Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 11, 1 November 2012 — Native speakers tout 'New Old Wisdom' at TEDxMānoa [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native speakers tout 'New Old Wisdom' at TEDxMānoa

ByTreenaShapiro Throughout the state, Native Hawaiians organizations are finding solutions to contemporary issues through traditional knowledge and wisdom. Their innovative thinking is reshaping classrooms, restoring resources and creating models for a more sustainable future. Last month's daylong TEDxMānoa event brought together 16 native speakers from across the community to share ideas on applying traditional Hawaiian wisdom to 2 1 st century problems. The independently organized event, licensed by the nonprofit TED, explored the concept of "New 01d Wisdom," or NOW. In an early presentation, Rick Barboza, cofounder of the Native Hawaiian plant nursery Hui Kū Maoli Ola, tumed a popular saying on its head, asking, "Do you think Hawai'i feels lucky that we live here?" The conservationist, who focuses on Hawai'i's natural history and flora and fauna, described how native plants and birds are disappearing, often due to introduction of invasive species or the destruction of their habitats. Since the 1800s, 31 native

bird species have gone extinct. Some 118 native plants have disappeared, and 400 others are endangered. Barboza used the endangered Kahuli snails to illustrate how good ideas ean go bad, such as importing the mongoose in an ineffectual attempt to eontrol the Polynesian rats, whieh still feast on the native snails. As he discussed the threats to Hawai'i's lowland dry forest, Barboza observed that Hawaiian culture, like indigenous plants and animals, is tied to the land. "If we lose our surroundings, whieh help to develop our culture, we get pushed over the edge to the point where we lose our cultural identity," he warned.

Barboza follows up with a solution. "We ean change this by restoring our land through our landscaping and bringing back the plants that should have been there. We ean transform man-made places and spaces into habitats," he proposed. Brandon Ledward, manager of the 'ĀinaBased Education Department at Kamehameha

Schools, talked about innovative teaching practices that expose today's students to Hawaiian language, culture and history

through the 'āina. It's not a new concept, Ledward pointed out. Indigenous learning took plaee outdoors until about 200 years ago when schooling moved into the classroom. Bringing students back outside for culture-based learning ean help close the achievement gap for indigenous

students, empower the Native Hawaiian eommunity and help restore native landscapes, Ledward suggested. As education reform sweeps the country, experts are looking for ways to make education relevant, practical and meaningful to today's

children. 'Ainabased learning is one

way to engage students and ignite their curiosity, Ledward said. "You ean see it when it happens. It's as clear as day for a teacher. It starts with a smile." Though this education model, students are preparing for the future by taking water samples, observing marine life, restoring landscapes and

using inquiry-based leaming to develop skills that will serve themin the next century. They are also learning about teamwork and collaboration through project-based learning. Building on this blended concept of new and old wisdom through place-based learn-

ing, Mahinapoepoe Paishon Duarte discussed how revitalizing fishponds ean help prepare Hawaiians for selfdetermination. Paishon Duarte, president of the Paepae o He'eia board, described herself as a fishpond practitioner and enthusiast. In her eyes, fishpond restoration offers more than a glimpse at past practices, and even more than a thriving source of sustenance. She thinks the work ean help create a model for a more sustainable level of living. Taking it a step further, she said, "Fishponds are vital training centers, vital academies, important places where we as kānaka, kānaka maoli, ean train ourselves to regain our ability and our capacity to self-govem and to self-determine our future." Restoring fishponds will allow Native Hawaiians to feed themselves,

but Paishon Duarte also sees the effort as a path to a preferred future. Successful eollahoration in managing and governing resources at fishponds ean serve as a model for selfgovernance, she said. If Native Hawaiians leam how to work together toward eommon goals in managing and operating fishponds, they're creating a model for self-govemance, and when the time comes, they will have had a dry run, she said. "We know how to organize ourselves. We know how to make decisions. We know how to engage in discourse and how to disagree. We ean see how when we make a poor decision, there is a direct effect, because 'auwe, there's not enough fish," Paishon Duarte said. An Office of Hawaiian Affairs grant helped fund TEDxMānoa at the East-West Center. Licensed by the nonprofit organization TED, the independently organized event is intended to spark discussion and bring together thinkers and doers to share ideas. The Oct. 5 talks were filmed and will be uploaded to the TEDx YouTube ehannel forpublic viewing. ■ Treena Shapiro, afreelance writer, is aformer reporterfor the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser.

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org

Accompanied by 'ukulele virtuoso īaimane, Hawai'i's first poet laureate Kealoha Wong, pictured, explored Hawaiian origins in "The Story of Us." - Courtesyphotos: TEDxMānoa

Manu Boyd, cultural director at the Royal Hawaiian Center at Helumoa, focused his TEDxMōnoa talk on finding a balance between cultural consciousness and resort retail.

Rick Barboza, co-founder of a native plant nursery, warned that a loss of indigenous plants and animals would lead to a loss of Hawaiian cultural identity.