Hawaiʻi Rising

Meet Hema Watson and Anuhea McDougall, the two student hosts of the Hawaiian Kingdom Weekly, along with their teacher Trevor Atkins, a founding organizer of Ke Ea Hawaiʻi.

Ke Ea Hawaiʻi is an inter-scholastic student council composed of elected student leaders from Hawaiian-focused charter schools. Their project, the Hawaiian Kingdom Weekly, amplifies student and community voices by developing a channel for new minds to choose what news is amplified and whose voices amplify it, and by developing a new generation of leaders who have experience in mass media production and critical literacy.

Find Ke Ea Hawaiʻi on Facebook (Ke Ea Hawaii) or Instagram (@keeahawaii) to watch the latest newscast.

Tags: Hawaii, Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi

Meet Kainoa Azama and ʻElia Akaka, two young leaders from the Windward side of Oʻahu who are founding members of the Hui Sivila ʻŌpiopio o Koʻolaupoko (Koʻolaupoko Jr. Civic Club).

The Hui Sivila ʻŌpiopio o Koʻolaupoko is a civic youth organization centered in the Moku of Koʻolaupoko. Their project brings the names of kūpuna from Koʻolaupoko who signed the kūʻē petitions home, honoring their bravery and recognizing them as heroes. They intend to supplement their efforts by creating educational programming to inspire and remind ʻōpio and community members of these kūpunaʻs actions, and promote the legacy of kūʻē no ka ʻāina.

Website: koolaupoko-hcc.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Sixteen-year-old Pāhonu Coleman leads the Koʻolele program at Ke Kula Nui O Waimānalo. 

Ke Kula Nui O Waimānalo strives to inspire youth to look to our past to build a vibrant future and a thriving community to take pride in. Koʻolele, a 12-month film and cultural exploration program, focuses on connecting youth to their culture, wahi pana, self-identity and overall well-being, pushing back on colonial injustice, and reigniting cultural pride through film. Utilizing video production, directing, and editing skills learned through the program, participants are tasked with documenting the manaʻo, moʻolelo, and mele (perspectives, stories, and songs) from esteemed leaders and kūpuna in the Waimānalo community.

kekulanuiowaimanalo.org

Tags: Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi, Hawaii

ʻĀinaaloha and Haʻawina Ioane introduce the Keliʻi William Ioane Legacy Foundation and share about their childhood growing up in the village of Kingʻs Landing with their father Keliʻi “Skippy” Ioane.

Keliʻi William Ioane Legacy Foundation was created in 2020 to honor and perpetuate the legacy of Keliʻi William Ioane Jr., the Mālama Ka ‘Āina Hana Ka ‘Āina Association (M.A.H.A), the Keaukaha Makahiki Ceremony, and the promotion of Hawaiian Nationalism through his music. The effort underscores the social inequities of Hawai’iʻs people, and celebrates its resilience through the mo’olelo of King’s Landing and the formation of M.A.H.A.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeliiWilliamIoaneLegacy

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

Meet Hōkūokahalelani Pihana at Nā Waʻa Mauō Marine Stewardship Program.

Nā Waʻa Mauōʻs Honuaiākea Voyaging Program (HVP) immerses at-risk high school students from East Hawaiʻi Island in an experience that strengthens their academics, STEM skills, and personal well being as they transition into adulthood. During the Honuaiākea program experience, students learn how to conduct marine stewardship research using an integrated methodology that blends institutional and indigenous sciences. Their research projects focus on the effects of climate change on the marine environment and ways to increase community resilience to climate change. The open ocean readiness piece trains students in ocean safety to attain their lifeguard certifications, and the college to career success component prepares students for college through undergraduate mentorships and STEM research experiences. Collectively, the Honuaiākea Voyaging Program aims to perpetuate the practice of our kūpuna, strengthen the next generation of marine stewards, and sustain the cultural identity of Hawaiʻi Nei.

Website: www.kahalemauo.com/nawaamauo

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

An interview with Dr. Noe Noe Wong-Wilson and Kumu Hula Snowbird Puananiopaoakalani Bento of Lālākea Foundation.

Lālākea Foundation is committed to protecting natural resources including Mauna Kea and other wahi pana throughout the pae ʻāina. Their mission is to perpetuate the ancient art form of hula and other traditional cultural practices, including the inherent right to practice traditional spirituality and life ways, and also to ensure that decisions affecting Hawaiʻi’s future is based on foundational principles of ʻĀina Aloha, ʻŌpū Aliʻi, Imi Oi Kelakela, and Hoʻokipa.

Website: lalakea.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

Meet Mehana Vaughan and Jennifer Luck of Kīpuka Kuleana.

Kīpuka Kuleana believes that keeping Hawaiian and long time local families in their communities, whether through sustained land ownership or other pathways that allow them to continue to serve as caretakers, is vital to the social and ecological health of Hawaiʻi ahupuaʻa, to perpetuating their character across generations, and to community survival and resilience. Dedicated to helping ʻohana keep their ancestral lands, they provide workshops for Kauaʻi ʻohana, conduct community classes, work on policies and legislation to reduce tax burdens and protect kuleana lands, hold work days that bring Kauaʻi community hui together, and create videos and other educational materials to reach potential investors and ʻāina purchasers to encourage protection of ʻāīna on Kauaʻi and discourage predatory sales.

Website: www.kipukakuleana.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

An interview with Guy Hanohano Naehu and Tanya Mailelani Naehu of Hui o Kuapā, featuring a special musical performance.

Founded in 1989, Hui o Kuapā educates local and global communities about Native Hawaiian biocultural resource management through the restoration, use and maintenance of Molokai’s loko iʻa (traditional Hawaiian fishponds) and their adjacent lands.

Their Nā Hulu Kūpuna Project seeks to hoʻohanohano (uplift and honor) Molokai’s kūpuna to ensure the moʻolelo (the stories), knowledge, and values they hold are passed on and perpetuated by future generations.

Website: www.huiokuapa.org

Contact: [email protected]

Tags:  Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

Meet Micky Huihui and Matthew Kaulana Ing at the Hawaiʻi People’s Fund. HPF has helped to support, build capacity, and amplify the impact of grassroots social change movements in Hawaiʻi since 1972. In this introductory episode of Hawaiʻi Rising, you’ll hear about HPF’s roots in the social movements of the 1970s, about year-round funding opportunities, and about how this podcast fits into HPF’s mission.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Conversations with grassroots community organizers at the forefront of progressive movements for change and justice in Hawai’i, featuring the 2021 grantees of Hawaiʻi People's Fund.

Hawaiʻi Peopleʻs Fund has helped to support, build capacity, and amplify the impact of grassroots social change movements in Hawaiʻi since 1972. We are dedicated to the most creative, passionate, and radical visions of community, bravely navigating the intersections of indigeneity, environment, race, class, labor, gender, art, technology, mental health, incarceration, food, and other crucial issues we face.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii