Mission
Growing Hawai‘i's communities through culturally based forms of innovative learning, leadership development, and collaborative networking in wahi kupuna stewardship.

​Vision
Wahi kupuna thriving through Hawaiian self-determination.

​Inoa
Huliauapa‘a was created from our deep connection and responsibility to Hawai‘i's wahi kupuna (ancestral places). Huliau, meaning "a time of change" and "to recall the past," speaks of our desire to steward our sacred places by preserving the stories, materials and sites of our ancestors. Pa‘a, meaning "firm, solid, definite, steadfast," reaffirms our convictions to protect and perpetuate our cultural sites. Thus, Huliauapa‘a reminds us to be steadfast in our beliefs to protect and preserve the treasures of our kūpuna (ancestors).
Find us today on
Facebook & Instagram 

Our *New Logo Design

​The Huliauapaʻa logo design depicts patterned motifs pointing upwards that represent the concept of “lewa.”  Lewa literally represents the sky or atmosphere or the strata in the upper heavens. Traditionally, it was believed that the source of real transformation and change (huliau) was linked to the heavens as its celestial processes governed all aspects of the natural and physical environment. 
 
The concept of lewa also means to reach a state in which you understand something entirely.  Whether it is the type of work you do or your intimacy with a place, lewa means to be thoroughly familiar. It is Huliauapaʻa's mission to transform cultural resource management in Hawaiʻi. This can only be accomplished by elevating our kuleana and thoroughly understanding the context of the work we do to protect and mālama sacred sites in Hawaiʻi.

Native Hawaiian Leaders and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

In 2017, Huliauapaʻa was awarded the NOAA Preserve America Initiative Funding (PAIIF) grant to lead a series of ethnographic interviews to document the formative history of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). Our focus was gathering the moʻolelo and manaʻo of Native Hawaiian leaders who are responsible for the movement that resulted in effective advocacy and protection for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) from 2000 to present. These community leaders forged successful partnerships which led to the integration of Native Hawaiian cultural values and concepts into the Monument management. While focused on documeting the history of the monument, this project also helped gain insight into indigenous principles, philosophies, and unique epistemologies deeply embedded in native worldview and the relationship between people and place.
Specifically, this project captured the important roles that the Native Hawaiian community had in the historical timeline events with the establishment of :
 
  1. the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve in 2000 by President Clinton;
  2. the NWHI Reserve in 2005 by the State of Hawai‘i;
  3. the NWHI Marine National Monument in 2006 by President Bush;
  4. the inscription of the region as the first, and currently only mixed (natural and cultural) UNESCO World Heritage Site in the U.S. in 2010; and
  5. the most recent proclamation for the expansion of the Monument in 2016 by President Obama.
 
The ethnographic interviews and videos that were produced will allow these stories to be available online and accessible through various media outlets, featured at various museums, and interpretive centers in Hawai‘i.
 
Huliauapa‘a consultation team members included Kepoʻo Keliʻipaʻakaua and Momi Wheeler, with additional support from Kalani Quiocho, NOAA Native Hawaiian Program Specialist. We are grateful to all the partners who collaborated on this project:
 
  • NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center – Socioeconomic Program;
  • NOAA NMFS Voices from the Fisheries;
  • NOAA MNFS PIRO Marine National Monument Program;
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
  • State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources;
  • and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
 
And a special mahalo piha to the OHA Print and Digital Media for all their hard work in editing and creating these beautiful short videos that will be available early 2019.
 
Return back to this site soon to see the video clips that were produced as part of this project!
 
Pipi holo ka ‘ao
The story is salted and preserved to run on….

Pulses of the Land: Wahi Pana of Keʻei​​ I & II

During the 2018 Wahi Kupuna Internship Program, two of our interns (with kokua from their kumu) created an online give back to the community of Keʻei in the form of a Story Map. A Story Map is an online, interactive resource incorporating text, photos, video, and GIS maps. They are an excellent modern educational resource for connecting the ʻike of Hawaiʻi's communities with technology. They allow information to be documented and accessible worldwide. This Story Map focuses on the Wahi Pana of Keʻei, sharing their moʻolelo and significance through the voices of Ke'ei kamaʻāina. We hope this Story Map of Keʻei will be utilized as an educational resource by the Keʻei community in their continuous efforts to preserve and perpetuate the moʻolelo and practices of these wahi pana.

The 2018 Wahi Kupuna Internship Program Application process is now closed. Please check back early next year!

Last Revised  August 2018
All materials © copyright 2012-2018. Huliauapa‘a
350 Aoloa St. C-107 Kailua, HI 96734 
Please report problems or comments regarding this website to admissions@huliauapaa.org
Proudly powered by Weebly