Kahua

Strengthening Hawaiian education through collaboration

Nu‘ukia

Grounding and unifying their work, participants engaged in a series of discussions coming to consensus about shared goals and values. From there, Kanaeokana’s vision, mission, and strategic goals were collectively crafted. These are meant to be living documents, changing and growing to meet the needs of our keiki and the generations to come.

Content adopted by consensus (2.24.17). Reorganized by Kōmike Hoʻokele (6.15.17). Approved by Kanaeokana participants (7.6.17)

‘Aha Kūkā

Kanaeokana ʻAha Kūkā meetings (formerly Plenary Meetings) are held several times a year and include educators and administrators from across the pae ‘āina. Input from network membership and participants helps to develop the agenda for each meeting. Summaries are made shortly after the meetings take place:

Projects

Considering mission-aligned focuses and community needs, Kanaeokana participants are free to bring to life their project ideas through a simple 3-step process: Self Assess, Share, Holomua!

Is the idea in alignment with the nu‘ukia and ala nu‘ukia?

Consider if the idea is a good Kanaeokana “fit” by using the Project Self Assessment Tool.

Share the idea using a simple Google Form

After self-assessing whether the idea aligns with the nu‘ukia and ala nu‘ukia, share the idea.

Share your project outcomes

Share the outcomes of your project on the project dashboard. See other ongoing and past projects as well.

Kū-punawai

From time-to-time Kanaeokana participants may want to talk to someone who can serve as a punawai, someone who might uplift and energize their work by providing anykine kōkua, sage counsel, insights from their part of the pae ʻāina, ʻikena from the specific areas of specialty they hold, or whatever might be waiwai to participants. This group helps to support those needs and is filled with people who are ready to serve as refreshing punawai to others. As a Kanaeokana participant, are you interested in serving in this role?

Participating schools and organizations

Pre Elem Mid High Coll Post
Aloha Kuamoʻo ʻĀina
‘Ahahui ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
‘Aha Kāne
‘Aha Kauleo
‘Aha Pūnana Leo Preschools (12-preschool sites)
‘Āina Momona
Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Hakipu‘u Learning Center NCPCS (4-6)
Hālau Kū Māna NCPCS (4-6)
Hālau ‘Ōlelo
Hāna High & Elementary School
Hawaiʻi Farmers Union
Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Foundation
Hawaiian Islands Land Trust
Hika‘alani
Honaunau (Project KALO)
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Hoʻokele Strategies LLC
Hula Preservation Society
HULI (Hawaiian Unity & Liberation Institute)
INPEACE
I Ola Wailuanuiahoano
Ka Hale ‘Auamo
Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo Hawaiian Immersion PCS
Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao NCPCS
KAHEA
Kaho‘iwai
Kahuku High & Intermediate School
Kāhuli Leo Leʻa
Kaikeha Foundation
Kalanihale
Kamaile Academy PCS
Kamehameha Preschools (30-preschool sites)*
Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i Island*
Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama*
Kamehameha Schools – Maui*
Kanaka Pakipika
Kanu Hawaii
Kanu o ka ‘Āina NCPCS
Kanuikapono Learning Center PCS
Ka‘ohewai
Kauluakalana
Kawaiaha‘o Church School
Kawaikini NCPCS
Ke Ana La‘ahana PCS
Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue
Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Kapolei
Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pū‘ōhala
Ke Kula Ni‘ihau o Kekaha Learning Center & Lab PCS
Ke Kula ‘o Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u Iki Laboratory PCS
Ke Kula ‘o Pi‘ilani
Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau PCS
Keaomālamalama
Kohala High School
Koʻihonua
KONO: Ka Leo o Nā ʻŌpio
Ko‘olau ‘Āina Aloha
Kū Ānuenue
Kū a Kanaka
Kua o ka Lā PCS
Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo
Kuakahi
Kualapu‘u Elementary NCPCS (K-6)
Kuhiawaho
Ku‘ia Agricultural Education Center
Kula Aupuni Ni‘ihau a Kahelelani Aloha NCPCS
Kūlaniākea
Lahaina Community Land Trust
Lāhaināluna High School
Lānaʻi High & Elementary School
Mā‘ilikūkahi ‘Āina Momona
Makapuʻu Bodyboarding Club
Mālama Honua Charter School (K-4)
Mālamapoki‘i Community Based Early Childhood Education Program
Mana Studios
Mōkauea
Molokaʻi High School
Molokaʻi Middle School
Nā Pua ʻo ʻEwa
Nā Pua o Maui – Maui High Hawaiian Club
National Tropical Botanical Garden – Lawaʻi Gardens
National Tropical Botanical Garden – Limahuli Garden & Preserve
Native Books & Nā Mea Hawaiʻi
Noʻeau Designers
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
ʻŌpelu Haʻalili
Paeloko Learning Center
Pā‘ia Elementary
Papakolea Community Development Corporation
Purple Mai‘a
Pu‘uhonua o Pu‘uhuluhulu
Pu‘ukukui Watershed Preserve
Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust
Saint Louis School
UH – Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity
UH – Hilo, Hale Kuamo‘o
UH – Hilo, Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikolani College
UH – Hilo, Kahuawaiola
UH – Kapi‘olani Community College
UH – Leeward Community College
UH – Mānoa, College of Education
UH – Mānoa, Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
UH – Mānoa, Indigenous Politics Program
UH – Mānoa, Kamakakūokalani
UH – Mānoa, Kawaihuelani
UH – Maui College
UH – West O‘ahu
UH – Windward Community College
Ulu A‘e Learning Center
Waiwai Collective
Waimea (Project KALO)
Waimea Middle PCCS

