A six-member delegation of faculty and staff from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College traveled to Yap and Palau this month to meet with educators, community leaders, cultural practitioners, and UH Hilo alumni to strengthen connections between UH and the Asia-Pacific region.
The trip was part of UH Hilo’s Hoʻokahua Project, a U.S. Department of Education, Title III Alaska Native-Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions program funded under the Office of the Chancellor to facilitate student engagement in applied learning experiences. Hoʻokahua helps with implementing the UH System initiative Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao, a plan to make UH a leader in indigenous education. The program focuses on community engagement both locally and throughout the Asia-Pacific region, with particular attention to building collaborative partnerships in education and research.
The delegation
- Gail Makuakāne-Lundin, UH Hilo interim vice chancellor for student affairs and director of Hoʻokahua.
- Taupōuri Tangarō representing the UH Hilo collaboration with Hawaiʻi CC and the joint work on the Uluakea Faculty Development Program.
- Ākeamakamae Kiyuna, lecturer of Hawaiian language and linguistics at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keelikolani College of Hawaiian Language, UH Hilo.
- Marques Hanalei, Kanilehua scholar-in-residence and cultural specialist with Bishop Museum.
- Kealiʻi, Kanilehua scholar-in-residence and musician, kumu hula and an expert in kokopuʻupuʻu or knotted carrying nets for holding wooden bowls.
- Holo Hoʻopai, UH Hilo graduate student and Hoʻokahua student experience coordinator.
For the full story and more photos, visit the UH Hilo Stories website.
—By Susan Enright