“Oki nō hoʻi ka hana a ka Hawaiʻi ʻimi loa!”
Superlative indeed are the works of far-seeking Hawaiians!
— Kepelino Kahoʻāliʻi Keauokalani
Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi 1868
The Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance is committed to the integration of ʻŌiwi values and practices into contemporary conservation strategies. Our position paper on the importance of Hawaiian culture in conservation in Hawaiʻi concludes: “integration of Hawaiian knowledge, values, and approaches into modern conservation efforts in Hawai‘i can greatly enhance long-term success.”
The Alliance’s Cultural Subcommittee strives to incorporate Native Hawaiian perspectives in all Alliance programs and events, increase awareness of the cultural importance of native biota and ecosystems, and improve engagement of Native Hawaiian community groups and organizations in conservation initiatives.
To advance these efforts, the Alliance is developing a curriculum to cultivate Hawaiian cultural capacity among organizations participating in conservation efforts throughout Hawaiʻi, including its members. Increased understanding of Hawaiʻi lifeways and practices will help empower conservation practitioners to utilize biocultural approaches in the management of Hawaiʻi’s landscapes and resources.
Download Science Curriculum Units for Hawaiian Medium Learners / Hoʻoulu Maluō
Hauʻoli mākou ʻo ka Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance me ko mākou pakanā hoʻomohala ʻo ka Hale Kuamoʻo e kaʻana aku i mau ʻōpaʻa haʻawina hou no ka ʻEpekema ma nā Papa 6-12. Ua hoʻomohala ʻia ua mau ʻōpaʻa nei ma o ka ʻike kuʻuna Hawaiʻi a kia hoʻi ma nā kumuhana kūikawā o ka hoʻomaluō. He mau kumuwaiwai manuahi kēia no ke kumu a me nā haumāna ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi e ʻimi ana i ʻikepili hou no loko a waho o ka lumi papa. No ka hoʻohana ʻana i kēia mau kumuwaiwai manuahi, e kele aku i nā loulou ma lalo iho nei. E ola a mau loa aku ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka hoʻomaluō.
The Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance in partnership with the Hale Kuamoʻo Hawaiian Language Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo are pleased to release a new set of science curriculum units for Hawaiian language medium students and teachers in grades 6-12. The six curriculum units focus on prominent topics of relevance to environmental stewardship in Hawaiʻi, in particular information including cultural perspectives on native species and ecosystems initially shared at the 2022 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference. The units are presented solely in the Hawaiian language, providing an important pathway to meaningfully support Hawaiian language medium learners and instructors as we collectively advance the ways we care for our island home.
For more visit: https://www.hawaiiconservation.org/hooulu_maluo/
Hawaiian worldview emerged from many generations of life in this archipelago, and while diverse, several key tenets are common across the islands. One holds that native plants, animals, and ecological processes are ancestors to humans. This imposes familial responsibilities on people, and engenders respect and care for native ecosystems.
Many native species and ecological processes are also viewed as physical manifestations of akua (gods), linking natural and supernatural worlds, removing them from the mundane world, and requiring the attention devoted to sacred matters. Native species and ecosystems are further viewed as an inherent part of place, and cannot be separated from the cultural sense of place. In a Hawaiian worldview, the natural world is in an ongoing reciprocal relationship with people that requires dedication and effort to maintain. Hawaiian cultural identity, knowledge, and practice are rooted in this reciprocal relationship with the land — and the health of one depends upon the health of the other.
ʻIke Hawaiʻi – Traditional Knowledge
Traditional Hawaiian knowledge encompasses a broad scope, including knowledge of native species diversity, knowledge of ecological processes and patterns, and knowledge of management of land and sea. Such knowledge was originally transmitted purely in an oral, transgenerational manner, and remains embodied in the names of species and places, and in vast indigneous datasets in the form of oli (chants), mo‘olelo (stories), and ‘ōlelo no‘eau (proverbs). There recently has been a development of explorations on the process of Hawaiian inquiry: on how traditional knowledge is gathered, assessed, and promulgated. This “Hawaiian Science” can be correlated to conventional “Western Science” in terms of observation, manipulation, testing, and promulgation of knowledge, but also bears its own unique elements. One key difference is “Hawaiian Science” has been observed and practiced for almost a thousand years here in the same land and seascapes that we steward today. An example of this kind of exploration in the Papakū Makawalu inquiry method promises to create a multi-tiered training approach in traditional knowledge that honors and reinstates ancient knowledge,and is applicable for contemporary times.
Hawaiian Values:
The values of Hawaiian people are broad-ranging, encompassing all human interactions with each other and with their environment. Many of these values align very well with the cause of conservation. For example:
- ‘ike: knowledge is highly valued, and deep, detailed understanding of the environment is essential for survival and producing abundance;
- ho‘omau: perseverance, continuity and training ensures long term success and perpetuation of life;
- kānāwai: law/rule dictate appropriate behavior for places and resources, mitigating abuse, waste and overuse;
- laulima: combined effort is characteristic of familial and community coordination, pooling of resources, and cooperation which extends to nature;
- lōkahi: accord; interdependence between all beings is necessary for survival, and the balance of uses is a desirable condition.
A number of HCA members contributed articles in a Special Issue of Sustainability, “Biocultural Restoration in Hawaiʻi,” which builds upon many of the aspects discussed above. These papers are open access and can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Biocultural_Restoration
We invite you to learn more about efforts to integrate Hawaiian knowledge, values and practice into conservation in Hawai’i, and to take an active part in the growth of community efforts to care for our places and people. E mālama Hawai’i!
