It was lights, camera, action from Varney Circle down to the fertile (taro patch) at the to capture the campus’ efforts to ask critical questions that can guide its kuleana (responsibility) to Â鶹´«Ã½ and the world. Several UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ faculty, staff and a student were identified to be featured in a 30-second branding spot that sheds light on the ongoing work to create a campus that is physically and conceptually grounded in Native Hawaiian knowledge and values.
The journey to become a Native Hawaiian place of learning traces back to 1986 when Native Hawaiian staff and faculty with proposals on how the UH System could better support Native Hawaiians and become more reflective of Â鶹´«Ã½.
- Related UH News story: New website connects UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ with Native Hawaiian resources, January 12, 2021
“We have a lot of work to do but we are taking some steps in the right direction,” said UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ Native Hawaiian Affairs Program Officer Kaiwipuni Lipe. “More NH (Native Hawaiian) students are important and we are definitely on an upswing. ʻ?lelo Â鶹´«Ã½ (Hawaiian language) is also critically important and we have seen some awesome programs develop over the last couple of years. We are also working hard on everyone’s baseline understanding of Â鶹´«Ã½‘s history, language and culture so that our institutional practices and policies can begin to better reflect Â鶹´«Ã½.”
- Related UH News story: Turnout overwhelms organizers of free ʻ?lelo Â鶹´«Ã½ class, January 23, 2020
In 2020, the partnered with to host free weekly ʻ¨lelo Â鶹´«Ã½ classes. The non-credit courses open to all UH students, faculty, staff and community members were taught by fluent ʻ¨lelo Â鶹´«Ã½ speakers.
Dialogue in the 30-second spot is spoken in both ʻ¨lelo Â鶹´«Ã½ and English. Viewers will see English subtitles when Hawaiian speaking faculty pop-up on screen which include Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea Dean Jonathan Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, instructor N. Haʻalilio Solomon and E¨mailani K. Kukahiko, a specialist at the UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ (COE).
“Our awareness and inspiration come from our language, our stories, songs, and our experiences with our ʻ¨¡ina,” said Osorio. “Our teaching serves more than our native people. The knowledge of our ancestors is critical knowledge for Â鶹´«Ã½ and the world.”
Faculty and staff from outside the Hawaiian Studies realm who come from diverse backgrounds are also featured in the TV spot.
“Whether we are talking about becoming a NH place of learning or just our general kuleana to Â鶹´«Ã½ and the world, that’s a k¨¡kou (everyone) thing, as my friend Chris Yanuaria reminded me,” Lipe said. “So we wanted to highlight some of the diverse folks on campus who are already modeling their commitment to this important work. If we had more than 30 seconds we could showcase so many more!”
UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ Department of Second Language Studies student Ha Nguyen is one of those diverse faces. Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, is keen on honoring Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s Indigenous values.
“I’m a malihini (visitor) to this place and I feel that it is my kuleana to learn from the wisdom of Native Hawaiians who have lived here for generations,” Nguyen explained. “The university itself is striving toward being a Hawaiian place of learning, isn’t it natural that each of its members should work toward that goal, too?”
Viewers will also see UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ COE faculty Keith Cross and Charmaine Mangram who are both from Los Angeles and Maui-born Christopher Yanuaria, program coordinator of (PAU Violence) program at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹. Campus Arboretum Curator N¨weo Kai closes the TV spot beneath the award-winning sprawling trees she helps to m¨¡lama (care for) along McCarthy Mall.
Collaboration between UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ , the and Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea was vital to molding the branding spot¡¯s message. Each branch shares a combined commitment to the institution’s goal of becoming a university that is a Native Hawaiian place of learning.
“It is our responsibility to build stronger pathways and access for Native Hawaiian and Indigenous students to further their education at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹,” said Ryan Yamaguchi, interim assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management and director of admissions. “How we engage in conversation and connect with our communities locally and abroad is critical to the future of our campus, from our faculty and programs to the students we recruit, retain, and support through graduation and beyond.”
The commercial will air on KGMB and also be prominently featured during special coverage and livestream of the 58th annual Merrie Monarch Festival set to debut on K5, July 1–3.
This work is an example of UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.