UH conference: Ancestral ʻike guides Hāʻena rebuilding

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Contact:

Link to video (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/b2z

***VOSOT script below for consideration***

Hundreds gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for the 2024 Piʻo Summit: Hulihia: Fire and Rain, a free series of forums focused on leveraging ancestral ʻike (knowledge) to support long-term recovery efforts for communities affected by the Lahaina wildfires and the 2018 Kauaʻi floods.

"Piʻo summits were created to highlight ancestral innovation and the need for courageous leadership to solve the complex problems of our time," said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, who is the Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature and the Environment at UH Mānoa Hawaiʻinuākea and a professor at Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies and the William S. Richardson School of Law. "Aloha ʻāina (love of the land) is advancing efforts all across Hawaiʻi, and this is about us galvanizing that movement here at the university."

Award-winning vocalist and UH Mānoa music alumna Raiatea Helm opened the summit with mele aloha ʻāina, grounding the event in songs of love for the land. Her performance connected the audience to cherished places like Oʻahu, Piʻihonua within Hilo's uplands and Kalamaʻula on Molokaʻi, where her roots lie.

Beyond the fires

A panel on Lahaina's recovery brought together experts to discuss the devastating August 2023 wildfires and paths forward. Community leader Kekai Keahi, UH Mānoa law professor Kapua Sproat, and UH Mānoa ecosystem fire specialist Clay Trauernicht explored how climate change heightens wildfire risks and how ancestral knowledge can inform Lahaina's rebuilding.

"He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka - the land is the chief, we are the stewards," Beamer emphasized. "A great example is restoration of streams. When we restore streams we restore the life and ecosystems of that stream system. But it also re-greens the ʻāina, so places in like Lahaina, when the streams were flowing, when Lahaina was the so-called 'Venice of the Pacific,' wildfires wouldn't steep through."

Healing in Hāʻena

Another panel highlighted resilience in Kauaʻi's north shore community of Hāʻena after catastrophic flooding in 2018. Leaders Chipper Wichman, Lei Wann and Billy Kinney shared how ʻohana (family) bonds and cultural heritage sustained recovery efforts and preserved community identity.

Hosted by Pōʻai Ke Aloha ʻĀina, a project of the Dana Naone Hall chair, the summit spotlighted how UH fosters aloha ʻāina practices to address modern challenges.

Sponsors included UH Research, Native Hawaiian Student Services, Hawaiʻinuākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Ulupono Initiative, Ka Huli Ao and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

Link to video (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/b2z

B-ROLL: (1 minute 45 seconds)

:00-:09 wideshot of crowd

:13-:52 panelists at Piʻo Summit

:53-1:13 NATS Raiatea Helm

1:14-1:29 more Piʻo Summit shots

1:30-1:45 Hawaiian chanting

SOUNDBITES:

Kamana Beamer/Director, UH Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies

(8 seconds)

"Our piʻo summits were really created to highlight ancestral innovation and the need for courageous leadership to solve the complex problems of our time."

(17 seconds)

"When we restore streams we restore the life and ecosystems of that stream system. But it also re-greens the ʻāina, so places in like Lahaina, when the streams were flowing, when Lahaina was the so-called 'Venice of the Pacific,' wildfires wouldn't steep through there.

(19 seconds)

"When we think about wai in the aquifer, the water that we drink none of us created. It's literally there because of our ancestral stewardship systems. Because of the blessings of Kāne. And those are the kinds of insights that we need to achieve a better state, a future, for climate crisis."

VOSOT SCRIPT

INTRO
Wildfires and floods have tested Hawaiʻi in recent years, but communities are turning to ʻike Hawaiʻi-ancestral knowledge-to inspire solutions.

VO (pronunciation guide: Piʻo (PEE-OH)

Hundreds gathered at UH Mānoa for the Piʻo Summit. The free event focused on recovery efforts for Lahaina's wildfire devastation and Kauaʻi's catastrophic 2018 floods.
Panel discussions highlighted how Native Hawaiian values and practices can guide healing and renewal for ʻāina and communities.

SOT Kamanamaikalani Beamer/Director, UH Mānoa Center for Hawaiian Studies

<"When we restore streams we restore the life and ecosystems of that stream system. But it also re-greens the ʻāina, so places in like Lahaina, when the streams were flowing, when Lahaina was the so-called 'Venice of the Pacific,' wildfires wouldn't steep through.">

NAT VO (Raiatea singing)
Award-winning vocalist and UH Mānoa alum Raiatea Helm also took the stage. Helm grounded the event with mele aloha ʻāina-songs that express a deep love for the land.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.