Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 9, 1 September 2016 — Mellon-Hawaiʻi Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows announced [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mellon-Hawaiʻi Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows announced

Program fosters development of Native Hawaiian intellectual leadership

News release submitted by Liam Cornell The Kohala Center has selected three Native Hawaiian scholars for the ninth cohort of its Mellon-Hawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship program. The fellows join 32 Native Hawaiian scholars who have pursued original research and advanced their academic careers through the program. The Kohala Center, an independent, eommu-nity-focused nonprofit organization based on Hawai'i Island, launched the Mellon Hawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in 2008 with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Kamehameha Schools and the Deviants of the Norm Fund. The program recognizes and supports the work of Native Hawaiian academics early in their careers,

and others who are committed to the advancement of knowledge about the Hawaiian natural and eultural environment, as well as Hawaiian history, politics and society. Fellowships provide stipends and mentoring to enahle doctoral fellows to eomplete their dissertations before accepting their first academic posts, and to afford postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to publish original research early in

their academic careers. The research topics being pursued by this year's fellows, while diverse, all focus on supporting the heahh and well-being of Hawai'i's modern-day communities by examining and hamessing ancestral knowledge and practices. This cohort marks the first time fellows have been selected from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Kealoha Fox is pursuing a Ph.D. in elinieal research at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa). Her dissertation investigates uplifting health in Native Hawaiian communities by reconnecting with the traditional Hawaiian health system and revitalizing ancestral assessment, diagnostic, and treatment practices. Her mentor is Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, Ka Pouhana (CEO) of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. In addition to her scholarly work, Fox is OHA's executive manager to the CEO. Fox's research is inspired in large part by her family and a genuine desire to contribute to positive heahh outcomes for Hawai'i's people. "When XI MELLON-HAWAI'I ON PAGE 9

The 201 6-201 7 cohort of Mellon-Hawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows. From left to right: Dr. Kiana Frank, No'eau Peralto, Kealoha Fox. - Photo: Courtesy īhe Kohala Center

I look at my son, I am constantly reminded that the next generation of Native Hawaiians deserves improved health strategies that eommand positive systemic shifts and reinvest well-being back into our 'ohana (families) andkaiāulu (eommunities)," she said. "By tracing our traditional practices of medicine and creating a comprehensive resource inventory, my research seeks to rebuild Hawaiian assessment and diagnostic processes that are largely absent from contemporary heahhcare delivery." No'eau Peralto is a Ph.D. eandidate in the indigenous politics program in the department of poliheal science at UH Mānoa. A resident of Pa'auilo, Hāmākua, Hawai'i Island, Peralto's research focuses on the continuity and resurgence of Native Hawaiian 'āina (land) restoration and stewardship practices in two ahupua'a (ancestral

land divisions) in Hawai'i Island's Hāmākua District. Through his research, Peralto seeks to contribute to deeper understandings of indigenous, place-based land tenure practices and governance structures as models of ea - community resurgence and independence. His mentor is Dr. Noelani GoodyearKa'ōpua, herself a Mellon-Hawai'i doctoral fellow in 2010-2011 and associate professor of poliheal scienee at UH Mānoa. "My work is inspired by my kuleana (responsibilities) to my 'ohana, my community, and my kulāiwi (homelands)," Peralto said. "One of those kuleana is the telling of our mo'olelo (stories). Mo'olelo give birth to our values, beliefs, and practices, so it is important that we tell our mo'olelo of truth in ways that empower our people." Peralto hopes to fill significant gaps in the historical records of Hāmākua and Hawai'i by re-telling past and present mo'olelo of those who mālama 'āina (care for the land) and aloha 'āina (love the land) in the region, and evaluat-

ing how these accounts and efforts contribute to the resurgence of plaeebased mālama 'āina systems and the enactment of sustainable self-deter-minahon in Hawai'i. Dr. Kiana Frank received her Ph.D. in molecular eell biology from Harvard University in 2013. Her postdoctoral fellowship will enahle her to focus on manuscripts exploring the intersection of ancestral and contemporary science by investigating the biogeochemical drivers of microbial processes in Windward 0'ahu's He'eia Fishpond and correlating them to the pond's cultural history and management practices. Frank is being mentored by Dr. Davianna McGregor, professor of ethnic studies at UH Mānoa. "I study microbes in our 'āina - who they are, what they are doing, and their importance in traditional management - to enhanee the productivity, sustainability, and resilience of Hawai'i's aquacultural and agricultural resources," Frank said. "I believe that science is an important tool in our community,

not only to drive data-based policy, but to advance our understanding of our plaee and how we fit into that plaee. It is important to recognize that science is not separate from our culture and our identity, but rather that science is a strength of our indigenous culture." Frank hopes that her work will help inspire a shift in how science is perceived in both indigenous and scientific communities by demonstrating how place-based knowledge and traditional management practices ean complement and enhanee eontemporary technology and scientific knowledge systems. Since its ineephon, the MellonHawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program has awarded $1.48 million in fellowship support to 35 Native Hawaiian scholars. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, whieh initially agreed to underwrite the program for three years, extended its support for two additional threeyearperiods. The 2016-2017 cohort represents the hnal year of The Foundation's support.

"The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's investment in this fellowship program has had a profound impact not just on the lives of Native Hawaiian scholars, but on future generations of keiki (children) who will be inspired by these intellectual role models to pursue meaningful careers and strive for excellence — for Hawai'i and the world," said Robert Lindsey Jr., a member of The Kohala Center's Board of Directors and chairman of the program's selection committee, as well as chairman of the OHA Board of Trustees. "We are deeply grateful for The Foundation's support over the past nine years, and we are hopeful that new partners will join with Kamehameha Schools and the Deviants from the Norm Fund and enahle us to continue to offer these fellowships to Hawai'i's emerging intellectual leaders." ■ Liam Keniell is Director ofCommunications at The Kohala Centet ; an independent, community-based centerfor research, consen>ation and education.

MELLON-HAWAI'I Continued from page 6