Two-dozen faculty, staff and student mentors from Â鶹´«Ã½ Community College, Kauaʻi Community College and Kapiʻolani Community College traveled to the Salish coast of Washington June 25–July 2 as part of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Pāmaomao Indigenous Exchange Program.
“Visiting with other Indigenous communities reminds us that while every nation has its own histories, stories, worldviews and ways of life, those relationships deepen our understanding of our own kuleana (responsibility),” said Drew Kapp, a Â鶹´«Ã½ Community College associate professor of geography.
To explore how Indigenous communities integrate culture and place-based knowledge into higher education, the delegation of 24 visited tribal nations and educational hubs, including Northwest Indian College, the Lummi Nation, and the University of Washington’s wəɬəbʔaltxʷ Intellectual House. Beyond classroom learning, the group participated in protocol at Mt. Baker (Kulshan), honoring the land and reflecting on the deep connections between people and place.
“The true value of Â鶹´«Ã½ Pāmaomao isn’t measured by the places we visit—it’s measured by the relationships that continue long after,” said Â鶹´«Ã½ CC Chancellor Susan Kazama.
Reconnecting and strengthening
Participants observed how Indigenous values and generational knowledge shape modern curriculum and leadership.
“Seeing how our Salish relatives center their distinct culture, ancestral knowledge and relationships to place within higher education deepened our understanding of our own kuleana here in Â鶹´«Ã½,” Kapiʻolani CC Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi said. “We return home with renewed purpose and practical approaches to advance the University of Â鶹´«Ã½‘s commitment to grow as a Â鶹´«Ã½ place of learning, strengthening learning grounded in ʻike Â鶹´«Ã½ (Hawaiian knowledge), ʻāina (land) and the communities we serve.”
The program, founded in 2005 by Â鶹´«Ã½ CC Professor Taupōuri Tangarō, was designed to strengthen relationships among Indigenous peoples through reciprocal learning. Named for the Hawaiian concept of journeying to distant shores, Pāmaomao operates on the belief that communities grow stronger by reconnecting across the Pacific.
Cultural vitality and the classroom
Kauaʻi CC Chancellor Margaret Sanchez said, “Learning together as a delegation strengthened our understanding of Indigenous approaches to higher education and our commitment to supporting one another as we continue to develop the Â鶹´«Ã½ Pāmaomao framework across our campuses.”
With more than two dozen exchanges in its history, the initiative remains rooted in a vision of meaningful, mutual respect. By weaving together shared knowledge and place-based wisdom, Pāmaomao continues to create pathways for students to see their own histories reflected in the halls of higher education.
—by Katie Young Yamanaka