Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 12, 1 December 2000 — New directions in Hawaiian education for the 21st century [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

New directions in Hawaiian education for the 21st century

By Dr. Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa RECONCILIATION AND federal recognition, sovereignty and ceded lands are all important issues facing Native Hawaiians and residents of the State of Hawai'i. One crucial issue is Hawaiian access to land. and protecting the natural resources entrusted to us by our ancestors, to plan a

better hte tor our tamilies and for future generations. As director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies (CHS) at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM), I am pleased to share new directions in Hawaiian education for the 21st century. By providing increased opportunities and access to higher education for more Hawaiians, we seek to train the future leaders of

Hawai'i. In adopting the vision of mālama 'āina, mālama Hawai'i (living in harmony with the earth) to guide the expansion of undergraduate courses, we unify Hawaiian tradition with Western hands-on scienee, capitalizing on UH Mānoa's outstanding expertise in scientific research, as well as our own intellectual resources in nā mea Hawai'i. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, we examine the ancestors' secret for creating prosperity while preserving the land and beauty of our island paradise. New courses on mālama ahupua'a, Hawaiian fishpond management, cultiva-

tion of kalo, and the first-ever, twosemester class on traditional Hawaiian navigation and astronomy, written in conjunction with master navigator Nāinoa Thompson, are features of the mālama Hawai'i series. Making partnerships with the departments of anthropology, geography, engineering, ethnobotany, marine science and political science to mentor Hawaiian graduate students in those fields, we hope to develop a hui kono-

hiki, a new generation of Hawaiian land stewards, who will know the 1,000 ahupua'a of Hawai'i as well as kupuna did in 1850. The current Ceded Lands Project, supported in part by the Native Hawaiian Leadership Project, allows students to identify ceded lands on tax maps, and to research sacred sites, water resources, toxic waste. and militarv use

on those lands. We expect this project to greatly aid Hawaiian communities in future negotiations. Another exciting development is a long awaited M.A. in Hawaiian Studies in order to mōhala nā pua — to let a thousand flowers bloom — in the study of every aspect of things Hawaiian, and from the Hawaiian point of view. Recently approved in concept by the university administration, and supported by a resolution of the Hawai'i State Legislature (2000), CHS is working in conjunction with the UHM Hawaiian Language Department to plan graduate courses, and

the master's degree, in both departments may begin as early as fall 2001. Like indigenous studies worldwide, graduate-level work in Hawaiian Studies will inspire a deeper understanding of ancestral wisdom, enabling that wisdom to be utilized in a modern setting. Using video as a tool, graduate students ean help create new curriculum, especially in English, for the 48,000 Hawaiian ehildren in the State Department of Education not serviced by Hawaiian Immersion or Kamehameha Schools. Fields of study being considered are kūkulu aupuni: building the nation; Polynesian, Native American and indigenous eeonomie and pohtical models, decolonization and indigenization, mālama Hawai'i: Native resource management,

nā kumu Kahiki: Comparative Polynesian and indigenous studies, and Hālau o Laka: Hawaiian visual and performing arts, including Hawaiian theatre. Long an advocate for the academic excellence and the study of Hawaiian culture, history and politics, the Center for Hawaiian Studies at UHM offers a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian Studies, has 130 student majors, 5 professors, 13 junior faculty and 20 exciting courses never taught at any other university in the world. Hosting over 10,000 students and eommunity members a year, we at the Center for Hawaiian Studies invite you to visit us at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. For more information, eall 973-0989 or 973-0978. ■

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Kameeleihiwa

KAMAKAKUOKALANI — The Center for Hawaiian Studies was named in honor of Gladys Kamakakūokalani 'Ainoa Brandt, Hawaiian educator, advocate, and former University Reqent.