We are not waves. A wave is moved by forces outside itself, carried wherever the water pushes, spending itself on a shore it did not choose. Kānaka have never been that. We are the people who looked at the largest ocean on earth and chose to cross it – who read the stars and the swells and set out on purpose, carrying everything we were in the hull of a canoe. Hawaiʻi sits at the northern apex of Polynesia because our ancestors voyaged to reach it.

Movement is not something that happens to us. It is something we do, and have always done, and it is written into who we are.

I am one of the Hawaiians who left. I have spent much of my adult life away from the Islands – in Aotearoa and now in Canada – teaching, building programs, and mentoring young Indigenous scholars.

I know that for some at home, a Hawaiian who lives abroad can invite a quiet question: are they still truly one of us? I want to answer that question – not for myself alone, but for all of us who have gone out. The answer is older, and prouder, than the question.

Consider Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia. Born in Kaʻū around 1792 and orphaned young, he boarded a ship as a teenager and sailed all the way to Connecticut. There, far from any face that knew him, he hungered for learning and began the work of setting his own language down on paper. He longed to bring that learning home.

He never made it; typhus took him in 1818, at age 26. But his last words, spoken in a New England winter, were “Aloha ʻoe” – my love be with you. His body lay in Cornwall for 175 years, until his people brought him home to Kona in 1993. One of the first of us to venture out carried Hawaiʻi within him to his final breath – and in the end, Hawaiʻi brought him home.

He was not the last. Through the 19th century, Kānaka shipped out aboard whaling and trading vessels and earned a reputation for being among the finest seamen afloat. Many settled along the Northwest Coast of the American continent, married into the Native nations there, and became beloved of them. They were called Kanaka – and they wore the name gladly. It stuck.

You can still find it written across the map, up and down the coast of British Columbia and inland: the homeland, planted wherever our people came to rest. Generations later, their descendants still turned their faces toward Hawaiʻi. A people do not leave their name across a coastline because they have forgotten themselves. They do it because they carry home so completely that they leave a piece of it everywhere they land.

And we did not only sail outward on others’ ships. We sent ourselves, deliberately, as a matter of national purpose.

Between 1880 and 1892, King Kalākaua and the Hawaiian Kingdom dispatched 18 young Hawaiians to study in six countries – Italy, Scotland, England, China, Japan, and the United States – in the program known as Hawaiian Youths Abroad.

They studied engineering, medicine, art, music, and military science, chosen to become the leaders of an independent nation. The going out was not exile; it was a commission from the crown. They were sent to gather the knowledge the lāhui needed – and to show the world that here was a nation of character, intellect, and talent, fit to stand among the nations of the earth. They were our representatives. We have never stopped sending them.

My own family is woven into this same current. My father, Herman Piʻikea Clark – whose name I carry – and his older brother, my uncle James Kalaeone Clark, both went from Punahou to Oregon State and into the National Football League.

My father, an all-pro guard for the Chicago Bears in 1955 and 1956, was later named to the NFL’s Half- Century team. Decades after his passing he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame by a committee that knew him only by reputation. My uncle, a guard for the Washington Redskins, came home to serve his people in the Hawaiʻi Legislature.

My great-uncles Duke and Sam Kahanamoku stood on Olympic podiums, Duke with three gold medals among the five he won across three Games, the brothers sharing the stand together at Paris in 1924. They competed against the whole world and beat it. Duke lived many years on the West Coast and carried Hawaiʻi with him wherever he went, becoming the man who gave surfing to the world. Not one of them became a drop less Hawaiian for having gone.

Even our treasures have made this journey and kept their meaning. In Chicago, Kulamanu McWayne Nash – a woman of aliʻi descent, connected by blood to Queen Liliʻuokalani herself – kept the kāhili, the feathered royal standards of our chiefs, through a lifetime far from home.

She carried her lineage and her mana with her, held these treasures in trust across the years away, and in 1949 gave them onward, knowingly, as Hawaiian things. The mana traveled. It was held, honored, and passed on. That is not the story of a people losing themselves at a distance. It is the story of a people keeping faith across one.

I left for the same reason my ancestors did: because the work I was called to do required knowledge that, at the time, I could not pursue at home. Years ago, I made the first attempt to begin a Native Hawaiian art and design course at the University of Hawaiʻi – the first taught from an Indigenous Hawaiian perspective – and it took root, carried forward by others after me.

But the deeper questions I needed to ask reached beyond what the institution, as it then was, could hold. I looked to Canada, to Australia, to programs across the United States, and I came to a clear conclusion: the world leader in the indigenization of higher education and the decolonizing of arts education was Aotearoa.

I was fortunate to be invited to live and work there as an academic, and there, as a Kanaka Maoli scholar, I earned my doctorate – supported and encouraged to study from within my own knowledge system. I stayed 20 years. I did not leave Hawaiʻi behind. I went to fetch what Hawaiʻi had sent me for.

And I am in good and current company. Kānaka Maoli now hold some of the most distinguished posts in the world.

Kēhaulani Kauanui is the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Professor of Indigenous Studies at Princeton University. Noelani Arista directs the Indigenous Studies Program at McGill, one of Canada’s finest universities, where she organizes Hawaiian knowledge for a new century. The baritone Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey based in Chicago is the premier Verdi baritone of his generation; he has sung the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto on the great stages of the world, and not long ago came home to sing in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. I had the privilege of sitting in the audience in Toronto for his Rigoletto, swept up and overawed by the power and presence of that Hawaiian voice filling the hall.

These are not disconnected Hawaiians. They are among our finest – our leading minds and voices in the very fields of our excellence, representing the lāhui on the world’s largest stages.

This is why I believe we should think differently about our diaspora. With more Hawaiians now living away from the Islands than within them, the old anxiety – that to leave is to fade – has things exactly backward.

We are not refugees, scattered and diminished. We are voyagers and carriers, doing what we have always done: going out into the world and bringing our culture, our kūpuna, and our way of seeing with us, as a gift we give wherever we land.

Our diaspora is not a weakness to be explained away. It is an exemplar of our strength, our resilience, and our continuing excellence proven, as it has been for two centuries, in open competition on the world stage.

So, when someone asks whether a Hawaiian who lives abroad is still truly Hawaiian, I think of ʻŌpūkahaʻia with aloha on his lips in the Connecticut cold, and of the seamen who left our names along a far coastline, and of Kalākaua’s young scholars sent out to announce a nation. I think of a king who understood that to love your country can mean crossing an ocean for it.

We have always gone out. We have always carried home with us. And like ʻŌpūkahaʻia, in the ways that matter most, we always find our way back. We are voyagers still.

The post Nā Holomoana: We Are Voyagers Still appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

By Shani J.P. Butts

We just wrapped the 2026 King Kamehameha I Lei Draping Ceremony in Washington, D.C., and this one felt different. There was an air of excitement, celebration, and a call to action that left so many feeling invigorated and inspired.

Our mother, Darlene Kehaulani Butts, lovingly known as Aunty Kehau, was a pillar in the Hawaiian community and a constant presence at this event. She served as chair of the King Kamehameha I Lei Draping ceremony for decades.

Aunty Kehau had an appreciation and respect for protocol that went beyond the typical recognition for the necessity of order and procedures – she almost had a fascination with protocol and took pride in educating herself and others.

Combining Hawaiian and political protocol for an event on the East Coast honoring one of our aliʻi was no easy feat. As you might imagine, the Kamehameha Lei Draping Ceremony in D.C. was Aunty Kehau’s time to shine.

This year’s theme highlighted Kamehameha I’s last words: “E ʻoni wale nō ʻoukou i kuʻu pono ʻaʻole e pau” (continue the good that I have done for it is not yet finished). Those words have a whole new meaning for our ʻohana as we carry on our mom’s mission to honor our aliʻi on the East Coast.

