Na UH News | Unuhi ‘ia e Manakō Tanaka

Ke lapalapa nei ke ʻano o nā mele Hawaiʻi a me ka hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma muli o ka hana a Nicholas Kealiʻi Lum, he haumāna laeʻula ma Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, Ke Kōleke ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.

ʻO Lum ka haumāna laeʻula mua i loaʻa mai ai ka makana kālā hele kulanui ʻo ia hoʻi ka Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship. He mea ia makana i hoʻokumu ʻia e nā kaikamāhine o ua mau kānaka nona nā inoa ʻala e hoʻohanohano ana i nā hana kākoʻo a ka ʻohana Makuakāne no ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a me ka hoʻonaʻauao Hawaiʻi.

Ke hoʻohui ʻia nei e Lum nā mea kuluma a me nā mea hou i loko o kāna noiʻi noelo i nā mele o ke au ma mua a me ko ke au nei. He mea kāna papahana laeʻula, ʻo ia hoʻi ʻo “Pewa: I Ola ke Mele Hawaiʻi i kona mele ʻia,” e wili ʻia aku ana nā mele kuluma o Hawaiʻi me ke kani mele o ke au nei. Ma o ia hana e hōʻumeʻume ana i nā ʻōpio i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma o ke mele Hawaiʻi o ke au hou.

“I loko o kaʻu pepa puka laeʻula, hōʻike aku au he mea kālele hua ʻōlelo (ʻo ia hoʻi he ʻlogogenicʻ) nā mele Hawaiʻi, no laila i loko o ia ʻano mele ua ʻoi aku nā hua ʻōlelo ma luna o ke kani o nā mele,” wahi a Lum. “A i kuʻu manaʻo ua pili pū kēia i ke mele Hawaiʻi, ʻoiai ʻaʻole e hala, ua lanakila ka ʻōlelo i nā paukū ma luna o nā mea ʻē aʻe.”

Me kēia makana, e hoʻomohala aʻe ana ʻo Lum i kāna pāleo mua loa mai ka makahiki 2023 ʻo Pewa ma o nā ʻano hou o ke mele Hawaiʻi, e paipai ana hoʻi i ka ʻaeʻoia o nā mea Hawaiʻi, a e ikaika mau ai ka ʻōlelo.

Ka paipai ʻana aʻe i nā hānauna hou

“ʻAʻohe wā hele kula maʻamau o ko māua mau mākua mai ka papa ʻeiwa ma Puna,” wahi a Teresa Makuakāne-Drechsel. “No laila, he mea kēia ʻike maka ʻana i kēia kākoʻo no ko Kealiʻi ʻimi laeʻula ʻana e hoʻomanaʻo ikaika mai nei i ka welo mau o ko nā mākua welo, a e hāpai ʻia aʻe ana nā alakaʻi ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi o nā hanauna e hiki mai nei.”

Ke kū nei ke Kōleke ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ʻo ia hoʻi ʻo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani o ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo ʻo ia ke kula hoʻokahi e mālama nei i ka papahana Laeʻula Hoʻōla ʻŌlelo a Moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi a ʻŌiwi. I ka makahiki 2023, ua kūkala kūhelu ʻia ua kula nei ʻo ia ke Kikowaena O Nā Waiwai ʻŌlelo ʻŌiwi o ʻAmelika me ka hoʻākea ʻana i ke kuleana o ia kula ma ka ʻaoʻao o ka hoʻōla ʻōlelo mai kekahi kapa a kekahi kapa aku o ʻAmelika.

“He welo kūmau ke kākoʻo a ka ʻohana Makukāne i ko mākou kōleke, mai ka wā o ko lāua makuahine [ʻo Lydia] i hana nui i ka hoʻomaka ʻana o nā papahana hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi,” wahi a Kaʻiu Kimura, ke poʻo o Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani. “He mea hanohano ka hoʻomau ʻana o ka ʻohana e hana pū me mākou e hoʻokō i kā mākou pahuhopu.”

Ke kahu mau ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi

He mea ka Makana Makuakāne e hōʻoia ana i ka loaʻa i nā haumāna, e like nō hoʻi me Lum, o nā waiwai e pono ai ka hoʻokō ʻana i nā kuleana noiʻi, ʻoiai e halihali ana i ke au e hiki mai ana nā loina kuluma a me nā waiwai i lilo ai ke Kōleke ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi he alakaʻi a puni ka honua no ka hoʻōla ʻōlelo ʻōiwi.

“He mea maʻamau ka hoʻomau ʻana i ke ola o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana i ko mākou ʻohana,” wahi a Makuakāne-Drechsel. “He mea kēia makana e hōʻihi aʻe ai i nā loina o ko māua mau mākua me ke kīpapa pū ʻana i ala na nā mea ʻē aʻe e hoʻomau aku i kēia hana koʻikoʻi.”

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By UH News

The spirit of mele Hawaiʻi and language revitalization are finding new life through the work of Nicholas Kealiʻi Lum, a Ph.D. candidate at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language.

Lum has been named the first doctoral recipient of the Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship. Established by the couple’s daughters, the fellowship honors the Makuakānes’ lifelong advocacy of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiian cultural education.

Lum is weaving tradition and innovation into his in-depth study of mele of old and new. His dissertation, “Pewa: I Ola ke Mele Hawaiʻi i kona Mele ʻia” (Pewa: The Life of Hawaiian Music in its Song), braids traditional Hawaiian mele to modern soundscapes, creating bridges between younger audiences and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi through experimental musical expression.

“In my dissertation, I define mele as being ‘logogenic,’ which means that words in a genre of music are more important than the musical treatment,” Lum explained. “And I believe that represents mele Hawaiʻi; it’s always the language within the text that is more important.”

With the fellowship, Lum will be able to build on his 2023 debut album Pewa, using experimental approaches to mele Hawaiʻi that promote both cultural resilience and linguistic vitality.

Uplifting future generations

“Our parents did not have formal educational opportunities beyond the ninth grade in Puna,” said Teresa Makuakāne-Drechsel. “Therefore, seeing this fellowship support Kealiʻi’s doctoral journey is a powerful reminder that their legacy continues to uplift future generations of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi leaders.”

UH Hilo’s College of Hawaiian Language is uniquely positioned as the only institution worldwide offering a PhD in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization. In 2023, it was also designated as the first National Native American Language Resource Center, further expanding its role in advancing language revitalization across the U.S.

“The Makuakāne family are longstanding supporters of our college, ever since their mother [Lydia] played a big role in the movement that started Hawaiian language revitalization,” said Kaʻiu Kimura, director of Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani. “It’s such an honor that the family continues to work with us to forward our purpose.”

Keeping ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi alive

The Makuakāne Fellowship ensures that students, such as Lum, have the resources to complete their research, while also carrying forward the cultural knowledge and values that make the College of Hawaiian Language a global leader in Indigenous language revitalization.

“Keeping Hawaiian language alive for future generations has always been important to our family,” said Makuakāne-Drechsel. “This endowment is our way of honoring our parents’ values while giving others the opportunity to carry on this important work.”

For more information contact the UH Foundation. This article was originally printed in UH News on October 28, 2025.

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Four individuals and the world’s top selling female Hawaiian musical group have been named to the 2024 class for induction into the prestigious Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame (HMHF).

The inductees will be honored at the Oct. 27, 2024, “Lei of Stars” ceremony at the ʻAlohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach which will feature a Sunday brunch.

“The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame annually honors persons who have contributed to promoting, preserving and perpetuating Hawaiian music and hula,” said HMHF President Toni Lee.

Kumu Hula George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai, who passed away in 2006, enjoyed an illustrious career as a dancer, drummer, musician and was a regular judge at hula competitions. He was a skilled chanter for the Aloha Week Court and a beloved hula and ʻukulele instructor for the City and County of Honolulu. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts.

Edwina Noelani Kanoho Mahoe is a musician, singer, recording artist, author, historian, kumu hula, music teacher and show producer. In the early 1960s she formed the Leo Nahenahe Singers along with Ethelynne and Mona Teves and Lynette Kaopuiki. She holds a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts.

Ledward Kaʻapana is a Grammy-nominated musician well known as a slack key guitar master. He also plays steel guitar, ʻukulele, autoharp and bass guitar. In his teens, Kaʻapana formed the legendary musical group Hui ʻOhana along with his brother Nedward Kaʻapana and falsetto great Dennis Pavao. Hui ʻOhana released 14 commercially successful albums. Kaʻapana also led the group I Kona and performed with the Pahinui Brothers, Genoa Keawe and Barney Issacs.

Kimo Alama Keaulana has more than 50 years of experience teaching all forms of hula. He has presented workshops, presentations and lectures for the Bishop Museum, the Kamakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, the Kawaihuelani Hawaiian Language Center, Liliʻuokalani Trust and many other civic organizations and societies. As a musical historian, his “Kimo Alama Keaulana Collection,” housed in the Bishop Museum Archives, is one of the museum’s most widely used collection and contains nearly 1,000 Hawaiian language songs with their translations, annotations and cross references.

As the world’s top-selling female Hawaiian music group, Nā Leo Pilimehana – Lehua Kalima Alvarez, Nalani Jenkins and Angela Escontrias – celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. The group has released more than 20 No. 1 hits, produced more than 20 CDs with a worldwide distribution, and they continue to write, record and perform. Nā Leo has more than 20 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards winning honors over four decades – the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.

The annual Lei of Stars awards ceremony is a fundraiser for the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Individual tickets are $200 and corporate tables of 10 are $5,000 to $10,000. For more information contact Toni Lee at parade.lady001@gmail.com.

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