Prince Kūhiō Honored at Maunaʻala
Six ʻŌiwi Women Honored Posthumously
On March 26, in conjunction with Women’s History Month, the U.S. Senate passed Resolution 142 honoring 27 Indigenous women for their contributions throughout history – including six Native Hawaiians.
Honored were Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott, renowned limu expert and the first woman on the biological sciences faculty at Stanford University; Edith Kanakaʻole, prominent Hawaiian cultural practitioner, kumu hula, and language and culture expert; Emma Beckley Nakuina, who became the first female judge in Hawaiʻi in 1892 – 30 years before any female judges were appointed in America; Mary Kawena Pukui, the noted scholar and teacher who published more than 50 academic works and was the preeminent Hawaiian translator of the 20th century; Rell Kapoliokaehukai Sunn, the celebrated longboard surfing champion of the world who co-founded the Women’s Professional Surfing Association in 1975; and Queen Kaʻahumanu, widow of Kamehameha I, and the first woman to serve as regent (like a prime minister) of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Hawaiʻi Sen. Brian Schatz serve as the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. They spearheaded and co-wrote the resolution to honor American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian women.
“These [women] were the life givers, the culture bearers and the caretakers of Native peoples who have made precious contributions, enriching the lives of all people of the United States,” said Murkowski.
“Native Hawaiian women have made incredible contributions to our communities and country, and it’s critical that we recognize their impacts on American history,” said Schatz. “The Hawaiian women we commemorate are among many more who deserve our recognition and gratitude year-round.”
EA Ecoversity Receives Mellon Grant
EA Ecoversity, a culturally driven, post-secondary education and career training program for Native Hawaiian youth and young adults, received $600,000 from the Mellon Foundation for its HOʻINA Kanaka Culinary Arts Program.
HOʻINA, which means “to return,” is a bilingual, Hawaiian culture-based culinary arts and traditional foods initiative that encourages Native Hawaiians to return to a native diet.
This two-year grant award follows a 1-year planning grant from the Mellon Foundation and will support EA Ecoversity’s organizational capacity, staffing, and public programming.
HOʻINA addresses the need for Native Hawaiians to return to eating traditional foods, including taro, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, ferns and other greens, seaweed, fruit, and fish. The program seeks to re-establish our unique familial relationship to our native foods. After nearly two centuries of alienation, the aim is to protect, preserve and advance Hawaiian food heritage and cultural traditions passed down in stories, chants, songs, proverbs, and vocabulary.
Studies confirm that when Hawaiians return to a traditional diet and cooking methods, they experience not only weight loss, but also decreases in cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Studies also suggest that returning to a traditional, reciprocal relationship with our native food plants results in emotional and spiritual healing from historic trauma.
Miyasato Named CNHA Brand Officer
Blaine Miyasato has been named Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) chief brand officer, to lead CNHA’s efforts to strengthen and unify its brand, ensuring it reflects the organization’s mission to uplift Native Hawaiians. He joins CNHA with extensive experience in branding, product development, corporate strategy, and community engagement.
Although his ʻohana moved to the continent when he was young, Miyasato returned home in 1985 when he was hired as a flight attendant by Hawaiian Airlines, beginning a 40-year career. Rising through the ranks, he eventually become vice president of product development and brand, playing a key role in shaping Hawaiian Airlines’ brand identity, guest experience, and cultural representation. Most recently, he served as managing director of state government affairs, representing the airline’s interests across multiple states.
In 2024, following Hawaiian Airlines’ acquisition by Alaska Air Group, Miyasato was relocated to Las Vegas. However, staying connected to his kulāiwi was a priority so he left the airline to join CNHA.
Miyasato was appointed to the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) board in 2023, serving as a board member and chair emeritus before resigning upon his relocation to the continent. He is also a board member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi and the former co-chair of the Airlines Committee of Hawaiʻi.