May 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Aliʻi Diplomatic Missions and Other Business Travel to Washington, D.C., project completed in conjunction with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. As shared in the publication:

“The inspiration for initiating this research were the leaders of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu, Hale O Nā Aliʻi O Hawaiʻi and Māmakakaua – Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors who traveled together to Washington, D.C., the week of September 13, 2003, to walk the halls of Congress and speak with U.S. Senators. These representatives of the Native Hawaiian Royal Societies sought support for the establishment of a process of federal recognition for Native Hawaiians as a step in the process of reconciliation between the United States and Native Hawaiians, to reaffirm the legal and political legal status as Indigenous sovereigns, protect existing rights and assure perpetuation of the distinct Indigenous Hawaiian culture through self-determination.”

In September 2026, Ke Aliʻi Makaʻāinana Hawaiian Civic Club, in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition, are excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this publication in our nation’s capital. We hope you will join us as we retrace the footsteps of our aliʻi in Washington, D.C.

The post Retracing the Footsteps of Our Aliʻi appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

• Monthly Columns

• The 98th Annual Holokū Ball
• New Report Exposes the True Costs of the U.S. Military in Hawaiʻi
• He Alo a He Alo
• Crossing Into Pō
• Of Families and Cousins and Lineal Descendants and Ancestral Ties
• Kauluhāweo: Wraparound Services for Haumāna
• The Numerous Insights in Historic Newspapers
• He Kini a Mano ka ʻIke i nā Kiʻi Nūpepa Kahiko
• Register Now for Our Fall 2026 Programs!
• A Home for Hope in Challenging Times
• What Does This Look Like on My Plate?
• Retracing the Footsteps of Our Aliʻi

• Cover Features

• Giving Kūpeke Back to Itself

• Featured

• 2026 Primary Election Updates
• An Ancestor Under Fire: The Cultural and Environmental Impact of RIMPAC
• Mural Depicts the Kumulipo and the Origin of Creation
• Budgeting Erasure: Defending Our Ea and Political Status
• Molokaʻi is Ready for Another Option
• Design Tips: Nail Art From Molokaʻi

• News

• Public Notice | July 2026
• News Briefs | July 2026

• Community

• Family Reunions: July 2026
• Mākeke | The Marketplace | July 2026
• Haliʻa Aloha | July 2026

• OHA

• Key Provisions in the 2027 NDAA Support Negotiated Solutions
• Chinn Named OHA Director of Human Resources
• Why OHA Should Consider Owning KITV and KIKU
• Professionalism, Respect, and Our Responsibility to the Lāhui
• Two Worlds, One Foundation: Hawaiian and American Ideals of Freedom
• I Mua Kākou

• Moʻomeheu | Culture

• A Letter to the Lāhui
• Mural Depicts the Kumulipo and the Origin of Creation

• Economic Stability

• Molokaʻi is Ready for Another Option
• Design Tips: Nail Art From Molokaʻi

• Educational Pathways

• A Letter to the Lāhui

• Governance

• 2026 Primary Election Updates
• Budgeting Erasure: Defending Our Ea and Political Status

• Ha‘i Mana‘o | Opinion

• Don’t Let Kalaupapa Become a Tourism Destination
• Seeking Kōkua for Kaimana
• Pursuing 7 Billion in 2027 to Stop the Genocide

• ‘Āina | Land & Water

• New Report Exposes the True Costs of the U.S. Military in Hawaiʻi
• An Ancestor Under Fire: The Cultural and Environmental Impact of RIMPAC
• Mural Depicts the Kumulipo and the Origin of Creation

• On the Continent

• Seattle Artist Reclaims Culture Through Kapa Making
• Nā Holomoana: We Are Voyagers Still

The post Ka Wai Ola | Vol. 43 No. 7 | July 2026 appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Iwi Nails was born in late 2021 by owner Līhau Willing’s desire to create nail art designs that reflect her culture and identity rooted in Hawaiʻi.

