{"id":196217,"date":"2024-04-23T22:25:07","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T08:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=196217"},"modified":"2024-04-24T08:56:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T18:56:24","slug":"students-rare-hawaiian-ancestral-research-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/23\/students-rare-hawaiian-ancestral-research-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> students showcase rare Hawaiian ancestral research in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Attendees from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in New York Kealiʻi<\/span> Gora, Alyssa ʻĀnela<\/span> Purcell, Haliʻa<\/span> Osorio, Makanalani Gomes, Brandi Ahlo, and Chris Oliveira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a> students and graduates are making waves in the world of Hawaiian genealogical research. On April 23, they presented their work at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, unveiling a groundbreaking project that seeks to reconnect kānaka ʻōiwi<\/span> (Native Hawaiians) with their ancestral roots.<\/p>\n

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Book from the Phillips Collection dated July 1, 1857 that features genealogy from Maui, Kauaʻi<\/span> and Oʻahu<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three haumāna (students); Haliʻa<\/span> Osorio, Brandi Ahlo and Alyssa ʻĀnela<\/span> Purcell, from the Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge<\/a> (HSHK<\/abbr>) shared their findings from the Moʻopono<\/span> Project<\/a>, where they transcribe and digitize handwritten moʻokūʻauhau<\/span> (genealogical) records penned mostly in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) during the 19th century. The project’s goal is to provide free public access to these records, allowing kānaka ʻōiwi<\/span> to trace their genealogy with the click of a button.<\/p>\n

“Our eyes go big and our hearts beat faster when we learn a story or find a lineage that our professor has never seen before,” said Purcell, the project\u2019s lead researcher who is pursuing a PhD<\/abbr> in Indigenous politics. “It makes me excited to realize that there is so much more to learn about our ancestors and—in that same vein—ourselves as a people.”<\/p>\n