A powerful campus tour at the University of Hawai?i at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ is encouraging students, faculty and visitors to look at the beneath them with fresh eyes?and deeper understanding.
The tour, , is more than just a walk through campus¡ªit¡¯s an immersive experience that brings to light the layered, often overlooked, stories of the ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹, or traditional land divisions, that make up the valley of ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹. Participants explore not only Hawaiian geography and ?¨lelo Hawai?i (Hawaiian language), but also untold histories of displacement, resilience and renewal.
¡°The hope is to recognize the uniqueness of our location, and to feel welcome to learn more about that together,¡± said Christina Higgins, professor of Second Language Studies (SLS) and one of the tour¡¯s co-creators. ¡°It’s really an invitation to lean into the unique history and opportunities to learn in Hawai?i ³Ù´Ç²µ±ð³Ù³ó±ð°ù.¡±
The project is sponsored by the and the .
?Ike Hawai?i center, Lunalilo lands
The tour begins in the ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ of K¨¡newai at the ¡ªone of the few buildings on campus named in honor of a kanaka ?¨iwi (Native Hawaiian). The center stands as a tribute to the legacy of Native Hawaiian educator Gladys Kamakak¨±okalani ?Ainoa Brandt, and the decades-long effort to elevate Hawaiian ?ike (knowledge) and language within higher education.
From there, the huaka?i continues through Pa?akea, the land division where Legacy Path and Andrews Amphitheatre now sit. This section of ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ was once owned by King William Lunalilo. The land was known for its fresh water springs and kalo patches. Later, Chinese and Japanese families cultivated rice and raised ducks and chickens here. Participants also venture to the area fronting Bachman Hall where ahu stand. Among them is a stone altar built in 2006 to remind UH leadership of their responsibility to .
Founder¡¯s gate, Saunders Hall
The next stop is at Founder¡¯s Gate, at the intersection of University Avenue and Dole Street. On the concrete bench is the University motto, and is one of the few places on campus where ?¨lelo Hawai?i can be found. It reads, ¡°Maluna a?e o n¨¡ l¨¡hui a pau ke ola ke kanaka¡± (Above all nations is humanity). Rather than expressing a Hawaiian perspective, these words were simply translated from the motto of Cornell University, a land-grant university that served as a blueprint for UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹. Participants are invited to reflect on where the Hawaiian language is seen and heard on campus, and to imagine spaces where it could be more prominent.
In the Pilipili land division, Saunders Hall is another stop with a painful past. Once named after psychologist Stanley Porteus, who promoted eugenics, the building was renamed in 1998 after students and faculty pushed back. It now honors Allan Saunders, a champion of civil rights and political science education.
Remembering Hawai?i leaders
Stories of strength also emerge. Fronting Bachman Hall, John Henry Wise lawn honors the former Native Hawaiian senator and language advocate who helped pass the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921.
Campus eatery hotspot, Paradise Palms is located within the ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ of Wailele where participants learn about Chief Boki and the legacy of the Beckley family¡ªincluding Frederick William Kahapula Beckley Jr., the university¡¯s first ?¨lelo Hawai?i instructor, and his mother, Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, a judge, water rights expert, and author of Hawaiian history.
¡°This tour is so great because it invites folx to get curious about their spaces and thus to get curious about themselves: what is the story of this place? This tree? This rain? What are their names? What are the stories that I bring? That my peers bring?¡± said Punihei Lipe, director of Ka Papa O Ke Ao Native Hawaiian Learning Advancement Office. ¡°This is the work of exploring and getting to know the many genealogies that shape our campus and to do so is very reflective of Hawai?i.¡±
From left: Chief Boki (Credit: John Hayter – National Library of New Zealand), Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (Credit: Hawai?i State Archives)
Decolonizing through dialogue
The campus huaka?i (journey) inspired former UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ doctoral student Ha Nguyen to write her dissertation on how students responded to the tour. Nguyen earned a PhD in SLS and graduated in fall 2024. Her research, co-authored with Higgins and Lipe, which was recently published in the , found that participants began reflecting deeply on colonization and developing a deeper interest in the histories of Hawai?i, their homelands and other ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹.
Guided by ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹
To build on this momentum, Higgins and her team proposed multilingual wayfinding signs and a campus timeline in 2018 to highlight the multicultural and Indigenous history of UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹. At present, two signs have been added to campus that feature the ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ names of Pilipili (Bilger) and Kauwala?a (Life Sciences). Recognizing these ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ creates an opportunity to learn about the Hawaiian principle of through reflecting on the interdependence of land, water, nature and people in ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹.
The signs await further details that could allow passersby to learn about the meanings and the land that is now UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹. These efforts aim to map kuleana, connect campus areas to their traditional ?ili ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹, and support UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ as it strives to become a Hawaiian place of learning.
In 2022, UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ received a full 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Senior College & University Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or WASC. The commission praised the university¡¯s continued efforts to develop wayfinding signage that honors its identity as a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning, recognizing the project as a meaningful step in grounding the campus in place, language and culture.
¡°My hope is that we¡¯ll have more opportunities to design signage that celebrates ?ike Hawai?i and helps all who step on campus understand the stories of this place and connect people more deeply to the ?¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ and its history,¡± said Higgins.
The campus huaka?i tour is conducted by faculty and students and is offered by request.
For more information go to the website.