191st Birthday of Kamehameha IV Observed
Wilhelm Named CEO of Nia Tero
ʻAulani Wilhelm has been named CEO of Nia Tero, a Seattle-based nonprofit that works in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and movements worldwide.
For the past year, Wilhelm, who is based in Honolulu, has served as Nia Tero’s chief strategy and external relations officer. Previously, she was assistant director for Ocean Conservation, Climate and Equity at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and has served as senior vice president for oceans at Conservation International. She also played a key role in shaping the large-scale ocean conservation movement which led to the establishment of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and founded Big Ocean, a network of the world’s largest marine managed areas.
Wilhelm graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and has a B.A. degree from the University of Southern California, and an M.S. degree from Stanford University. She is a Mellon Distinguished Scholar at Arizona State University and a social innovation fellow at Stanford University.
Nia Tero provides direct funding via grants and contracts to Indigenous People’s organizations, focusing on Amazonia, North America and the Pacific. Since 2017, it has distributed more than $85 million in grants and helped to protect more than 316 million acres of lands and waters.
CHNA Names Arce New COO
Kauʻilani Arce has been appointed chief operating officer (COO) of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). As COO, Arce will oversee daily operations at CNHA to ensure that the organizations initiatives, programs and partnerships align with its mission to uplift and empower the Native Hawaiian community.
Prior to her promotion, Arce served as destination stewardship director for Kilohana, CNHA’s tourism division. Before joining CNHA, she held positions at nonprofit Hoʻōla Nā Pua and at Liliʻuokalani Trust and was a social worker with the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services.
She also serves on the advisory committee for the Waiʻanae Sustainable Communities Plan and for INPEACE’s Kaulele project, and is a member of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association.
Arce was born and raised in Nānākuli and currently resides in Mākaha. She has a B.A. degree in communications and a master of social work degree, both from UH Mānoa.
“Kauʻi is a testament to the strength and vision emerging from our communities. Her roots in Nānākuli and deep dedication to the lāhui have shaped her into a leader who understands both the challenges and opportunities we face,” said CNHA CEO Kūhiō Lewis.
ʻImi Hoʻōla Classroom Dedicated to Program Founder
Dr. Benjamin Young, the first Native Hawaiian psychiatrist and founder of John A. Burns School of Medicine’s (JABSOM) ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program, was honored at the program’s 50th anniversary celebration in December when JABSOM’s ʻImi Hoʻōla classroom was officially renamed the Dr. Benjamin Young Classroom.
A plaque is featured in the classroom with the phrase “Ua kanu ʻia nā ʻanoʻano; ke mōhala mai nei nā pua” (the seeds have been planted; the flowers now bloom) – a testament to the generational impact of Young’s work and legacy.
Now in his mid-80s, Young is a graduate of Roosevelt High School. He has a B.A. in English literature but, after graduating, pivoted to a career in medicine. He attended Howard Medical School specializing in psychiatry. After medical school he came home and completed his residency at JABSOM in 1972 – at the time there were fewer than 10 Native Hawaiian physicians.
After completing his residency, JABSOM hired Young specifically to increase the number of Hawaiians pursuing careers in medicine. Thanks to his ʻImi Hoʻōla program, today there are more than 400 Native Hawaiian physicians. In addition to his private practice, Young also served as JABSOM Dean of Students. He was a physician on Hōkūleʻa’s inaugural voyage in 1976 and over the years has received numerous awards and accolades.
Hawaiʻi-Tahiti Sign Agreement to Strengthen Relationships
Lambert Named Director of the State DLE
Major Mike Lambert, a distinguished veteran of the Honolulu Police Department was recently named director of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) by Gov. Josh Green. He began his new role at the DLE on February 1.
Lambert has more than 22 years of experience in law enforcement, having served with distinction in the Honolulu Police Department where he worked his way up from patrol to several key leadership positions including narcotics investigations and community outreach and the successful HONU program for the houseless community. He most recently served in the Narcotics Vice Division.
