ROOTED IN HAWAIIAN ROYALTY, CHERISHING OUR HAWAIIAN CULTURE

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1 ROOTED IN HAAIIAN ROYALTY, CHERISHING OUR HAAIIAN CULTURE By Cathy Lee Chong The strength of the Hawaiian spirit is like an enduring chain, and we are links in the chain. hether we speak with Hawaiian words or dance hula, chant or craft, paddle or fish, learn or teach, this chain of Hawaiian culture lengthens by how we live our lives. Each of us can make the chain stronger. Each of us stands on the shoulders of those who came before. e are part of a greater purpose, and we hope those who come after us will not only add their links, but forge new ones as well. From left to right: These Iolani girls perform Nou E Nani, which tells of deep appreciation and love for the qualities a special person shares in their lives. Left to right, Kiira Harrison 07, Traci-Lynn Hirai 07 and Dayna Chikamoto 08. Michael Lim 07 chants. Recently retired kumu hula Uncle Ed Collier spent 22 years of his teaching career at Iolani. I In a dance room at Iolani School, kumu hula Aunty Lehua Carvalho teaches a hula auana to her students. They are learning the meaning to a love song called Nou e nani. However, Carvalho wants them to know more than the correct movements or the proper beat. Hula is so much more than just dance, she says. Uncle George Naope (master kumu hula) described hula as the heartbeat of Hawai i. It s so true. It is our culture, our language, our history. There is glimmer in the eyes of the dancers, and some are nearly moved to tears. They are possessed by the meaning of the song and overwhelmed when they realize they are messengers of a living culture. Dancing a hula brings to life not only the Hawaiian language, but also evokes the history of the time and place described in the mele. The students become the embodiment of the composer s thoughts and values, expressing them to the audience. On a wall of the dance room is an enlarged placard stating a proverb selected by retired Iolani kumu hula Uncle Ed Collier, who wanted to remind students that they can soar like hawks with the knowledge gained at Iolani. He io au, a ohe lala kau ole. I am a hawk: there is no branch on which I cannot perch. Mary Kawena Pukui Olelo No eau The saying not only reflects the aspiration of the students, but also reminds one of the history of the school through reference to the io, whose soaring flight was a metaphor for the loftiness of the chiefs. According to a Hawaiian Church Chronicle article written in 1933 by The Right Rev. Samuel Harrington Littell: Iolani was the name sometimes applied to the highest royal person. It may have been connected with the Supreme Being who, Polynesians believed, was above all gods and chiefs. Having been influenced by royalty, the early student body included several well-known names. In the 1870s, Prince David Kawananakoa and Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana ole were students at Iolani College. Curtis Piehu Iaukea was one of the first pupils at St. Alban s College, according to his biography By Royal Queen Emma, 1856, courtesy King Kamehameha IV, 1856, Command. Iaukea later Bishop Museum. courtesy Bishop Museum. became chamberlain to King Kalakaua and was a member of the Iolani School is deeply rooted in Iolani School Board of Governors until his Hawaiian history and the Hawaiian death in monarchy s mission: King Kamehameha IV Iolani School remains committed to (whose name was also Iolani) and his wife Hawaiian culture and spirit, and graduates, Queen Emma sought to establish an like links in a great chain, carry Anglican church and school in the Kingdom on this legacy. of Hawaii. Forging a connection with The late Right Reverend Edwin Britain, they sent a plea to England for Lani Hanchett 37 was a bishop of the assistance. In 1862, the Anglican Episcopal Episcopal Church of Hawaii and the Mission, headed by the Right Rev. Thomas first person of Hawaiian ancestry to be Nettleship Staley, arrived in Honolulu from ordained to the priesthood. ally England. Three schools were the origin of Froiseth 38, one of Hawaii s first Iolani School today. They were Iolani big wave surfers, is a revered canoe College, St. Alban s College and a school on builder and wood carver who Maui known as Luaehu or Lahainalalo. helped build and repair the A sculpture of an io, or Hawaiian Hawk, designed by art teacher Dave Roberts and his former students, graces the Iolani campus. 6 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture Hokule a, Hawai iloa and E ala for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Edwin Hulihee 39, founder of Royal Contracting Co., received the O o Award from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce in Dwight Kealoha 62, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, is the chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii. ade Kilohana Shirkey 68 is a kumu hula. Rona Ching Kekauoha 86, previously a counselor with the Native Hawaiian Leadership Project, is now a scholarship administrator and counselor for Kamehameha Schools. Keith Nakaganeku 84 is an impressive Hawaiian falsetto singer. Christian Yrizarry 94 is part of the hit group Ho onua. Kevin Manuel 95 is the Native Hawaiian Scholars Program coordinator for College Connections Hawai i. Ikaika Hussey 96 actively speaks out on many Native

2 PRESERVING CULTURAL INTEGRITY Ilima Loomis 96, a writer for the Maui News, recently wrote the book, Rough Riders: Hawai i s Paniolo and Their Stories. Hawaiian issues. Ilima Loomis 96, a writer for the Maui News, is the author of Rough Riders: Hawaii s Paniolo and Their Stories. Many, many more Iolanians perpetuate Hawaiian culture in big and small ways. Longtime history teacher and coach Jeff Moses still draws hundreds of students to his History of Hawai i class that he started in As a part of his instruction, he includes artifacts and stories from his own family s part in shaping Hawai i s history. Two years ago, the Ka Mo olelo O Hawaii class was founded by history teacher Melanie Soares. The class utilizes culture-based activities and experiences to enrich student awareness and understanding. In the Iolani Lower School, fourth graders engage in an intensive unit on Hawaiiana capped off with a trip to the Big Island to visit, among many historic sites, Mo okini Luakini, Hale o Kapuni Heiau, Pu ukohola, and Pu uhonua O Honaunau. The fourth grade unit begins with geology and the birth of the Hawaiian Islands, then moves towards the flowers and plants, the arrival of the first Polynesians, the establishment of their governments, the coming of Captain Cook, the reign of the Hawaiian monarchy, and its overthrow. Students also learn about current events such as the Akaka Bill, sovereignty issues, and Hawaiian environmental causes. They gain a deeper understanding of and respect for Hawaiian history and culture, discovering continuity between the world they live in and the events they study. Makana Gomes 08 wants future generations to uphold Hawaiian culture and values. 8 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture It s so important for them to know about the place we call home, says fourth grade teacher Patty Kugiya Schmitz. Their eyes open up to what s around them. They get excited knowing things like the Likelike Highway was named after a real princess. At Iolani School, the spirit of Hawaii is always close at heart. Iolani continues to fulfill the vision of the Hawaiian monarchs who laid the foundation upon which we carry forward today. Preserving Hawaiian culture is very important to me to say the very least, says Makana Gomes 08. I view my Hawaiian culture as unique, found nowhere else in the world except in eight little islands. Like many of our endangered species in Hawaii, the Hawaiian culture could move toward extinction. But I have hope that up and coming generations will preserve and uphold our Hawaiian culture. (Catherine Fuller 84 also contributed to this article.) On the naming of our school Literally, the name means heavenly hawk, but in the highly figurative Hawaiian language, Iolani is a metaphor for royalty, wrote English teacher Dr. Michael LaGory in the book At Thy Call e Gather: Iolani School. LaGory is also acknowledged as a contributor to Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert s Hawaiian Dictionary. hen Malcolm Naea Chun 72 was a senior at Iolani, he started a program at school called Hawai i Aloha. Students met under a shower tree near St. Alban s Chapel to hear notable Hawaiians and non-hawaiians speak about important issues. Creating this venue for learning fueled his inborn passion. I m a poi dog, he says of his ethnic background. Chun grew up surrounded by Hawaiian culture and language, partly raised by a grand uncle who worked as a security guard but who was really a traditional Hawaiian healer. Today, Chun is a researcher and scholar who has worked throughout his career with Native Hawaiian agencies and organizations. He is the cultural specialist at the University of Hawai i at Manoa. Previously, he was at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Health, and the Queen Lili uokalani Children s Center. Chun is also the author of the Ka ana Series, part of the Pihana Na Mamo Native Hawaiian education program. The series consists of 11 short books covering a range of subjects on Native Hawaiian culture, including ethics and philosophy, leadership, education, health, management, protocol and religious beliefs. In October, he traveled to London to inspect an exhibition of more than 80 artifacts from Captain Cook s time to He also visited the British Library to research historical illustrations and original drawings of Hawaii from that period. Just back from an Episcopal Church meeting, he has been elected Chairman of the Episcopal Council s Committee on Indigenous Ministry and serves also as the Secretary-General of the Anglican Indigenous Network. In March, he will attend the Primate s Meeting on HIV/AIDS, Poverty and other critical issues in Johannesburg, South Africa. Malcolm Naea Chun 72 is a Hawaiian researcher and scholar. In the big picture, Chun s role is to preserve Native Hawaiian cultural integrity, so that each successive generation receives facts and knowledge intact. e are doing a better job than we have ever done before (in balancing estern and Hawaiian cultures), he says, but it s not a simple equation. There s a lot of layering. There s a lot of history. There s a lot of politics. There s a lot of social, economic considerations.... e could be doing a lot more and a lot better, but in that regard we have to deal with issues such as sovereignty, native rights, those kinds of issues. After Chun entered the University of Hawai i upon graduating from Iolani, he earned his bachelor s degree in liberal studies with Hawaiian Studies listed in parenthesis. The Hawaiian Renaissance was just building momentum. He earned his master s degree in American Studies at UH and is working on his doctorate in indigenous studies through a Maori university in hakatane, New Zealand. Chun believes Native Hawaiian issues should be of concern to everyone who makes Hawaii their home and who cherishes the lifestyle of the Islands. e must handle our culture with care for the sake of its future, he says. hen the October 15 earthquake hit the Big Island causing power outages across the state, people, in general, were polite and civil, he notes. There were no reports of looting or increased crime. The Aloha Spirit persevered. hatever that Aloha Spirit is, it s the glue that has been binding a community here, but as the bumper tape says, No Hawaiian, No Aloha, Chun says. Chun is the author of the Ka ana Series of books on Hawaiian traditions and culture. 9 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture

3 A NAVIGATOR PIHANA NA MAMO A S lthough Catherine Fuller s 84 personal mission has been to learn as much about her Hawaiian heritage as she can, she has found her focus through both paddling and voyaging canoes. She has been with Hui Nalu Canoe Club for 18 years, as well as a member of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. In return for the gift of her voyaging experiences, she enlightens others about Hawaiian navigation and understanding the natural phenomenon of land and sea. Fuller is a sixth grade social studies teacher at Iolani. She has also been part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society since 1993 (and is on its board of directors) and has journeyed on two important voyages, from Hawai i to Tahiti in 1995 and from the Marquesas to Pitcairn Island and Mangareva in She hopes to take part in another Hokule a voyage to Japan this year. hat drew her towards paddling and sailing canoes was her desire to honor her ancestors way of life. e need to acknowledge the place that we re in, she says, and the people who were here first. If we don t perpetuate Hawaiian culture, who s going to? People of my generation believe that we have to take it as far as it can go. Catherine Fuller 84, Ka iulani Murphy, Camille Kalama and Cindy Macfarlane of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. hen she was in high school, she and her mother, Susan Devine Fuller, researched their genealogy and discovered the generations of their family fit right into the chapters of Hawai i s history. Catherine s great grandmother spoke fluent Hawaiian and was from the Big Island. However, Catherine s grandmother was discouraged from speaking Hawaiian because of legislation imposed in Catherine s mother, in turn, was invited to learn Hawaiian language as a child but was too young to appreciate the offer. But with Catherine, the relevance of Hawaiian traditions in her life has come full circle. Lurline MacGregor, Catherine Fuller 84, Pono Tuinei and Mary Fern at Lake Karapiro, New Zealand for the orld aka Ama Sprints in Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture Fuller teaches her Iolani sixth grade class. I was really into Hawaiian culture ever since I was a little kid, says Fuller whose ethnicity includes Swedish, German and Hawaiian. She was fascinated by Hawaiian legends, such as the Pele and Hi iaka cycle about two sisters fighting over the same lover. Out of reverence, when as a child her family picked ohelo berries for Christmas pies, she always remembered to toss some into the volcano. Family experiences also included fishing and hunting for octopus with her uncles, and playing in the Mauna Kea snow. They were brought up in the old way where you had a relationship with the land, Fuller says of her family. Nowadays we re so cut off from the land. After graduating from Iolani, she earned her degree in English literature from Occidental College but felt her education wasn t completed. She returned to Hawaii and completed more than four years of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawai i at Manoa, and explored other courses on Hawai i and Hawaiian culture. She began a master s degree program in anthropology at UH, and was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship towards her research, but put obtaining her degree on hold because of her full schedule. Her experiences as an apprentice navigator, captain and crew member for the Fuller speaks to students about the journeys of ancient Polynesians. Polynesian Voyaging Society are the topics of her lectures at hundreds of schools and community organizations. She shares insights into rigging, balancing, and caring for canoes with fellow paddlers. In the old days, a wood carver embodied the spirit of the tree into the canoe. Even though modern canoes are made of fiberglass, the soul of the vessel remains intact. Canoes represent a partnership between land, man and sea, she says. Voyaging, even a few hundred yards off shore, offers a different perspective on and appreciation of the islands we live on. She speaks about life on a canoe to Iolani students, who are fascinated by the journeys of ancient Polynesians. Navigators rely on stars, a sunrise s path, waves, trade winds, clouds and birds as guides to their destination. In turn, it seems Catherine s destiny is to carry on her ancestors legacy. I try to model myself after those that came before me. They gave of themselves without expecting anything in return, she says. Aloha is not a cliché. It s not only in Hawaii. It is a common value in other island communities as well, one of the ways we learned to live in harmony. ince 2000, Dr. Morris Lai 61 has directed about $18 million worth of Native Hawaiian education projects at nearly 40 public schools across the state. He is the principal investigator for Pihana Nä Mamo: The Native Hawaiian Special Education Project, which delivers educational services to children of Hawaiian ancestry with special needs. The project consists of three major school-based activities: Heluhelu (reading), Käko o (student support), and Makua Hänai (parent involvement). The name Pihana Nä Mamo means the Gathering of Special Children. Lai also oversees two other related projects, Nä Lama Heluhelu: The Pihana Nä Mamo Early Reading Initiative, and Käko o Piha: The Pihana Nä Mamo Project to Support At-risk Native Hawaiian Youth. All receive funding through the Native Hawaiian Education Act established in 1988 by the U.S. Congress. ithout large funding, you can t do certain things in a major sense, Lai says from his office on the University of Hawai i at Mänoa campus. For example, in the project s elementary schools, we have provided the full reading program for 15 schools for all grades school-wide. That includes curriculum materials, providing professional development for teachers, helping parents get involved, providing technical assistance, and evaluating the project. It s really a full effort to help Native Hawaiians do better in school. The schools targeted by Pihana Nä Mamo have relatively large percentages of Hawaiian students and relatively high degrees of poverty, such as Keaukaha Elementary School on Hawaiian homestead land on the Big Island. Projects Dr. Morris Lai 61 helps to provide millions of dollars in funding to Native Hawaiian education programs. also incorporate Hawaiian culture into the curriculum to help motivate children to learn. After graduating from Stanford University, Lai earned his master s degree from the University of Hawai i at Mänoa and his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. hen he returned to Hawai i, he took four years of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawai i at Mänoa. That s when he realized that he had been brought up incorrectly spelling and mispronouncing a number of Hawaiian words and names. So many lost their meaning, he says. e were saying things that were almost silly. If you look at the name Kaläkaua, if you mispronounce it, it may have a bad meaning or even an insulting meaning. At UH, Lai has presented workshops on the meaning and pronunciation of Hawaiian words, though he calls himself an amateur. He is also part of the Evaluation Hui, which is made up of Native Hawaiians and Maoris developing evaluation methods for indigenous peoples. It s very important to have respect for your surroundings, Lai says. Hawaiians believe that land has spirit or mana, and that we should honor those who came before us. 11 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture

4 SPIRITUAL MISSION HAAIIAN LANGUAGE MOVEMENT D hen The Rev. Darrow Aiona 53 was a professor at Leeward Community College, he made a disturbing discovery. In the early 1970s, he was teaching sociology, religion and Hawaiian studies. Most of his students were from the aianae Coast. Many were Native Hawaiians. I asked myself, How come they can t read? he says. They (Hawaiians) are trying to struggle through college. So I ended up running for the school board. Finding out what was happening in the school system was very distressing. Aiona served on the state Board of Education for 22 years beginning in He saw high percentages of Hawaiian students who couldn t read or write. He found out that the Leeward Coast, with a large Hawaiian population, had the highest percentage of students in special education. He learned that instructors of Hawaiian culture were teaching with slick hotel industry brochures because they had no other teaching materials. His spiritual mission as a priest became an educational mission as a Hawaiian. He helped promote a kapuna program in which seniors would share stories and experiences with preschoolers. He also supported the implementation of the Punana Leo Hawaiian language immersion programs. I used to wonder, How come we teach Korean, German, French, but we don t teach Hawaiian language? he says. Pretty soon, we re having Hawaiian language because Hawaiian parents are learning they want this for their children. 12 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture Rev. Darrow Aiona 53 served on the state Board of Education for 22 years. He helped establish Hawaiian language programs in public schools. Aiona grew up on aimanalo Hawaiian Homestead land. He remembers catching o opu in the waters of aikane Valley and playing in the taro patch. Hawaiian life was very simple, he says. His father wanted him to have a better life, however, and urged him to pursue higher education. He earned his bachelor s degree in sociology in 1957 and a master s degree in sociology and race relations two years later from the University of Hawai i at Manoa. He was a Fulbright Fellow for a year at Auckland University in New Zealand from 1959 to 1960 and graduated from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. His master s thesis was titled: Hawaiian Church of the Living God: An Episode in the Quest for Hawaiian Integrity. Aiona notes that after Christianity was introduced to the Islands, thousands of Hawaiians blended their ideas with Christian beliefs. It s vital to carry on Hawaiian customs and traditions, such as ho okipa or always helping others, and to speak the Hawaiian language. Yet education defines a person, he adds. Put it this way, he says. Hawaiians were the first ones here. If we didn t have the language, we would have died. Aiona continues to serve as priest at St. Mark s Episcopal Church in Kapahulu. He has been a member of the Queen Lili uokalani Children s Center advisory board, Hawai i Environmental Simulation Laboratory, John Howard Association, Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, Hawai i Council of Churches, Office of Hawaiian Affairs education committee, and more. Today, a lot of Hawaiian young people are teachers coming out of the university; before we didn t have a lot of Hawaiian teachers. A whole new generation has emerged. r. Kerry Laiana ong 74 wants to right the wrongs of history. The Hawaiian language was banned in both public and private schools starting in 1896, ong says. That particular legislation had major ramifications for Hawaiian language. You had campaigns on the part of schools where they would discourage people with corporal measures from speaking Hawaiian. ong is part of the movement to revitalize the Hawaiian language. An assistant professor in the Hawaiian Language Department at the University of Hawai i at Manoa, he teaches fourth year Hawaiian Language, Structure of the Hawaiian language, and Listening and Transcription. ong is also involved with Ho okulaiwi, an initiative of the College of Education to certify teachers to teach Hawaiian language in the immersion programs, charter and public schools. He also takes turns writing a Hawaiian language column in the Sunday Honolulu Star Bulletin. About 95 percent of speakers of Hawaiian are second language speakers who learned it as adults, he continues. The native speakers are very few, outside of the Niihau community. They are in their 80s and 90s. Each year we are losing them. There was a time when ong didn t speak Hawaiian. His interest ignited back in ong had broken both arms and was resting at his mother s home. His oldest son was two-and-a-half years old. ong was reading an article in Honolulu magazine about