The wahine born in South Kona met her husband from Molokaʻi, and prior to settling on the Friendly Isle in 2009, the pair spent some time in Korea. It was there that Willing was exposed to the global beauty industry, particularly gel nail strips and accessories. Upon returning to the Islands, she researched what it would take to produce a long-lasting product with ʻāina-inspired designs.

Today, “Iwi Nails offers semi-cured gel nail strips and custom press-ons, with a focus on community engagement through collaborations with local artists and nonprofits,” according to its website. “Unlike typical nail strips, you cure these after application for a manicure that lasts 3-4 weeks when applied correctly.”

She recalled a couple of her first collections, Hebrew cone shell and pastel palaka prints, which are still among the brand’s most popular designs.

“On that first day, I had 50 orders and it went from there,” she said. “It was very much unplanned.”

Storytelling is a priority, she adds, noting that intentional moʻolelo is included in the packaging, on the website and through social media. “One really important thing for me is making sure that Hawaiʻi has accurate cultural representation not just on the continent but across the world. Our designs aren’t just for Hawaiʻi people to wear.”

Willing joined Purple Maia Foundation’s FoundHer, a business accelerator for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Asian women entrepreneurs across Hawaiʻi, as part of the 2022/2023 cohort. She also filmed a commercial with Disney Advertising called “Let Your Nails Do The Talking,” now streaming across Disney+ and Hulu.

Iwi Nails can be shopped online and in wholesale retailers across the Islands. Last November, Willing launched her first storefront on Molokaʻi, which also showcases other local makers.

“It’s been really good and offers a curated boutique vibe,” she said. “As a business owner [here], there are benefits and struggles — shipping is a struggle, cost can be restrictive, networking and mentorship is tough. But the community is strong and supportive.”

Expanding the company’s reach and partnerships continues to be a focus. Iwi Nails will be at pop-up markets in Honolulu over the summer, including the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival on August 20-23.

The businesses’ Look Good Do Good program donates a percentage of sales to various causes. Its Behbeh collection, in collaboration with @elc.designs, has supported Kūlaniākea, a Hawaiian immersion early learning program committed to raising the next generation of ʻŌiwi leaders. Other collaborations have benefited student designers from Molokaʻi High School; Kona nonprofit Kupa ʻĀina o Keauhou, which aims to protect natural resources, community spaces, and sacred historical places; AND The Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation, which aims to support, empower, educate, unify and facilitate LGBT organizations and individuals across the state.

“As I started to hone in on Iwi’s purpose, people connect to the designs and seeing themselves in it, right? The nails are such a powerful way of self-expression. So, being able to choose a design that feels truly yourself, it’s huge,” Willing said. “What I started to realize was that I could share what felt like me and some people might relate to that. But the more I could share other people’s perspectives and identities, the more people would be able to find belonging in these designs. We’ve shared a lot of unconventional stories that you wouldn’t think would be through nails.”

Willing is the brand’s sole employee, though, she has brought on part-time workers to help with fulfillment previously, she said, adding, “I wanted to create more job opportunities but then it became difficult to afford it, especially with the surge in tariffs. I had to pare down. I’m looking to bring back a team eventually.”

She is also the primary designer, which she does by hand working with simple block shapes.

When asked what advice she’d give to other Hawaiʻi small business owners, she said, “Give in to the delusion.”

“I’ve had to think big and believe this is totally going to work and just commit. You have to be in it 100%. It’s never going to be easy,” Willing said. “It’s a crazy steep learning curve owning a business. I didn’t expect it to evolve and probably would have done things differently if I knew more from the beginning. But it has taught me to give myself a little more grace, to be flexible and resilient. Understanding the importance of a vision, or something you’re working toward, is what keeps me going.”

This article is reprinted with permission from “Aloha State Daily, the new news for Hawaiʻi.” Read more at alohastatedaily.com and sign up for its free daily edition email at alohastatedaily.com.

The post Design Tips: Nail Art From Molokaʻi appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Nearly every weekend, Jay-R Kaawa boards a flight between Maui and Molokaʻi. The trips are not usually for work; they are for family.

Kaawa, head of Summer and Extended Learning at Kamehameha Schools Maui, regularly travels home to Molokaʻi to care for her father, who is living with dementia. At least once a month, she and her siblings help fly him to Maui or Oʻahu for appointments and support. Other times, she makes the trip to check on him, spend time with him and help manage his care. For Kaawa, transportation is not a convenience. “It is a necessity. We need reliable air transportation. Bottom line,” she said.

Her story is one shared by families across Maui Nui who routinely travel between Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui and Oʻahu for healthcare, work and time with loved ones. That reality is why many residents are paying close attention to Lānaʻi Air’s plans to expand service to Molokaʻi.

The airline, which began as a charter service connecting Honolulu and Lānaʻi, has evolved over the past several years. Originally created to transport visitors to Lānaʻi, the company expanded public ticket sales in 2024 and now markets itself as another option for island residents. Earlier this year, Lānaʻi Air announced plans to begin service to Molokaʻi, adding a second commercial air carrier to an island that has spent years with limited transportation options.

The expansion marks the latest step in the company’s growth. The airline intends to operate four daily roundtrip flights between Molokaʻi and Honolulu using their 19-seat Cessna SkyCourier aircraft. They have been promoting the aircraft’s larger cabin and accessibility features while emphasizing its goal of improving transportation options for residents traveling for healthcare, education, work and family obligations.

Kaawa flies home nearly every weekend and estimates she spends at least $220 on airfare each trip. Sometimes, she said, a one-way ticket can cost more than $200. “Just from an economic standpoint, having a competitor will hopefully bring down fares,” she said. While she considers herself fortunate to be able to afford those trips, she worries about residents who cannot.

“If one plane is out of commission, the whole schedule is messed up,” she said. Despite those challenges, Molokaʻi residents continue to find ways to get where they need to go.

“We’re resourceful in that way, we always find ways to make things work,” Kaawa said. Some residents catch rides on boats operated by friends or family members. Others coordinate travel with fishermen making trips between islands. For many, finding transportation is simply part of daily life. “We’re going to make do with what we have, but that doesn’t mean it’s right,” she said.

Accessibility is another concern. Because of his dementia, Kaawa’s father often struggles boarding smaller commuter aircraft. While he remains physically capable, navigating the tight spaces of a small plane can be difficult. “I literally have to hold his head down and crawl him into the plane,” she said.

At least once a month, Kaawa and her siblings fly their father to Maui or Oʻahu so he can spend time with family and receive additional support. While neighbors and family friends often help transport him when needed, she worries about the burden placed on others.

“I would feel much better knowing it’s a plane that doesn’t seem so cramped,” she said. For families caring for kūpuna and loved ones with medical conditions, the size of the aircraft matters. Many residents travel with walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen equipment or other medical devices. Others simply find boarding small commuter planes difficult. Kaawa believes a larger aircraft could make a meaningful difference for those families.

Maui lifeguard Kaipo Garcia has seen firsthand how important reliable transportation can be during some of life’s most difficult moments. Inter-island travel is part of his family’s routine. His sister lives on Lānaʻi and regularly travels because her daughter is undergoing cancer treatment.

“She flies every week because my niece has cancer,” Garcia said. Like many families living on smaller islands, they rely on flights to access specialized healthcare services unavailable at home.

Garcia has also heard stories from residents whose travel plans were disrupted by delays and cancellations. “They were missing their appointments,” he said. “They’d make their doctor appointments based on the [flight’s] arrival time and then delays would happen.”

The importance of reliable transportation became personal earlier this year when Garcia’s father passed away on Lānaʻi.

Living on Maui, he immediately searched for a flight home. His father died shortly before 8:00 p.m. Garcia was able to book a last-minute flight and arrive in time to be with his family. “I made reservations last minute,” he said. “At least I got there.” The flight allowed him to help carry his father from his bed to the hearse.

For Garcia, that experience reinforced something many Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi families already understand. Transportation is about much more than getting from one island to another. It is about being present when family needs you most.

Community members have also pointed to another reason they are optimistic about Lānaʻi Air’s expansion: familiar faces. During community outreach events, residents met airline employees who previously worked for Island Air, a carrier that served neighbor island communities for decades.

Many Molokaʻi residents already knew them. That familiarity, Kaawa said, helped build trust. “It’s local folks that we know and have seen frequently while traveling,” she said.

Some residents also see the airline’s hiring of former Island Air employees as a sign that local knowledge and experience remain part of the company’s approach. While questions remain about how the expansion will ultimately affect the community, many residents say they are hopeful.

No airline is immune from weather disruptions, maintenance issues or operational challenges. But for residents accustomed to limited options, another carrier represents something many have wanted for years: a choice.

“We’re grateful for what we have,” Kaawa said. “But we’re ready for another option.”

The post Molokaʻi is Ready for Another Option appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Located on Chicago’s South Side, where Barack and Michelle Obama first built their careers in public service, the Center stands as a monument not simply to a presidency, but to the idea that democracy works best when ordinary people become engaged citizens.

The sprawling campus includes a museum, public library, community gathering spaces, athletic facilities, gardens and public art installations designed to encourage learning, reflection and action.

The exhibits highlight President Obama’s journey from community organizer to the White House and includes a replica of the Oval Office and documents key moments of his administration.

Yet the Center’s broader purpose extends beyond preserving history and seeks to inspire future generations to participate in shaping America’s future. That mission takes on added significance amid the political and cultural battles we face today.

Across the country, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs have led to the dismantling of many initiatives in government, education and business. Objections surrounding the teaching of race and American history continue to be challenging.

And reproductive rights, same-sex marriage protections, transgender rights, voting access, immigration policy, and the role of government in addressing inequality all have become deeply contested issues.

We supporters of Obama’s legacy remember his presidency as an era that expanded access to health care, celebrated America’s diversity, advanced protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and emphasized civic participation.

Critics, meanwhile, have argued that some of those policies expanded federal authority too far and/or contributed to cultural divisions. These differing viewpoints continue to make our political landscape even more volatile.

The Obama Presidential Center serves as a reminder of a period in American history when the nation elected its first African American president and embraced a message of “hope and change.” The Center’s opening also offers an opportunity to reflect on a fundamental truth: democracy is not static. Every generation debates the meaning of freedom, equality, opportunity, and justice. Those conversations can be contentious, but they are also part of the American story.

For Native Hawaiians, the Center carries an additional lesson. Like many communities that have struggled to preserve their identity, culture and rights, we understand the importance of civic engagement and political participation.

Progress rarely occurs by accident. It is achieved when people organize, advocate, vote and work together toward a common purpose.

As visitors walk through the halls of the Obama Presidential Center, they will encounter the history of one presidency. More importantly, they will be challenged to consider their own role in the future of our democracy. In an era marked by division and uncertainty, that may be the Center’s most enduring contribution – a belief that citizens still possess the power to shape the nation they hope to leave for generations yet to come.

As for me, I agree and can’t wait to visit.

The post A Home for Hope in Challenging Times appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Follow your doctor’s advice by asking for one clear next step. You might ask: What is one food I can add more often to support this condition? Or, what is one food or drink I can replace with a healthier choice?

These are some of the most empowering questions you as a patient can ask. Asking questions does not mean you are challenging your doctor or being disrespectful.