“Mike Lambert has dedicated his career to protecting and serving the people of Hawaiʻi with integrity and commitment,” said Green. “His deep understanding of public safety, combined with his ability to lead with compassion and innovation, makes him the ideal choice to lead DLE.”
Lambert, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, has a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a justice concentration from UH West Oʻahu. In 2018, he was named to Pacific Business News’ prestigious “40 Under 40” by the International Association of Chiefs of Police for his leadership and innovation in law enforcement.
Kūkini Featured at Smithsonian Festival
Kūkini, a film written by Paula Fuga (executive producer) and Mitchel Merrick (director), was featured at the Smithsonian National Museum’s 10th Annual Mother Tongue Film Festival. The festival took place at various venues in Washington, D.C., February 20-23, and virtually February 24 – March 1.
Presented in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Kūkini premiered in 2022 at the Hawaiʻi Film Festival and has been making the rounds in the film festival circuit. In May 2024 it received a Special Recognition award at the Video Communications Film Fest in Los Angeles. The film fest jury noted that Kūkini has the makings of a blockbuster saying, “we were dazzled by this action thriller, and our curiosities were heightened to learn more about Hawaiian history.”
Kūkini takes place in 1790 Hawaiʻi and tells the story of an elite warrior sent on a deadly mission to report on the bloody war being waged by Kamehameha I on Maui. The 26-minute film features an extensive line-up of ʻŌiwi talent both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. The cast features Ioane Goodhue, Moses Goods, Kaui Kauhi, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, and Danielle Zalopany. Fuga and Merrick also appear in the film.
This year, the Mother Tongue Film Festival included films in over 25 languages. Since its inception, it has showcased the work of over 300 directors in languages from nearly every continent. For more information go to: mothertongue.si.edu.
Haumāna from Hawaiʻi School for Deaf and Blind Represent Hawaiʻi at National Math Competition
The Story of Kapaemahu Told Through Dance
The story of Kapaemahu has inspired a hula production created by noted Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne. The production, “The Return of Kapaemahu,” premiered in January.
Based on a handwritten 19th century manuscript first published in 1907, “Ka Pōhaku Kahuna Kapaemahu,” is the moʻolelo of four healers who voyaged from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi in the 15th century and settled in Waikīkī. The healers were māhū – neither male nor female, but a mixture of both. When the healers departed Hawaiʻi, they transferred their names and healing powers into four great stones.
Today, those stones are a monument and wahi pana in the heart of Waikīkī, adjacent to the Kūhiō Beach hula mound where Makuakāne’s production will be performed.
The moʻolelo was first retold as an animated short film created by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, and animator Daniel Sousa. The resulting short film, Kapaemahu, was nominated for an academy award. A children’s book and Bishop Museum exhibit followed.
Makuakāne, the first Native Hawaiian recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, is a dynamic kumu hula based in San Francisco. He is known for infusing traditional hula with contemporary interpretations in his efforts to transmit and preserve Hawaiian culture. He both composed and directed “The Return of Kapaemahu.”
Sponsored by Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi, the free, one-hour show will be performed every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., weather permitting, throughout 2025.
Nuʻuhiwa Campbell Promoted at Cades Schutte
Pōhai Nuʻuhiwa Campbell, Esq. has been promoted to partner at Cades Schutte LLP in its Trusts & Estates Department. She is the firm’s first female Kānaka ʻŌiwi partner. Her Cades Schutte colleagues Jarrett Dempsey and Lindsay McAneeley were promoted at the same time.
At Cades Schutte, Nuʻuhiwa Campbell focuses her law practice on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and trust and estate disputes. Her professional recognitions include the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s E OLA, Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch, and Pacific Business News’ “40 Under 40.”
Nuʻuhiwa Campbell also does pro bono work for nonprofit organizations serving our ʻāina and the Native Hawaiian community and she operates Kaleimamo Hawaiʻi, an ʻohana-owned business that creates reusable cloth diapers and accessories that feature designs inspired by Hawaiian culture and moʻolelo.
Nuʻuhiwa Campbell is a Punahou graduate with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and teaching from Winthrop University, and a juris doctorate from UH Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law. She was a law clerk in the State of Hawaiʻi Judiciary for Judge Gary W.B. Chang and Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald. She has been with Cades Schutte for more than seven years.
Peʻa Wins Fourth Grammy Award
Singer-songwriter Kalani Peʻa took home his fourth Grammy at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 2. He was named the winner of the Best Regional Roots Music Album for his album, Kuini, during the non-televised portion of the awards program.
His previous Grammy Awards – all in the same category – were for E Walea, in 2017, No ʻAneʻi, in 2019, and Kau Ka Peʻa, in 2022.
Between 2005-2011 Hawaiian music had its own Grammy category. The category was eliminated, however, when the recording academy decreased the overall number of categories. Hawaiian music is now part of the “regional roots” music category which also includes Native American, Cajun and zydeco, among others musical genres.
A graduate of Ke Kula o Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu and fluent in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Peʻa has a degree in mass communications from Colorado Mesa University. In addition to pursuing his musical career, Peʻa worked for a time at Kamehameha Schools Maui creating Hawaiian language and culture-based curriculum. Peʻa has performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and has received multiple awards and recognition for his music.
Ching a Champion of Change
Joshua Ching was named a 2025 “Champion for Change” by the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute. The 2025 cohort includes five Indigenous youth who are leading impactful change in their communities.
This cohort reflects the diverse cultures and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. Their focus areas include increased access to justice resources in Native communities; improving Indigenous healthcare systems; environmental rights; tribal recognition; and art, literacy and cultural representation.
Ching is a 2022 graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow at Yale University where he is studying political science and ethnicity, race and migration. He currently interns at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and has already amassed an impressive resume of leadership and community service.
Launched in 2013, Champions for Change is a Native youth leadership initiative. Each year, CNAY selects five inspirational youth (ages 14-24) to serve as “Champs,” supporting their development through experience-based learning and tailored advocacy training.
Along with Ching, the 2025 cohort includes Miyuraq Jones (Unalakleet), Katie Lynch (Potawatomi Nation), Lily Painter (Kiowa/Winnebago), and Lourdes Pereira (Hia-Ced Oʻodham/Tohono Oʻodham).
Konia Named Director of Capitol Modern
The Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) has announced the appointment of Kamakani Konia as its Art in Public Places Program Director and Director of Capitol Modern (the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum).
Established in 1965, SFCA is Hawaiʻi’s state government arts agency. Konia’s work at SFCA promotes access to all forms of creative expression from communities throughout the pae ʻāina.
“The State Art Museum is a ʻthird space’ – a setting for public life, like public parks and libraries. It’s a place for community building,” Konia said. “I’m looking forward to expanding on the extraordinary work that the public art programs have been doing. Art is a public resource, and I want to make it more accessible for everyone to participate in.”
Konia has been with SFCA for eight years, initially as an exhibits specialist, then later as an Art in Public Places project manager. In 2021, he was accepted into the Western States Arts Federation’s Emerging Leaders of Color program. Born and raised on Oʻahu, Konia is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama. He has a bachelor’s in fine arts degree from UH Mānoa and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration also from UH Mānoa.
Pukui Honored on $1 Coin
The Native American $1 Coin Program, developed by the United States Mint, was established to honor and recognize the important contributions made by Indigenous People.
The 2025 coin features noted Native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui holding a kukui nut lei (symbolizing knowledge and enlightenment) with the words “nānā i ke kumu” alongside her image. “Nānā i ke kumu” means “look to the source” and is also the title of the book series that Pukui helped produce with Liliʻuokalani Trust.
The opposite side of the coin features Sacagawea carrying her infant son, Jean-Baptiste. Sacagawea was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, kidnapped during a Hidatsa raid on her village at age 12 and sold into marriage at age 13 to a trapper from Quebec. She is credited as a guide to explorers Lewis and Clark.
Maunalua Bay Designated a Fisheries Management Area
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