Each year for Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, two people are honored for their activism and commitment to ea. This year, the two honorees are Sparky Rodrigues and his late wife Leandra Wai of Mālama Mākua, who have fought for the care and reclamation of Mākua Valley since 1996. In this special episode, Sparky reflects on his and Leandra’s life, work, and legacy.

To learn more about Mālama Mākua, check out our previous interview with Uncle Sparky and Aunty Lynette Cruz in episode 17 Mālama Mākua: Piko of Peace as well as a special update from last December about the Armyʻs written statement that they don’t need Mākua for live fire training ever again.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii.

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is coming up at the end of July! In this special episode from 2023, learn about community celebrations of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, or Sovereignty Restoration Day, in recent years. The 2024 Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea celebration at Pōkaʻi Bay, Waiʻanae, is on Saturday, July 27, and the celebration at Thomas Square, Honolulu, will be on Sunday, July 28. Come join us!

Guests in order of appearance: ʻĪmaikalani Winchester, Pōlani Kahakalau-Kalima, Wahinehula Kaeo, Ke‘alohi Quiamno, Kyle Kajihiro, Uʻi and Kalani Puaʻoi, Makaio Villanueva and Nani Peterson, and Lynette Cruz.

To learn more about Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, listen to our previous interview in episode 26. Lā Ho'iho'i Ea Honolulu: Visions of a Sovereign Future.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is coming up at the end of July! The 2024 LHE celebration at Thomas Square will be on Sunday, July 28.

In this episode from 2022, we spoke with organizers of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea Honolulu: ʻĪmaikalani Winchester, Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, and Mahina Kaomea.

LHE Honoluluʻs mission is to provide safe spaces to celebrate Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea through educational, cultural, and community networking events, focusing on Hawaiian independence, social justice and open dialogue around multi-faceted practices of EA (life, breath, rising, sovereignty).

Website: lahoihoiea.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this episode with Hui Iwi Kuamoʻo, Halealoha Ayau and Mana Caceres talk through a case study of a successful repatriation of iwi kūpuna (Hawaiian ancestral bones) from the Duckworth Laboratory at Cambridge University, from first learning about the iwi at Cambridge to their reburial last year. This repatriation was noteworthy as the first ever successful repatriation of ancestral remains from Cambridge by any Indigenous community.

For 33 years, Hui Iwi Kuamo’o has provided care for iwi kūpuna (ancestral Hawaiian bones), moepū (funerary possessions) and mea kapu (sacred objects) through repatriation and reburial. To learn more about the history of Hui Iwi Kuamoʻo and their approach to this transformative work, check out our first episode with Halealoha and Mana: episode 28: Hui Iwi Kuamoʻo: Restoring the Ancestral Foundation.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this two-episode special, we hear from five students active in the 2019 mobilization to protect Mauna Kea from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Part 2: "The Occupation Bachman Hall" shares the experiences of students who occupied the Board of Regents' office building on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus during the fall 2019 semester. Their 117-day sit-in was the longest in UH history.

These stories were recorded in conjunction with the Kūkulu Exhibit "Hoʻomana" brought to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa through a partnership between HPF grantee Mauna Kea Education & Awareness and KTUH.

Student voices (in order of appearance): Beau Shishido, Anuhea Tavares, Kāhili Liu-Hanohano, and ʻIhilani Lasconia.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this two-episode special, we hear from five students active in the 2019 mobilization to protect Mauna Kea from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Part 1: "Students Standing for Mauna Kea" focuses on action up on the Mauna during the summer of 2019.

These stories were recorded in conjunction with the Kūkulu Exhibit "Hoʻomana" brought to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa through a partnership between HPF grantee Mauna Kea Education & Awareness and KTUH.

Student voices (in order of appearance): ʻIhilani Lasconia, Makanalani Gomes, and Kāhili Liu-Hanohano.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this special episode, we take a step back and share some of the voices of the HPF board and grantmaking committee whose volunteer service and leadership behind the scenes is crucial to the work. We ask them: why do you choose to serve with HPF?

Mahalo to these directors and grantmakers for sharing their voices: Ashley Galacgac, Hina Kaʻōpua-Canonigo, James Maunakea Secritario, Jonathan Pilikai Fisk, Katherine Burke, Natalie Debiasi, and Nikki Cristobal.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this episode, hear updates about the restoration of Kahaluʻu Loʻi with Phillip Kapu and Aimee Sato from Kaiāulu ʻo Kahaluʻu.

Kaiāulu ʻo Kahaluʻu is a grassroots hui created to serve, organize, and uplift community voices of the Kahalu’u ahupuaʻa on Oʻahuʻs windward side. Currently, their primary focus is the restoration of the Kahalu’u Lo’i, hosting community engagement events, and serving and advocating for the Kahalu’u community.

To learn more about the origins of the hui and their vision for the future, listen to our first interview with founders Hiʻiaka Jardine and Jen Nakamura in episode 29: Hawaiian Engineering and ʻĀina Restoration in Kahaluʻu.

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

In this interview with Jesse Kekoa Kahoʻonei and Kim Kahoʻonei from Kahaluʻu Kūāhewa, we hear updates on their ʻāina restoration and community education work in the ahupuaʻa of Kahaluʻu in Kona, Hawaiʻi.

Kahalu’u Kūāhewa is based in one of Konaʻs largest intact traditional agricultural field systems preserved within a 354-acre area owned by Bishop Estate-Kamehameha Schools. They have documented 3,500 archaeological features, almost all of which are considered traditional agricultural features.

To hear about the origins of the hui and moʻolelo of this ʻāina, listen to our first episode with them: episode 33 Kahaluʻu Kūāhewa (Huliauapaʻa): Food Sovereignty and ʻĀina Education in Kona.

Website: www.kahaluukuahewa.org/

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

An interview with Kāhealani Collins on her experience training to be a koʻokua (culturally-based birth worker) in Ka ʻĀmana Mentorship Program at Kalauokekahuli.

Kalauokekahuli supports Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people by providing culturally-based perinatal support and education. Through Ka ʻĀmana Mentorship Program, they seek to continue directly addressing Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander disparities in birth outcomes by sustainably growing the number of Kalauokekahuli Koʻokua. These new Kalauokekahuli Koʻokua will contribute to the regeneration of a culturally-rooted, extended-ʻohana network by continuing to offer free, high-quality and culturally-competent perinatal care and services accessible for the advancement of the lāhui and Pasifika communities.

Website: www.kalauokekahuli.org/

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii