawaiian ancestry make up 21.8% of the total Hawaiian population, and 18% of the faculty at UH Manoa are of Native Hawaiian ancestry. About 100 people are expected to form the next group in May.
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