a new Hawaiian language immersion preschool called Punana Leo, and things just started to click, he says. hen we put (our son) in Punana Leo, one of the requirements is that the parents take language classes, ong says. The philosophy is that you need to reinforce the language at home. hen we did that, I really got into it. ong started taking Hawaiian language classes at night. UH offered a degree in Hawaiian language, but he had already earned a bachelor s degree from the University of Colorado. So he earned a master s degree in linguistics. He eventually earned his Ph.D. in linguistics with his dissertation being the first ever written entirely in Hawaiian. ong has been teaching at UH since All three of his sons Laiana, Kumuhonua and Kamaakehi o started at Punana Leo. In the early years, he and others in the Hawaiian language movement had to lobby the legislature to continue the program in kindergarten and beyond. Hawaiian is not the only language in the world that is in danger, says ong, who attends Indigenous People s workshops sponsored by the American Educational Research Association. He notes that the Hawaiian language revitalization movement follows the Maori language movement and is connected with issues raised by Native Americans and Micronesians. I think it s important to know more about where we came from and make that connection, ong says. You don t know where you re going unless you know where you came from. Dr. Kerry ong 74 was introduced to learning Hawaiian language through his first child s preschool experience at Punana Leo. 13 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture

5 SHARING HULA hat students at Iolani School learn from hula is much more and much deeper than pretty poses or striking motions. Hula is not just motions with a smile, says kumu hula Sean Nakayama 93. To truly dance, you need to know what you re dancing about. And to know what you re dancing about, you have to understand the meaning. Nakayama 93 joined the faculty this past fall after beloved kumu hula Uncle Ed Collier retired after 22 years at Iolani. Nakayama teaches Upper School boys and Lower School students, and kumu hula Lehua Carvalho teaches Upper School girls. Yet while Collier is deeply missed, Nakayama is a product of Collier s philosophy and vision. Nakayama studied with Collier s Hälau O Na Pua Kukui for 15 years. The spirit of Collier s hula style remains. A 1985 graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Carvalho has taught at Iolani for seven of her total 20 years teaching. She studied hula under Puka ikapuaokalanii Castillo and language under Sarah Kealoha. Both Nakayama and Carvalho strive to impress the deeper meaning of hula upon their students. They teach students to feel the emotions of a chant or song. Kumu hula Aunty Lehua Carvalho describes a hula kahiko, or ancient hula, to students. 14 Iolani Cherishing Hawaiian Culture Kumu hula Uncle Sean Nakayama 93. They lead students toward the history of a hula s meaning. They take students on journeys to gather blossoms or leaves for lei, respecting the mana, or spirit, of the ka nahele, or native plants. Students at Iolani begin with the basics, including how to correctly pronounce the school s name. As they move through the levels of hula, they learn how to use implements and modern and ancient hula styles. There s a literal meaning of the words, but there is also a kaona or hidden meaning, Carvalho says. Iolani s students have been recognized thoughout the community, Asia, and on the mainland for their skill and high caliber. On September 24, 150 Iolani dancers performed at the Na ahine Hoe on aikiki Beach. The event capped off the Molokai to Oahu canoe race. On November 26, Iolani was again represented when dancers performed at the Feast of the Holy Celebration at St. Andrew s Cathedral which honored King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma and was themed Cherish our Hawaiian Heritage. The mission of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma to bring the Anglican Church to Hawaii led towards the establishment of Iolani School. Students call their teachers Aunty Lehua and Uncle Sean. It would be foreign in a hula class to hear formal names Mrs. Carvalho and Mr. Nakayama. Hula is so personal, Carvalho says. You become family when you share hula. These boys practice in the Iolani dance room. Aunty Lehua and one of her classes. These girls dance Na ai Puna O Kamohio No Kaho olawe. This mele tells of Kahuna Kamohio, who is knowledgable in the mo olelo or stories passed on through generations. Through the hula, he tells of the tortuous path through narrow cliffs, slippery rocks, low passageways and other obstacles that leads to the source of water on Kaho olawe. The motion in this picture describes the slippery footing on the path.