Medical school and the Bishop Museum sponsor series of workshops

"Native Food, Native Stories" partnership announced

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Tina M. Shelton, (808) 692-0897
Director of Communications, Office of Dean of Medicine
Mele Look, (808) 692-1051
Community Engagement Director, Native Hawaiian Health, JABSOM
Posted: Jan 25, 2012

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence and the Bishop Museum will present a series, “Native Food, Native Stories," from February through May.
 
The presentations begin Thursday February 2, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. with "The Ceremonial and Social Usages of ‘Awa in Hawai‘i, Then and Now", at the Bishop Museum's Atherton Halau. Featured speakers are Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, Chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health (DNHH) at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and Kamana‘opono Crabbe, UH alumnus and new CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Tuition is $10, and free for members of the Bishop Museum.
 
In addition to ‘awa, other foods selected for the presentations are: ‘ulu (breadfruit), ‘uala (sweet potato), and he‘e (octopus).
 
"These were popular foods in traditional times and continue to be enjoyed in contemporary Hawai‘i," said JABSOM's Mele Look, Director of Community Engagement in the DNHH. "The four foods are kinolau (physical representations) of the four major Hawaiian gods: Kane, Ku, Lono, and Kanaloa, " said Look. "Enjoying these nutritious foods is a component of a creating health for the body, mind and soul."
 
Look added that the three plant foods are also cultivated at the medical school’s Mala Lapa‘au (medical garden) in Kaka'ako, and the he‘e can be found in the coastal waters off of the Kaka‘ako campus.
 
After the kickoff on February 2, the series continues Saturday, March 17, from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., with "The 'Ulu Workshop." (Tickets for the 'ulu plate lunch may be purchased for $20 per person. Call 847-8296 for reservations.)
 
On Thursday, April 12, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., the sweet potato is featured in "He Mala: 'Uala and 'Aina Piko: A Force for Life, Health and Genealogical Connection."
 
The final presentation, "The Lure and Lore of He'e: Fishing Traditions of the Kewalo Family" is Thursday, May 10, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. All presentations are at the museum's Atherton Halau.
 
Additional information is available on-line at: http://www.bishopmuseum.org/membership/TOTP/totp.html.
 
JABSOM's Department of Native Hawaiian Health is the only clinical department in a U.S. accredited medical school which is dedicated to the health of an indigeneous people. Learn more about the Department's Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at http://www.hawaii.edu/nhcoe/.
 

For more information, visit: http://jabsom.hawaii.edu