For Jahnna-Marie Kehaulani Kahele-Madali, her upcoming graduation from the represents a way to honor both the past and the future. Kahele-Madali is one of two student speakers at the .

“After losing both my grandma and momma (grandma’s sister) within two years, this is what makes graduation even more important—as our elders represent the reason we were able to even pursue a post-secondary education in the first place—to represent the people who never had the opportunity to go to college,” said Kahele-Madali.

Kahele-Madali will receive a bachelor of arts in humanities with a concentration in Hawaiian-Pacific studies.

Check out more stories of our UH spring graduates

Born premature—weighing just 2 pounds and 2 ounces—and raised by two foster mothers, Kahele-Madali shares the importance of rising above struggles and striving for a better life.

“Coming from a drug-infested and impoverished community, these stereotypes have a way of pre-determining the lives of the kids on the West Side,” she said. “So this graduation to me means I can be that beacon of hope for my people, that we are more than the mediocre lifestyle that surrounds us.”

‘Keep on going’

At UH West Oʻahu, she flourished under the guidance of Manulani Aluli Meyer and Indrajit Gunasekara, co-founders of Niu Now and co-coordinators of the Uluniu Project. She works as a mahiʻai (one who cultivates the land) at the uluniu, or coconut grove, on campus.

Meyer commended Kahele-Madali for her “infectious and healing” light and honesty, and her strength and wisdom. “I have loved seeing Kehau grow in her love of land and her commitment to people,” Meyer said.

After graduation Kahele-Madali’s plans on giving back to the community, working on incorporating mālama ʻāina-based practices into school curriculums to inspire children to pursue a better life through ʻāina work.

“I believe UH West Oʻahu has built that network where I can branch out to different resources and bring it back to my kaiāulu (community),” said Kahele-Madali.

• Read more about Dave Ian Domingo Sebastian, who was also selected to be a student commencement speaker.

—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman

Using a landscape design framework rooted in Hawaiian principles and perspectives, a recent graduate student in the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa ’s first Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) cohort redesigned the (KCHS) grounds for his capstone design research project.

Jonathan Kekaimalu Stanich’s project, “Nupaikini: Towards a New Hawaiian Design,” proposed an alternative approach to maintaining the KCHS landscape by utilizing ʻāina (land) based values and perspectives through using a graphic style based on traditional Hawaiian aesthetics, and references 18th century Hawaiian nupepa (newspaper) in a graphic moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy).

Just as the kānaka (Hawaiian subjects) of the 18th century renaissance embraced the influx of new technologies around them, Stanich believes modern kānaka can also embrace revolutionary technologies in a Hawaiian way.

“One of the main reasons I chose Nupaikini as the title of this project is because taken together it is defined as ‘new-fashioned,’ and it was important to me to stress that although this process is inspired by many traditional Hawaiian values and perspectives, it is a synthesis of how I, as a modern Hawaiian, believe we should design the world around us in a contemporary way,” said Stanich.

Mapping microclimates

The project provides a modern konohiki (resource managers) 21st century tools to kilo (observe), specifically the creation of a new spatial plant placement algorithm, which can use 3D modeling software to map specific microclimates within KCHS.

The algorithm then generates a list of plants that will grow best within those projected microclimates. This tool, coupled with on-site observations done by students and faculty, and coordinated requests for plant material and events, will help determine the right place for the right plant.

“As landscape architects, we have so much to learn from traditional Hawaiian land management systems and bio-cultural land and water practices,” said Judith Stilgenbauer, MLA program director and graduate chair. “Malu’s innovative proposed planting design process is applicable to many other, similarly situated design problems across UH campuses and the state.”

This effort is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of and UH Mānoa’s goal of (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Incorporating native folia

The design incorporates the native folia specific to the area, but gives precedence to plants used in Hawaiian studies curriculum and KCHS community such as: Palapalai (Microlepia strigosa), ʻUkiʻuki (Dianella sandwicensis), ʻŌlena (Curcuma domestica / longa), Maʻo (Gossypium sandvicense), Milo (Thespesia populnea), Kī / Lāʻī (Cordyline fruticosa), Palaʻā (Sphenomeris chinensis), Māmaki (Pipturus albidus), ʻĪlima (Sida fallax), Naio (Myoporum sandwicense), Olona (Touchardia latifolia), Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera) and ʻIeʻie (Freycinetia arborea).

“The tools and methods outlined in this project can be taken and applied to other departments within campus to help share the workload to maintain the landscape and ultimately establish a connection between the university community and a Hawaiian sense of place,” said Stanich. “It is from this perspective where you cannot have a Hawaiian sense of place by planting native or canoe plants, the sense of place is generated by people interacting with those plants and shaping the landscape into something uniquely Hawaiian.”

Going forward, the project calls for the creation of student groups, faculty positions and larger community involvement in order to re-assume the role and responsibilities of a konohiki.

“This design, and the process from which it was generated, marks a shift in values and practices in what it means to maintain an institutional campus landscape,” added Stanich. “It encourages active participation within the campus landscape.”

The case study used in the project originated through the , in collaboration with UH Mānoa , UH Mānoa Campus Arboretum and KCHS. Stanich wants to thank the many people who helped shape and guide him along this path, specifically Nōweo Kai, Roxanne Adams, Konia Freitas, Kekuewa Kikiloi, Andrew Kaufman, Phoebe White, Stilgenbauer and many others.

Living far from our island home has some feeling disconnected from �鶹��ý, and many �鶹��ý residents long to delve further into their culture. Starting on October 19, ’s �鶹��ýloa program will take participants on an educational voyage to renew their ties to the islands while earning a Hawaiian studies associate in arts degree, the first of its kind in the world.

Cohorts of 20 participants will go through the 100-percent online program together. By taking classes for eight weeks instead of the usual 16, students will focus on only two classes at a time. Read more details and how to apply at the . The deadline to apply is October 2.

“The name �鶹��ýloa, or distant �鶹��ý, is applicable to the aspirations of this cohort—to pull in our Hawaiians who have voyaged near and far from home, and join them back into the fabric of our people, culture and history through this educational endeavor,” said Keoki Faria, Hawaiian language instructor.

The 2010 census recorded 45 percent of the Native Hawaiian population living on the continental U.S. Windward CC Academic Affairs Dean Colette Higgins said, “UH recognizes its kuleana to provide educational opportunities to Native Hawaiians who have moved away. Sometimes it is when they’ve moved so far from home that it sparks a desire to learn more about their heritage.”

Native Hawaiians living on the mainland will pay in-state, resident tuition for the �鶹��ýloa Hawaiian Studies degree program. “Many Native Hawaiians living on the continent don’t realize they could get the resident tuition rate. This makes it clear,” said Higgins.

To learn more, attend a Zoom information session on Monday, September 28, 12 p.m. HST. Email Kuʻulei Miranda, Native Hawaiian counselor, at kuulei.miranda@hawaii.edu for the Zoom link.

“As a returning Hawaiian, enrolling in Hawaiian studies helped introduce me to traditional knowledge and the kumu (sources/teachers) who are rooted in its use. What I’ve learned filled in the gaps in a lot of family stories, and has allowed me to bring Hawaiian traditions and knowledge back into my ʻ�dz󲹲Բ�’s daily life,” said Kalawaiʻa Moore, associate professor of Hawaiian studies.

A $3.2 million gift from the Laurence H. Dorcy Hawaiian Foundation will establish a new endowed Hawaiian studies chair at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa . The Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment is named in honor of a revered poet and environmental activist.

“Through this endowment, we will teach new generations of Hawaiians about their ancestors who honed social, environmental and cultural management skills over a thousand years,” said �鶹��ýnuiākea Dean Jonathan Osorio. “Powerful, fearless community leaders like Dana Naone Hall have been key to the perpetuation of Hawaiian knowledge over the last 50 years as they worked tirelessly to protect our oceans, streams and forests from urbanization and tourist-driven development.”

