Note on our name: Our office name has been updated to the Hawai‘i Papa o ke Ao Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office. Hawai‘i papa o ke ao can be described in English as: Hawai‘i, the foundation of enlightenment. We use this Hawaiian name to clearly describe what our office is here to do: To support the re-grounding of the University of Hawai‘i in Hawai‘i for the benefit of all.

Our office focuses on implementing report recommendations from the last 30+ years that guide UH Mānoa in becoming reflective of Hawaiʻi's language, culture, values, and knowledge systems from which all people learn, connect, grow, and heal:

• Native Hawaiian Student Success
• Native Hawaiian Staff and Faculty Development
• Native Hawaiian Environment 
• Native Hawaiian Community Engagement

We cannot do this work alone. It is our mission to foster the potential within each of you to positively contribute to our collective kuleana to make UH Mānoa reflective of Hawaiʻi. These monthly newsletters are meant to keep you connected, highlight your work and continue to inspire you.

Hawaiʻi Kuʻu Home Aloha 2025 Keynote Reflection

by ʻĀnela Purcell

Keynote co-moderator and graduate student ʻĀnela Purcell (right) with keynote speaker

Norma Wong (left) during the presentation entitled "Eyes on the Horizon: No Nā Moʻopuna."

Serving as a co-moderator for the Hawaiʻi Kuʻu Home Aloha 2025 keynote alongside Norma Wong and hope matsumoto was both a deep honor and a necessary challenge. Public speaking has always been a fear of mine, so stepping into this role was a leap. 

This experience has made me reflect on my kūpuna, both passed and living, as well as my future moʻopuna. As my elders grow more dependent, our roles shift. I’ve been working to bring one of my aunties home to Hawaiʻi after years in the diaspora—a physical leap mirroring Norma’s conceptual one. But as obstacles arise and reconnection feels distant, our ʻohana remembers that crisis is the threshold of transformation; we just need the courage to leap. Change happens when we show up, insist on our narratives, and take that leap together. 



Mahalo, Norma, for this gift. Mahalo, hope, for walking this path with me. Mahalo, Hawaiʻi, for being my beloved home. E holomua kākou!

HKHA 2025 Brave Space Conversation

by Kamakani Albano

The Brave Space Conversation was hosted by Dr. Camaron Miyamoto and Dr. Jane Chung-Do.

At the Hawaiʻi Kuʻu Home Aloha summit, Dr. Camaron Miyamoto and Dr. Jane Chung-Do led a Brave Space Conversation. This workshop introduced a model for creating respectful, open dialogue in the classroom. A key focus was building pilina. We discussed how to create “brave spaces” where everyone contributed to the development of environments that support growth and safety, especially when difficult conversations arise or are needed. This workshop planted a seed to help participants seeking guidance on handling tough discussions and fostering connections across differences in the classroom. Mahalo to Cam and Jane for the opportunity!

HKHA 2025 Meleanna Meyer Art Installation

by Nick Childs

Meyer's art piece "ʻUmeke Lāʻau" installation. Photo from the Honolulu News social media page.

When you conceptualize a larger-than-life ‘umeke, what comes to mind? As a long time woodworker, when I first heard of Meleanna Aluli Meyer’s art piece “ʻUmeke Lāʻau,” I had strong senses of intrigue and excitement. What is its inspiration, who does it carry? How is it cared for; is it adorned with kepakepa, maybe huini? Almost immediately after seeing the ʻumeke, Meleanna will encourage you to challenge your personal inquiries into deeper curiosities. Inspired by her own moʻokūʻauhau and knowledge rooted in ʻike kupuna, Meleanna created an experience that goes beyond the physical, where one can intimately experience a part of the life of an ʻumeke. Meticulously covered in pewa, or butterfly patches, walking up to the ʻumeke tells a story of deep love and affection, strengthened by its carverʻs reconstruction of its walls into new shapes and forms. Now sitting inside the ʻumeke, I am overwhelmed with the sensation that I am the ʻiʻo, one ingredient of the mea ʻono waiting for the hands to mix our ʻike. As we sit, we exhale our names, homes, and hopes, and build pilina by inhaling the breath of those sharing around us. Meleannaʻs ‘umeke transforms into a wahi pana, our bodies having permission to ease and find connections to our personal unconscious. As we leave the ʻumeke, my hand catches a crack mended by a pewa, a final reminder that like the ʻumeke, cracks that spring leaks in our pilina can be mended through attentive care and aloha.

HKHA 2025 Community Day at Ka Papa Loʻi ʻO Punaluʻu

by hope matsumoto

Groups of people working in loʻi kalo (taro patches) at Ka Papa Loʻi ʻo Punaluʻu.

