Hawaiʻi Community College faculty, staff and students are helping revive the traditional place names of Hawaiʻi Island through a growing series of bilingual geographic maps that honor ancestral knowledge and strengthen community connection to the ʻāina (land).
The project began several years ago when Geography Assistant Professor Drew Kapp and his student Kaylyn Ells-Hoʻokano combined their shared passion for mapping and inoa ʻāina (traditional Hawaiian place names) to produce a community map of the ahupuaʻa (land divisions) of Puna. This year, the pair were joined by Hawaiian studies student Yuna Inoue to create a second map of the ahupuaʻa of Hilo.
“I view this work as a means to highlight the significance of place names and their role in indicating how to interact with the environment, to honor the stories that are embedded within them, and to contribute in ensuring their regular use and vibrancy,” said Kapp.
The new Hilo map, completed in spring 2025, features ahupuaʻa across Hilo and is fully bilingual in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian) and English. Ells-Hoʻokano served as mapmaker using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), while Inoue and Kapp researched inoa ʻāina, historic land divisions and cartographic considerations.
“One challenge we had was to figure out how to best fit a large moku (district) like Hilo with its approximately one hundred ahupuaʻa, on a single sheet,” said Kapp.
Inoa ʻāina significance
Kapp said that working with historical place names required careful attention. “We encounter so many variations of names in our research, many of which are incredibly compelling, meaningful and deeply sourced,” he noted. “We hope people will use these maps as resources to strengthen connections with their moku, ahupuaʻa and ʻāina.”
Hawaiʻi CC Hawaiian language and studies Assistant Professor Ākeamakamae Kiyuna emphasizes the broader cultural importance of this work.
“Inoa ʻāina are far more than simple labels; they are informative narratives that embody the mana (power) and unique character of a place,” Kiyuna explained. “Their restoration and presence on updated geographic maps are crucial for cultural preservation, historical accuracy, and honoring Indigenous identity and sovereignty.”
Research sources
Their research drew on Native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi’s scholarship, historic maps, kaʻao (legends) of Hawaiian akua (goddesses) Pele, Hiʻiakaikapoliopele and kupua (supernatural being) Kamiki, and old nūpepa (newspaper).
Community members, faculty experts and librarians, including Hawaiʻi CC’s Kiyuna and Assistant Professor Kuʻulei Kanahele, UH Hilo Edith Kanakaʻole Hawaiian Collection Librarian Annemarie Paikai and former Hawaii Lifestyles lecturers Lokelani Brandt and Manaiakalani Kalua also served as integral resources for the collaborative project.
