Bio taken from the Kahakulei Institute: Aunty Puanani Burgess is a poet, priest, aunty, and friend to many. She has been a community activist in the Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement for over fifty years. As the designer and facilitator for Building the Beloved Community - a process that brings ceremony, storytelling, and circles of trust and respect - Aunty Pua has shared Native Hawaiian practices throughout the world to bring healing and reconciliation. She served as the Myles and Zilphia Horton Chair for the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee and as a community scholar in residence at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai'i. Aunty Pua is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest in the International Daihonzan Chozen-ji. I hope you enjoy this beautiful conversation with a wise elder whom I am very blessed to call my friend.

“You want to make a difference? Then start by looking within.” – Aunty Puanani Burgess

Resources:

A video about Building the Beloved Community made by one of Aunty Pua’s young students

FOLLOW AUBREY'S WORK

Website: www.ourbelovedfutures.com
Instagram: @aubrey.morgan.yee
Substack: ourbelovedfutures.substack.com
Book: Our Beloved Futures