As Â鶹´«Ã½ faces rising sea levels, housing pressures and growing calls for the return of to community stewardship, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ will host a day of bold conversations focused on solutions. On March 4, the annual at 8 a.m. at East West Center will gather leaders, scholars and community advocates to examine how land, law and justice intersect and what that means for Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s future.
Now in its fifth year, the summit carries the theme ʻĀinahoʻi: Land, Law and Justice. ʻĀinahoʻi means “indeed that which feeds us.” The phrase is both reminder and call to action that the future of Â鶹´«Ã½ is tied to how we care for the ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ that sustains us.
“We established the Piʻo Summits to advance ancestral knowledge and courageous leadership to address the cascading challenges of our times,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, professor at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ and the . “Â鶹´«Ã½ deserves the best and the Piʻo Summits bring critical issues to the head of our table and we sit with the community to find ways to carve out a better future.”
Voices for ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹
This year¡¯s summit begins with music from two-time Grammy nominee Raiatea Helm and a keynote from Justice Joe Williams of Aotearoa, a respected M¨¡ori jurist known for advancing Indigenous rights within modern legal systems.
Throughout the day, panels will feature leaders from Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s largest landholders serving Native Hawaiian communities, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Kanaka ʻ?iwi (Native Hawaiian) advocates will join scholars and professors from UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s and departments, as well as the William S. Richardson School of Law, to explore the future of ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹ stewardship and justice in Â鶹´«Ã½.
“This year¡¯s summit will highlight the collective effort for ʻĀinahoʻi across the ,” Beamer said. “We will be exploring how communities are navigating and challenging existing systems through legal methods, land trusts, and grassroots action to restore , strengthen relationships to ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹, and advance self-determined governance grounded in ancestral innovation and courageousness.”
Ancestral innovation
The summit is organized by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻ?ina, a UH-based lab that works to solve modern challenges using ʻike Â鶹´«Ã½ (ancestral Hawaiian knowledge). The lab is helping build a new center focused on an ancestral circular economy, a model rooted in regeneration and long-term stewardship.