Naone Hall graduated from Kamehameha Schools and earned a BA in liberal studies with an emphasis on contemporary poetry from UH Mānoa. She was the editor of , UH Mānoa’s flagship literary journal, and has published poetry in national and international literary journals. Among her many contributions are 2017’s Life of the Land: Articulations of a Native Writer, winner of an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation; and editorship of Bamboo Ridge’s winter 1985 issue, “Malama, Hawaiian Land and Water.”

Naone Hall wrote in the introduction of her book Life of the Land: Articulations of a Native Writer, “In speaking on behalf of these special places, I sought to leaven polemical language with poetic expressions of aloha ʻāina. I also wanted to convey as much pertinent information as possible to aid those in decision-making positions.”

“We are humbled and honored to have this new endowed chair honoring such an influential and inspirational educator and advocate,” said UH President David Lassner. “As an endowed chair, it will have an impact stretching across generations, creating a new cohort of Dana Naone Hall emeriti chairholders. These leaders and future alumni from our programs will infuse new energy into the application of Hawaiian knowledge, enriching not only our Hawaiian communities, but our world.”

Naone Hall has worked for decades to honor and protect Hawaiian burial sites, primarily on Maui, when planned development threatened access by Native Hawaiians and the public to culturally important locations.

“This chair will contribute continuous research in indigenous land and resource management in �鶹��ý building a platform for policy change in keeping with its namesake,” Osorio added. “Naone Hall shaped history by leading changes in practices and laws through her protection of a Maui Native Hawaiian burial site. She brought environmental and cultural values into political activism, culminating in the protection of sacred places.”

The has proven to be one of the most significant stepping stones for two graduating seniors.

LeianaMarie Alejado and Anthony Amos were among more than 370 students who received their college degrees from UH West Oʻahu this spring semester. While Alejado and Amos traveled different paths to graduation, both were similarly led to life-changing self-discovery they say they owe to the university.

“This campus, and �鶹��ý itself, is filled with a rich culture and many opportunities to push yourself to not just success, but enlightenment,” Amos said. “I discovered who I am and who I want to be during my years here.”

“I believe it is my purpose in life to inspire and educate those around me,” Alejado said. “I would have never come to this conclusion if I went to another institution.”

Alejado’s gratitude

Alejado, who graduated with a bachelor of arts in humanities with a concentration of , was accepted into UH ����ԴDz�’s program.

Her greatest post-college goal is to dive further into her senior project which aimed to provide a space for indigenous students on campus to ensure their success and complete their educational journeys through the power of intentional community building.

Rouel Velasco, director of student life at UH West Oʻahu, described Alejado as “a driven student leader” who is passionate about social justice work, specifically focusing on Hawaiian affairs while uplifting others.

“She is studious, committed to a vibrant student experience, and exudes so much aloha in all her interactions with peers, staff and faculty,” Velasco said.

Alejado noted that she owes everything that she is to UH West Oʻahu’s faculty and staff, who not only educated her, but helped raise her.

“Graduating is so important to me because it is as if I am being inducted into a legacy of intelligent, culturally aware, and inspiring people who took me under their wings and showed me the power of being part of a beloved community,” Alejado said.

Amos says ‘Mahalo!’

Amos, who came from Germany, is a self-described “military brat” who embraced the Hawaiian culture and all that UH West Oʻahu has to offer. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in , with concentrations in sociology and political science.

He plans to move to Washington D.C., where he hopes to get an internship at the U.S. Capitol and become more involved in political processes.

“Once I have more experience, I will strive to expand upon my political career,” said Amos, “and, as bold as this is, push to become president one day—or at least change how that process works.”

Christy Mello, assistant professor of anthropology, said she is grateful to have had Amos as a student, mentee and research assistant.

“He is a serious scholar, brilliant, a leader, exudes positive energy and will make a difference in this world with his drive and passion for social justice,” Mello said.

What Amos gained was something that he could find only at UH West Oʻahu.

“Mahalo to all those who contributed to my growth and for everyone’s hard work during such trying times,” Amos said. “You all made �鶹��ý feel like home and provided me with my understanding of my kuleana.”

—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman