Submitted by Huliauapaʻa
Ea encapsulates the multifaceted meanings of life, breath, and political sovereignty, symbolizing a rising; the collective effort of the community to safeguard the ʻāina that sustains them physically and spiritually.
These interpretations share that ea is an active state of existence. Like breathing, ea cannot simply be acquired or possessed; it requires daily action across generations. What does ea represent today? Is it the Waialua community uniting to protect and care for one another during a natural disaster? Or is it the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana’s commitment to aloha ʻāina – to laʻa, maʻa paʻa, and remain resolute against military, political, and environmental pressures?
Ea is founded upon the genealogical experiences of individuals on the land and the relationships cultivated through the processes of remembrance and stewardship of ʻāina and community. Ea traces back to the very origin of the ʻāina itself and it encompasses not only the physical aspects of ʻāina but also our ancestral places, resources, and knowledge systems – our wahi kūpuna.
For decades, Kānaka ʻŌiwi have endeavored to maintain the ea of our moʻolelo, iwi kūpuna, wahi kūpuna, and koehana (material culture) against threats like colonization, over-tourism, military expansion, land development, and mismanagement on our islands.
As we strive to protect and steward these wahi kūpuna, we are reminded that part of our ea involves decolonizing these processes and asserting ourselves as Kānaka ʻŌiwi in spaces that were originally meant to exclude us. While we celebrate our resistance to these pressures, it is also a fitting time to actively develop our own frameworks that deepen our understanding and approaches in a manner that is undeniably and unconditionally Kānaka ʻŌiwi.
For the Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective, it is the Kūlana Kahuʻāina, a core ethical framework guiding how we care for Hawaiʻi’s wahi kūpuna, that uplifts our ea. This living document reflects community values by outlining ethics, standards, and principles for Wahi Kūpuna Stewardship and offers direction toward deeper engagement with this practice.
It conveys these responsibilities through kūlana (principles) of our living values: each kūlana outlines ethical responsibilities and best practices for engaging with ʻŌiwi communities, ʻāina, and wahi kūpuna. Together, they establish shared expectations and standards that foster trust, accountability, and integrity in this interdisciplinary field. This living document is the result of a multi-year, collaborative effort shaped by generations of wahi kūpuna stewards who remain deeply rooted in their ʻāina and communities.
The Kūlana Kahuʻāina serves anyone engaged in, or seeking to engage in, wahi kūpuna stewardship. It establishes clarity around shared values and how to act upon them, supporting a broader shift toward valuing, prioritizing, and normalizing stewardship grounded in ʻŌiwi ethics.
The Kūlana Kahuʻāina is the sister document to the Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective Report. Whereas the report outlined the Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective’s priority action items, the Kūlana Kahuʻāina represents the first step in operationalizing those priorities. It acts as a vessel to help wahi kūpuna stewards stay aligned with our shared goals.
Providing an ʻŌiwi approach to ethics in wahi kūpuna stewardship, the Kūlana Kahuʻāina articulates and elevates the living values that our community of practice commits to upholding as part of caring for Hawaiʻi’s iwi kūpuna, wahi kūpuna, and ʻike kūpuna. The Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective’s living values are composed of eight kūlana that reflect practical guidelines and best practices for wahi kūpuna stewards across the pae ʻāina. These values are interconnected, and integrate and support one another in practice.
These ethics define our kuleana as wahi kūpuna stewards. What we consider fair, just, and right, and the living Hawaiian values we seek to uphold, perpetuate, and normalize. Our ethics are foundational to our vision of empowered communities restoring, reinvigorating, and stewarding Hawaiʻi wahi kūpuna through ea. Accompanying this report, the Kūlana Kahuʻāina film features members of the Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective ʻAha Kuapapa (steering committee), Papa Kāheka (kūpuna council), and stewards from across the pae ʻāina. The film highlights the eight values in action, offering insight into the unique ways wahi kūpuna stewards uphold these standards in their daily practice.
Considerable efforts are still required to fully reform Hawaiʻi’s historic preservation and resource management systems. However, these challenges are not unprecedented. Just as ea was used as a guiding principle and practice by our kūpuna to confront the challenges of their time, they persisted and remained steadfast across generations. Likewise, ea is applicable to us in addressing specific challenges and reforming the broken systems of today.
Wahi kūpuna stewardship embodies a shared responsibility across communities, sectors, and practices. We all play an integral role in healing our systems.
The “Kūlana Kahuʻāina” film is available online at youtube.com/@thekaliuokapaakaicollective. If you wish to support the Kūlana Kahuʻāina and our movement toward ethical stewardship of wahi kūpuna, please affirm your support by completing an endorsement form: bit.ly/EndorseKKR.