Following an incredibly meaningful first day of our annual summit with ceremonies for ka mōʻī wahine Liliʻuokalani and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I had the privilege to spend time at Ka Papa Loʻi ʻo Punaluʻu for our community offerings. Although I love to be in the cold waters of Punaluʻu and sink my feet into the soft lepo (soil) of the loʻi (taro patches), my kuleana for the day was preparing all the fresh food and the food we were cooking in the imu. It’s always so fulfilling to see community folks and groups of keiki working hard in the ʻāina, then loading up their plates with protein and hopefully some fruits and veggies. As I realized later during the Summit in Sean Dunnington’s workshop, I was beginning to discover for myself that home, or perhaps how I understand the concept of home, is where I can feed people and offer hospitality. So mahalo nui to the many familiar faces and the new faces who were there to help take care of Punaluʻu and eat some ʻono food with us!

NĀ LAMAKŪ O KE ALOHA ʻĀINA

Nā Lamakū o ke Aloha ʻĀina is our office’s monthly feature that illuminates the light within each person’s contributions to positively shape our UH Mānoa campus as a Native Hawaiian place of learning committed to mālamalama. We feature an individual who exemplifies and demonstrates aloha ʻāina through their actions and involvements on our campus, particularly as leading lights in their own respective communities and disciplines of engagement. Through this interview, we aim to honor the ways in which the featured lamakū’s time at UH Mānoa has shaped and ignited the flame for/within their practices.

Ethan Lee, this month's lamakū

Ethan Golden ʻAnalū Lee



Birthplace/Hometown:

Waimea, Hawaiʻi Island

High School:

Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi

UHM Degrees: 

Bachelors of Environmental Design (BEnvD) (2022)

Candidate for the Doctorate of Architecture (DArch) (Aug. 2025)

Current Occupation:

Graduate Research Assistant at the Hawaiʻi Papa o Ke Ao Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office;

Interned at WCIT Architecture

What inspired the path for your academic major? 

There are a few events that shaped me towards this academic journey. I have always been fascinated by technology and innovation; on the flip side, I’ve always wanted to have a say when it comes to decision making for the lāhui. There have been several events that have physically displaced the lāhui. The first of which that I witnessed firsthand was the 2018 Kīlauea eruption of Fissure 8 which destroyed Leilani Estates and Kapoho, leaving a handful of my high school classmates without homes. The second event was the TMT Demonstration in 2019 in which many from the lāhui and the world opposed its construction. In architecture lies the opportunity to help remediate some of the impending issues we all face: sea level rise, food security, and aging infrastructure to name a few. By going through this academic journey, I hope to place myself in a position where I can speak from experience to better serve, and one day be a voice for the lāhui.

What are your future goals in your work?

I aspire to appreciate Hawaiian culture and ʻōlelo for what it is, but still have the sense of innovation that it takes to be a practicing architect. Both design and Hawaiian heritage and culture are important to me. In the near future, I hope to be licensed and working on public, communal, and commercial projects. My other long term goals include working on projects that help the displaced lāhui find living spaces, and to one day teach design in some capacity.

How do you see your time at UH shaping the way you aloha ʻāina?

While being a student in the UH system, I have been exposed to a handful of influences that have shaped my career path. Architecture has exposed me to the process towards creating spaces that are meaningful. My position at the Hawaiʻi Papa o Ke Ao Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office and other various outlets have exposed me to the rich heritage that is affiliated with the ʻāina. With this said, I see my time at UH demonstrating how to filter commemorating ʻaloha ʻāina into design, while also creating functional spaces.

What does UHM being truly reflective of Hawaiʻi mean to you?

To me this could mean the continued integration of Hawaiian culture and values across all disciplines. In my own experience, UH Mānoa remains one of the most disciplined references to Hawaiian language, culture, and knowledge. In this effort towards revitalizing Hawaiian culture, creating a space that acknowledges Hawaiian knowledge and history, paired with addressing the contemporary curriculum of each discipline, is what I believe is the foundation of truly becoming reflective of Hawaiʻi. 

This could mean using ʻike from Hawaiian culture to influence decision-making in our overall architecture, art, music, political science communities, and much more. Coming from the UH Mānoa School of Architecture, concepts that influence our designs are important in catering towards the people for whom we design, the rulesets to which we design, and how our decisions impact people’s daily lives. I am a proponent of hoʻo-Hawaiʻi-ing by integrating the culture in some capacity within our concepts that influence the built-environment. In both the short-term and long-term goals, I believe it is possible for UH Mānoa to push this boundary even further on what it could mean and do for the lāhui.