Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 10, 1 October 1997 — A dream realized at Mānoa campus [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A dream realized at Mānoa campus

By Manu Boyd PERMANENT HOME Afor the instruction of nā mea Hawai'i (Hawaiian studies) is now in full operation at the University of Hawai'i's Mānoa campus. The new Center For Hawaiian Studies represents a hardwon victory for dozens of supporters who tenaciousIy labored to make the complex a reality. According to center staff, a facility for the formal instruction of Hawaiian culture ;uid history at the university, ironically sitting on ceded land, was shamefully overdue. By no coincidence, the center was officially opened Jan. 17, the 104th anniversary of the overthrow. The eenter's faculty teaches from a Hawaiian perspective rather than the traditional nonrtative, anthropological approach. While

the center clearly represents a new age for the indigenous Hawaiian, it is open to students of any background. The center court or "piko" of the facility, Kamakakūokalani, honors Gladys K. ' Ainoa Brandt, whose years of lobbying helped to make the facihty a reality. A noted Hawaiian advocate for excellence in education, Brandt was chairperson of the university board of regents, and, before that, was principal of the Kamehameha School for Girls. Designed by the award-winning architectural firm Kauahikaua and Chun. the center reflects a Hawaiian/Polynesian sense of plaee, and is appropriately landscaped with laua'e fem, 'ulu (breadfruit), kukui, lā'ī (tī leaf), niu (coconut) and other native flora. Conical copper roofs give the feeling of traditional dwellings or hale pili. State-of-the-art classrooms, a student resources center, conference rooms and an open-air auditorium, Hālau o Haumea, enhanee the complex. Dr. Haunani-Kay Kawēkiuohaleakalā Trask, a long-

time advocate for Hawaiian rights and self-determi-nation, leads the team of four fulltime professors, two graduate assistants, a leeturer and administrative staff. Drs. Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, Kanalu Young and Jon Kamakawiwo'ole Osorio are the dynamic force

[?]