{"id":215317,"date":"2025-05-06T17:08:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T03:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=215317"},"modified":"2025-05-07T09:13:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T19:13:40","slug":"campus-tour-hidden-histories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/06\/campus-tour-hidden-histories\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus tour uncovers UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa hidden histories"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Person
Ruizhi Choo leads a campus tour across the UH<\/abbr> law school, sharing the history of this \u02bbili<\/span> \u02bb\u0101ina<\/span> known as Pa\u02bbakea<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A powerful campus tour at the University of Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> at M\u0101noa is encouraging students, faculty and visitors to look at the \u02bb\u0101ina<\/a> beneath them with fresh eyes\u02bband deeper understanding.<\/p>\n

\"Map
A map highlights stops along the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa campus huaka\u02bbi<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tour, Remapping UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa: A Campus Huaka\u02bbi<\/span><\/a>, is more than just a walk through campus\u2014it\u2019s an immersive experience that brings to light the layered, often overlooked, stories of the \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina, or traditional land divisions, that make up the valley of M\u0101noa. Participants explore not only Hawaiian geography and \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> (Hawaiian language), but also untold histories of displacement, resilience and renewal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hope is to recognize the uniqueness of our location, and to feel welcome to learn more about that together,\u201d said Christina Higgins, professor of Second Language Studies<\/a> (SLS<\/abbr>) and one of the tour\u2019s co-creators. \u201cIt’s really an invitation to lean into the unique history and opportunities to learn in Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is sponsored by the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office<\/a> and the Multilingual Multicultural Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u02bbIke Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> center, Lunalilo lands<\/h2>\n
\"Black
King Lunalilo (Credit: Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> State Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tour begins in the \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina of K\u0101newai at the Kamakak\u016bokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies<\/a>\u2014one of the few buildings on campus named in honor of a kanaka \u02bb\u014diwi (Native Hawaiian). The center stands as a tribute to the legacy of Native Hawaiian educator Gladys Kamakak\u016bokalani \u02bbAinoa Brandt, and the decades-long effort to elevate Hawaiian \u02bbike (knowledge) and language within higher education.<\/p>\n

From there, the huaka\u02bbi<\/span> continues through Pa\u02bbakea<\/span>, the land division where Legacy Path and Andrews Amphitheatre now sit. This section of \u02bb\u0101ina 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<\/abbr> leadership of their responsibility to m\u0101lama<\/a> H\u0101loa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Founder\u2019s gate, Saunders Hall<\/h2>\n
\"Person
Christina Higgins explains the history behind Founder\u2019s Gate located in front of John Henry Wise Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next stop is at Founder\u2019s 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 \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> can be found. It reads, \u201cMaluna a\u02bbe<\/span> o n\u0101 l\u0101hui a pau ke ola ke kanaka\u201d (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<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Remembering Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> leaders<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Campus eatery hotspot, Paradise Palms is located within the \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina of Wailele where participants learn about Chief Boki and the legacy of the Beckley family\u2014including Frederick William Kahapula Beckley Jr., the university\u2019s first \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> instructor, and his mother, Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, a judge, water rights expert, and author of Hawaiian history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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?\u201d said Punihei Lipe, director of Ka Papa O Ke Ao Native Hawaiian Learning Advancement Office. \u201cThis 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\u02bbi<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid element_width=”6″ css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1746645199036-c7d01bad-bcfd-8″ include=”215380,215407″][vc_column_text css=””]\n

From left: Chief Boki (Credit: John Hayter – National Library of New Zealand), Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (Credit: Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> State Archives)<\/small><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Decolonizing through dialogue<\/h2>\n
\"Person
Ha Nguyen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The campus huaka\u02bbi<\/span> (journey) inspired former UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa doctoral student Ha Nguyen to write her dissertation on how students responded to the tour. Nguyen earned a PhD<\/abbr> in SLS<\/abbr> and graduated in fall 2024. Her research, co-authored with Higgins and Lipe, which was recently published in the Journal of Higher Education<\/em><\/a>, found that participants began reflecting deeply on colonization and developing a deeper interest in the histories of Hawai\u02bbi<\/span>, their homelands and other \u02bb\u0101ina.<\/p>\n

Guided by \u02bb\u0101ina<\/h2>\n
\"Person
Punihei Lipe leads a group around K\u0101newai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. At present, two signs have been added to campus that feature the \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina names of Pilipili (Bilger) and Kauwala\u02bba<\/span> (Life Sciences). Recognizing these \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina creates an opportunity to learn about the Hawaiian principle of kuleana<\/a> through reflecting on the interdependence of land, water, nature and people in M\u0101noa.<\/p>\n

The signs await further details that could allow passersby to learn about the meanings and the land that is now UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. These efforts aim to map kuleana, connect campus areas to their traditional \u02bbili \u02bb\u0101ina, and support UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa as it strives to become a Hawaiian place of learning.<\/p>\n

In 2022, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa received a full 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation<\/a> from the Senior College & University Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or WASC<\/abbr>. The commission praised the university\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that we\u2019ll have more opportunities to design signage that celebrates \u02bbike Hawai\u02bbi<\/span> and helps all who step on campus understand the stories of this place and connect people more deeply to the \u02bb\u0101ina and its history,\u201d said Higgins.<\/p>\n

The campus huaka\u02bbi<\/span> tour is conducted by faculty and students and is offered by request.<\/p>\n

For more information go to the Remapping UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa: A Campus Huaka\u02bbi<\/span><\/a> website.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remapping UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa: A Campus Huakaʻi<\/span> brings to light stories of ʻili ʻ\u0101ina that make up the valley of M\u0101noa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":215381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[33,1466,1465,1314,9],"class_list":["post-215317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-hawaiian","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t