Rare Native Plant Thriving on Kahoʻolawe
In 1992, two botanists from the National Tropical Botanical Garden found two plants unknown to them growing on an outcropping of rocks on Kahoʻolawe. They gathered a sample and found that the plant’s pollen matched a previously unidentified fossil pollen.
The critically endangered native plant – called Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa (Kanaloa kahoolawensis) – was apparently widespread until it disappeared from pollen records around the 16th century.
Following its rediscovery, scientists tried to propagate it, finding only marginal success. The two wild plants died by 2015, and by 2020 only two plants remained in cultivation. Then, incredibly, both plants bloomed simultaneously. One produced seeds, ensuring the species’ continued survival. Today, there are about 20 plants.
A website with information about the plant was launched by the Kapalupalu o Kanaloa Hui, which includes the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission, the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hoʻolawa Farms, Lyon Arboretum, and Maui Nui Botanical Gardens. Their vision is to restore Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa across Hawaiʻi to resume its ecological and cultural roles.
Rediscovery of this plant was particularly notable in that it was found on Kahoʻolawe, which was ravaged by military bombing. Its endurance and resilience, therefore, has special significance.
“The launch of this website marks a significant step forward in our collective effort to restore Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa,” said Michael K. Nāhoʻopiʻi, executive director of the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission. “This plant’s resilience reflects the strength and spirit of Kahoʻolawe itself.”
OHA BOT Chair Kahele Shares PLT Presentation with Hawaiʻi Island Legislators
Hawaiian Midwife Report Submitted to the UN
A joint report by Ea Hānau Cultural Council, Hoʻopae Pono Peace Project, and Mālama nā Pua o Haumea was submitted on April 7 to the United Nations (UN) regarding restrictive midwifery licensure requirements that they say discriminates against Indigenous birthing practices and knowledge holders in Hawaiʻi.
At issue during this legislative session is HB 1194, a midwifery licensure measure that has now cleared both the House of Representatives and the Hawaiʻi State Senate.
All the hearings for HB 1194 were met with strong opposition from homebirth parents, practitioners, and cultural and reproductive rights advocates. However, medical industry representatives have testified in favor of increased restrictions on midwifery practices.
The report was submitted as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council during which the human rights records of all UN Member States are reviewed every four and a half years. This process provides an opportunity for civil organizations to raise concerns about human rights violations – including violations of Indigenous, reproductive, and cultural rights.
The joint submission calls attention to the impacts of HB 1194 within a broader pattern of systemic discrimination and highlights the urgent need for state and federal governments to respect and protect the rights of Native Hawaiian families, including the right to choose culturally appropriate and community-rooted birth care without threat of criminalization or exclusion.
Hawaiʻi Students Protest NEH Cuts
Last month, hundreds of students from public, private, and charter schools across Hawaiʻi testified in support of federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), after drastic cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The students in grades 4-12 from Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island, together with their teachers and families, were participating in the Hawaiʻi History Day State Competition at Windward Community College.
Hawaiʻi History Day is a year-long, history and civics program of local nonprofit Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities (HCH), whose NEH grant was terminated via an email from DOGE on April 2.
“The NEH and by extension humanities councils like ours were established by congressional statute in 1972,” said HCD Executive Director Aiko Yamashiro, “and yet, in a single email, DOGE has canceled $1.5 million in funding for local humanities programs and projects, funding that has already been authorized by Congress.”
The abrupt loss of all NEH support will result in a drastic cutback of programming for the council, including the Hawaiʻi History Day program, which started in 1991.
HCH is committed to supporting this year’s History Day participants and students qualifying for the national competition will still compete in early June. The Hawaiʻi Delegation will include participants from the Hawaiian-language History Day program, who will share their projects at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. The future of the program, however, remains uncertain.
Editor’s update: On April 29 the Mellon Foundation announced $15 million in emergency funding to help offset federal funding cuts which have “devastated” state humanities councils.
New Mural at OHA’s Hilo Office Completed for Office Blessing
