OHA Welcomes Deb Haaland to its Honolulu Office
Lehuauakea Receives Emerging Native Arts Grant
ʻŌiwi interdisciplinary artist and kapa practitioner Lehuauakea has been awarded the Walker Youngbird Foundation’s latest grant recognizing early-career Indigenous artists. The $15,000 grant is awarded twice a year.
Lehuauakea is reimagining the practice of kapa-making, merging traditional and contemporary designs to create unique pieces of art. The grant will be used to prepare for a 2026 solo exhibition in New York City that will feature mixed-media kapa textiles, textile-based paintings and wearable kapa garments.
Raised in Pāpaʻikou, Hawaiʻi Island, Lehuauakea is a graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art and resides in Oregon and was a student of kapa-maker Wesley Sen whose kumu included Pua Van Dorpe, Beatrice Krauss, Malia Solomon, Carla Freitas and Dennis Kanaʻe.
With a focus on kapa-making, Lehuauakea builds on the patterns and traditions used for generations and focuses on themes related to environmental stewardship, Indigenous cultural resilience and the evolving contemporary Kanaka Maoli identity.
Lehuauakea’s work has been shown in exhibitions nationally and internationally and is included in many prominent collections around the world.
Ola Ka ʻĪ 2025: A Celebration of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Throughout Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Language Month), Hawaiian language echoed in public spaces from Moku o Keawe to Kauaʻi o Manokalanipō. Seven Ola Ka ʻĪ events, made possible through the collaboration of community organizations, public and private schools, local businesses, government partners, and ʻohana, brought Hawaiian language to the forefront. We look forward to more celebrations and events that uplift ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi throughout the year. Mahalo nui to Kanaeokana, Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs for their support in making these events a success. Visit mahinaolelo- hawaii.org to stay connected and continue celebrating Hawaiian language with us throughout the year!” – Courtesy Photos
Play About Paʻakai Tours U.S. and Canada
An original production of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) called The Paʻakai We Bring, is currently on an international tour across the United States and Canada.
Playwright and HTY Artistic Associate Moses Goods created the production in collaboration with the HTY ensemble. The play, intended for audiences age 7+, explores the Native Hawaiian relationship to paʻakai – a food, medicine and sacrament essential to our individual and collective wellbeing – within the context of balance and healing.
Led by Goods, the HTY creative team traveled to Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, to spend time learning from and working with the Nobrega, Nizo and Santos families – all of whom are traditional salt harvesters – before creating the production. The Paʻakai We Bring follows multiple generations of Kauaʻi salt farmers and mixes traditional stories with hula, original songs and live music.
The four-member performing ensemble includes Pōʻai Lincoln, Lokomaikaʻi Lipscomb, Mattea Mazzella and Junior Tessoro.
Raised on Maui, Goods is a prolific ʻŌiwi playwright whose plays include stories about Nanaue (the shark man); Christian convert Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia; renowned paniolo Ikuā Purdy; Olympian Duke Kahanamoku and more. He has also appeared on television and in movies, including a recurring role in NCIS: Hawaiʻi.
To find out where on the continent The Paʻakai We Bring will be playing email: sk@holdenarts.org.
Hauʻoli Lā Hānau e Hōkūleʻa!
Akimseu and Kaʻuhane Honored by the YWCA
Bank of Hawaiʻi (BOH) Director of Brand and Senior Vice President Momi Akimseu and Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) Chief Impact Officer and Senior Vice President Michelle Kaʻuhane are among the four exemplary female leaders being honored at YWCA Oʻahu’s 48th Annual LeaderLuncheon and 125th Anniversary celebration on May 8 at the Sheraton Waikīkī Hotel.
YWCA Oʻahu CEO Norika Namiki noted that each honoree has made significant contributions to the community and to the advancement of women in Hawaiʻi. “Their dedication to community service and positive impact in their respective fields exemplify YWCA Oʻahu’s mission of ʻeliminating racism, empowering women,’” said Namiki.
Akimseu leads BOH’s brand marketing, creative services and content marketing divisions and serves as co-chair of Nā ʻŌiwi Aloha, the bank’s Native Hawaiian Employee Resource Group. Prior to her current appointment, Akimseu served as BOH director of community and employee engagement and as president of the BOH Foundation, overseeing more than $20 million in corporate sponsorships, employee giving and philanthropic contributions. Her community involvement includes Kōkua Kalihi Valley, the Hawaiʻi Book and Music Festival, and PATCH Hawaiʻi.
Before joining HCF where she oversees community grants and initiatives, development and donor relations, and strategic communications and public policy, Kaʻuhane served as president and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. She has also served as deputy director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and as executive director of Hawaiian Community Assets. She currently serves as a Kamehameha Schools trustee and as a community advisory council member to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C.
In addition to Akimseu and Kaʻuhane, L&L Franchise Chief Executive Officer Elisia Flores and Remedy Intelligent Staffing owner Kristi Inkinen Yanagihara are also being honored.
A Visit From Hālau Kū Mana
Two ʻŌiwi Artists Named 2025 FPF Fellows
Mixed media visual artist Brittany Keakaokalani “Kea” Hashisaka Peters from ʻEwa Beach, Oʻahu, and mixed media performing artist T.J. Keanu Tario from Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu, have both been named 2025 First People’s Fund (FPF) Fellows.