4 Ways Participants Engage

For more details on the what, how, and why, check out the Kanaeokana Handbook.

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KANAEOKANA ʻAHA KŪKĀ MEETINGS & GATHERINGS*

  • Strategic and operational decision making
  • Prioritizing of work focuses
  • Developing advocacy positions
  • Sharing resources, innovations

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HARNESS THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

  • Respond to and engage with surveys that guide the project work
  • Respond to and engage with surveys that guide Kanaeokana’s policy positions
  • Amplify the voice of Kanaeokana outward into your communities and spheres of influence.

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SPECIFIC WORK PROJECTS

  • Planning and executing specific kōmike activities or events
  • Creating specific work products

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EVENT ATTENDEE / WORK PRODUCT USER

  • Participating in activities and events
  • Using work products
  • Open up your facilities and spaces to hosting events and experiences for the community

* Among the many Kanaeokana participants includes Kamehameha Schools. Kamehameha plays a unique dual role in Kanaeokana. Separate from the Kamehameha campuses and preschools who are participants, Kamehameha Schools also provides backbone support for Kanaeokana through the Kealaiwikuamoʻo Division, which is part of the Hiʻialo Group.

Kula and Hui By Location

Click on an area for more info.

Kula and Hui By Location
Niʻihau & Kauaʻi Oʻahu Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi Hawaiʻi Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

Niʻihau & Kauaʻi

  • Kanuikapono Learning Center PCS
  • Kawaikini NCPCS
  • Ke Kula Ni‘ihau o Kekaha Learning Center & Lab PCS
  • Kula Aupuni Ni‘ihau A Kahelelani Aloha NCPCS

Oʻahu

  • Hālau Kū Māna NCPCS
  • Hakipu‘u Learning Center NCPCS
  • Hika‘alani
  • Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao NCPCS
  • Kamaile Academy PCS
  • Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama
  • Kawaiaha‘o Church School
  • Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue
  • Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Pū‘ōhala
  • Ke Kula o Kūlaniākea
  • Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau PCS
  • Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo
  • Kuhiawaho
  • Kūlaniākea
  • Mā‘ilikūkahi ‘Āina Momona
  • Mālama Honua Charter School
  • Mōkauea
  • Paeloko Learning Center
  • Papakolea Community Development Corporation
  • UH Honolulu Community College
  • UH Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
  • UH Kapi‘olani Community College
  • UH Leeward Community College
  • UH Mānoa College of education
  • UH Mānoa, Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge
  • UH West O‘ahu
  • ‘Ulu A‘e Learning Center
  • Waiwai Collective

Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi

  • Hāna High & Elementary School
  • Kamehameha Schools – Maui
  • Ke Kula ‘o Pi‘ilani
  • Kualapu‘u Elementary NCPCS
  • Lāhaināluna High School
  • Molokaʻi High School
  • Molokaʻi Middle School
  • Pā‘ia Elementary
  • Pu‘ukukui Watershed Preserve
  • UH Maui College

Hawaiʻi

  • Honaunau (Project KALO)
  • Kaho‘iwai
  • Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo Hawaiian Immersion PCS
  • Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i Island
  • Kanu o ka ‘Āina NCPCS
  • Ke Ana La‘ahana PCS
  • Ke Kula ‘o Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u Iki Laboratory PCS
  • Kū a Kanaka
  • Kua o ka Lā PCS
  • Mālamapoki‘i Community Based Early Childhood Education Program
  • UH Hilo, Hale Kuamo‘o
  • UH Hilo, Kahuawaiola
  • UH Hilo, Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikolani College
  • Waimea (Project KALO)
  • Waimea Middle PCCS

Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina

  • ‘Aha Kauleo
  • ‘Aha Pūnana Leo Preschools
  • Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs
  • Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
  • Hālau ‘Ōlelo
  • INPEACE
  • Nā Kula Kamali‘i (Kamehameha Preschools, 30-sites)
  • Office of Hawaiian Affairs
  • Office of Hawaiian Education
  • Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust

Kōmike Ho‘okele

In the early days of formation and from 2017 – 2023 The Kōmike Hoʻokele (Steering Committee) was comprised of Kanaeokana participants nominated and confirmed by the Kanaeokana membership. Focusing on the Kanaeokana nuʻukia and ala nuʻukia (vision and mission), the Kōmike Hoʻokele strategically guided the work of Kanaeokana by setting meeting agendas, facilitating meetings, and taking action to build and nurture a cohesive, engaged network.

  • Makalapua Alencastre

  • Kalani Kaawa-Flores

  • Hōkūlani Holt

  • ‘I‘ini Kahakalau

  • Kū Kahakalau

  • Kauanoe Kamanā

  • Ekela Kaniaupio-Crozier

  • Keiki Kawai‘ae‘a

  • Kalehua Krug

  • Kamaoli Kuwada

  • Punihei Lipe

  • Huihui Mossman

  • Malia Nobrega-Olivera

  • Mahina Paishon-Duarte

  • Kainoa Pestana

Kanaeokana

About the Name

Kanaeokana, which couples nae (a fine-meshed netting upon which feathers were secured to make ‘ahu‘ula, or feather capes) and Kana (a powerful kupua, or demigod, who took the form of cordage that could grow to extraordinary lengths and shapes and served as a hero in multiple mo’olelo) is an apt descriptor for the kula Hawai‘i network. When bound together, the name suggests that “a network of extraordinary strength, flexibility and diverse forms can tackle formidable challenges and create works of unsurpassed beauty.

About the Logo

The nae in Kanaeokana refers to a fine-meshed net used to catch small fish and shrimp. Net-making is an intricate and time-consuming process, and well-maintained nets are vital to feeding a community and sustaining its health and vitality.

A nae is also the base to which feathers are attached when making ʻahuʻula. When the nae is used to construct an ʻahuʻula, it takes generations’ worth of feathers and sometimes the base of an older cloak is joined to the newer nae in order to create the most fitting shape.

By representing the nae in the network’s logo, the members of Kanaeokana are paying homage to the maiau craftsmanship of our traditional artisans and practitioners, and the inter-generational, community-centered thinking that characterizes so much of Hawaiian thought.

The pattern of varying and repeated shapes representing the nae in our logo also symbolizes the unity of purpose with which the network members are coming together. Each node, or knot, in the net connects to other nodes, tying them together and contributing to the strength of the whole.