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INTERN PROJECTS
WKIP 2024 Projects
Keālia, Kona Hema (South Kona), Hawaiʻi Island
Travis Chai Andrade and Tehina Kaʻena Kahikina
Aia i Keālia ko Lei ʻŌpua: At Keālia is the Lei ʻŌpua (Ethnohistorical Research)
Travis and Kaʻena investigated the history of Keālia to provide an overview of inoa ʻāina (place names), inoa ua (rain names), inoa makani (wind names), ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverbs and poetical sayings), mele (songs), oli (chants), moʻolelo (stories), aliʻi (chiefs), Māhele awards, cultivation practices, and ranching in the area. Inspired by the mele lei (lei songs) composed for Queen Kapiʻolani, the title of their project likens the history of Keālia to the beuaitful ʻōpua clouds that adorn this region of Kona. They hope their research, the start of this lei ʻōpua, forms a power kahua (foundation) for the communities in Keālia as they continue to steward and imagine the future of their wahi kūpuna.
Dalilah Osakoda and Lia-Tui Sarong
Kamaʻilio Me Ko Keālia Kaiāulu: Conversations with the Community of Keālia (Community Ethnography)
Dalilah and Lia synthesized the community ethnographies conducted by the 2024 WKIP Cohort, Aliaikalaʻi. Their project provides outlines the importance of ethical ethnographic and oral history methodologies in working with local communities along with an overview of where and with whom the cohort's interviews took place. "Kamaʻilio Me Ko Keālia Kaiāulu" emphasizes central themes such as access, community pilina (relationships), preservation and restoriation, and ʻāina momona (fertile land, abundance) as important historically and to the community today. Dalilah and Lia's work works to ensure that through oral histories and community ethnography, the moʻolelo (stories) of our wahi kūpuna live on.
Kieran Gibson and Corey Wetherall
Nā Pōhaku o Keālia, Kona Hema: Mapping Keālia's Ancestral Mahiʻai Infrastructure (ʻĀina Field Methods)
Kieran and Corey researched archaeological reports and produced a new map using data gathered by the 2024 WKIP Cohort, Aliaikalaʻi, visualizing a portion of the Kona Field System. Their project provides rich insights into important wahi kūpuna of Keālia and relate many of these sites to contemporary ethnographic interviews conducted by Aliaikalaʻi. "Nā Pōhaku o Keālia" also offers an overview of the ʻāina field methods utilized in the summer of 2024, including important cultural protocols, and compares their new findings to previous information. The importance of connection community members and kamaʻāina with their wahi kūpuna by increasing access, investing resources into community collaborations, and partnering with other organizations is underscored throughout their work.