Peters is one of 11 recipients of FPF’s Cultural Capital Fellowship – a yearlong program that offers financial support and guidance to culture bearers and artists who are deeply rooted in their communities and committed to passing on ancestral knowledge within their Native communities.
Peters is an illustrator and founder of Kākou Collective, an online outlet for sharing original artwork and quality products to share authentic artistic expression that inspires a connection to the cultural values, traditions and communities of Hawaiʻi with the rest of the world – with an emphasis on products made using ethical and sustainable practices.
Tario is one of 19 recipients of FPF’s Artist in Business Leadership Fellowship – a yearlong program that helps independent Native artists pursue art as a way to build a business to support themselves and their families, providing them with network-building, professional development guidance and funding.
A Julliard-trained classical pianist, Tario is also a film composer, actor, cultural practitioner and drag performer. Tario has performed with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, premiered a ballet “E aha ia ana ʻo Mauna Kea” at Leeward Community College through the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation LIFT fellowship, and created a musical based on the imprisonment of Liliʻuokalani.
FPF is a Native-led nonprofit whose mission is to honor and support Indigenous artists and culture bearers to help Native communities heal and thrive. Since 2004, FPF has directly supported more than 6,000 Native artists, distributing more than $9.3 million in grants, fees and honoraria. Each FPF fellowship comes with a $10,000 cash award.
OHA Honored to Welcome Pohnpei’s Royal Family
Naone Leads Prince Kūhiō Parade
The annual Prince Kūhiō Parade in Kapolei, Oʻahu, was led this year by Grand Marshal Anita Naone, former president of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu. With over 30 years of dedicated service, Naone has spearheaded numerous initiatives, including the Association’s ʻAha Mele Program. A retired diversity and leadership manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she continues her commitment to the community as a volunteer. Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs (AHCC) President Dre Kalili said, “Auntie Anita exemplifies Prince Kūhiō’s legacy of servant leadership. She has dedicated her career to inclusivity and advocacy for Native Hawaiian rights.” Organized by the AHCC, the parade was held on Saturday, March 29, to honor the life and contributions of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole whose advocacy for Native Hawaiians continues to influence and shape the community today. Now in its third year at Kapolei, the parade highlights the region’s deep connection to Kūhiō’s legacy, as it is home to four Hawaiian homestead communities and the headquarters of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Protecting Forests Benefits Fisheries
According to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from UH Mānoa, Kamehameha Schools, the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, and Seascape Solutions, the protection of native forests in combination with restoring fallow agricultural lands to traditional place-based agroforestry systems directly benefits local fisheries.
The study, published in February in npj Ocean Sustainability cites nature-based solutions (NBS) as “key strategies to achieve sustainable development goals, biodiversity, and climate goals and targets.” NBS also contribute to biodiversity and human wellbeing.
Biocultural approaches to restoration incorporate both ecology and culture and “elevate and perpetuate Indigenous and local knowledge” and recognize that success in this area often depends on the perpetuation of traditional knowledge, practices and cultural heritage and that human health is directly linked to the health of the environment.
In the Pacific, restoration focuses on “ridge-to-reef” (i.e., ahupuaʻa) management frameworks since Indigenous resource management practices understand that the land and sea are “fundamentally interconnected.”
The study evaluated the land-sea benefits of multi-level agroforestry (which combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, productive and sustainable land use systems) in partnership with native forest protection increased sediment retention (i.e., prevented runoff) by 30% and increased nearshore fisheries production by 10% while supporting goals of biodiversity conservation, food production and cultural connection to place.
The researchers conclude that biocultural forest restoration is a nature-based solution that provides a “triple win for nature, people, and culture, and are critical to social-ecological resilience.”
Scientific Purpose of Hāpaialiʻi Heiau Affirmed
While heiau are most often viewed through a religious/spiritual lens, a study by UH Mānoa researchers focused on the scientific purpose of Hāpaialiʻi Heiau in Kahaluʻu, Hawaiʻi Island, near Keauhou.
The research, “Scientific Aspects of Hāpaialiʻi Heiau,” was published in the January issue of Waka Kuaka, The Polynesian Society journal, by UH Mānoa Engineering Professor Albert Kim, and ʻŌiwi civil engineer Brenton Sasaoka, a recent graduate of UH Mānoa.
Supported by the National Science Foundation, their work represents some of the first research using western methodologies to examine the scientific aspects of heiau.
The study mathematically investigated the heiau’s functionality, independently measuring the coordinates of the stones within the heiau using Google Earth and Google Maps technology, then calculated the relative distances and angles between the internal stones. Their research affirmed that the heiau’s carefully positioned stones were constructed to observe the movement of the sun throughout the year, thus providing a means for the kūpuna to track seasonal changes critical to agricultural and fishing activities – essentially a calendar or almanac.
Hāpaialiʻi Heiau was constructed during the 15th century and is said to have been built by Chief Kalaninuiʻīamamao. It directly faces the western horizon and, thus, is perfectly positioned to track the horizontal movement of the sun.
Kamehameha Schools restored the heiau almost 20 years ago and now stewards this wahi kūpuna in collaboration with the community. It stands as a testimony to the brilliance and ingenuity of our people.