Information gives you a sense of direction, and direction helps move you from worry to action. It means you are helping your medical provider understand what your real life looks like. It means becoming an active participant in your care, so you can leave with enough understanding to take the next step.

Your doctor may know your labs, diagnosis, and medications, but you know your kitchen, your budget, your family meals, and the foods you grew up with. When you ask, “What does this look like on my plate?” you are bringing those two worlds together. That is where good advice can become a plan you actually follow. It is one way we take kuleana for our health.

For doctors and other providers, this question is worth listening to because it may determine whether motivation turns into real-life action. Patients often look to you as a trusted guide, and one clear answer can help them leave the visit with hope, direction, and a next step they can follow.

They may be wondering: Can I still eat the foods I grew up with? Do I have to give up rice, poi, ‘uala, or the meals my family shares? What changes can I make without feeling overwhelmed?

Beneath these questions, they are really asking, “Can you help me understand this diagnosis in the context of my real life?” Patients do not always need a long lecture or a perfect meal plan. They need one clear, doable next step.

Instead of only saying, “eat better” or “exercise more,” say, “this week, try adding one vegetable to dinner,” “switch one sugary drink to water or unsweetened tea,” or “walk for 10 minutes after your largest meal.”

Last year, I shared about my FoodRX Assistant app, created for individuals and families who want personalized nutrition guidance, meal plans, and recipes. I recently launched FoodRX Clinical, created for health professionals, offering evidence-based nutrition protocols and culturally tailored patient handouts.

Together, these tools are meant to support both sides of the care conversation, helping patients and providers move from general advice to clearer answers to the question: “What does this look like on my plate?”

The post What Does This Look Like on My Plate? appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Fall Term programs are generally available from August 10 through December 18, while Fall Break programs will be available from October 5-9, providing kamalei with safe, enriching, and fun places to learn, grow, and connect while school is out.

ʻOhana can look forward to a full season of programming, along with engagement opportunities offered throughout the fall.

Programs will be available at all LT service locations across the pae ʻāina, making it easier for ʻohana to find a program that fits their needs. LT’s programs are designed to strengthen identity, build skills, and nurture wellbeing to help kamalei on their path to thriving.

ʻOhana are invited to explore the full lineup of offerings in LT’s Fall Program Catalog, available on our website: onipaa.org/browse-programs-and-services.

To begin the enrollment process, ʻohana should complete LT’s General Interest Form. This short form helps our team better understand your ʻohana’s goals and guides you through the next steps to connect with the right program.

We look forward to helping your kamalei thrive through our many program offerings!

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OHA Revives ʻAha ʻŌpio Civic Engagement Program After 20 Years

RIMPAC Protested Across the Pae ʻĀina

On June 24, kiaʻi from the Hoʻopae Pono Peace Project, a coalition of organizations, gathered just after sunrise outside the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters near Pearl Harbor to bless and honor the lands, creatures and people harmed by RIMPAC. Meanwhile, in Kailua and Kāneʻohe, members of Hui Aloha ʻĀina o Koʻolaupoko hung banners protesting RIMPAC from overpasses. On June 28, kiaʻi from Malu ʻĀina and Protect Pōhakuloa organized an afternoon RIMPAC protest along Bayfront Highway in Hilo.

RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific), is the biennial international military exercise conducted in Hawaiʻi. This year, it began on June 24 and will conclude July 31. Military personnel from 31 countries are currently in Hawaiʻi, at the invitation of the U.S., for five weeks of war games that will include over 30 surface ships, 206 aircraft, at least five submarines and about 30,000 personnel.

The protests are part of a larger, decentralized movement of organizations and individuals working to stop RIMPAC. The Stop RIMPAC website says, in part, “the bombing of a peaceful, neutral country under an illegal occupation has already gone on too long … killing dolphins and whales, destroying sacred places, and polluting the ocean with tons of toxic chemicals to better prepare for war is unacceptable.”

In addition to raising awareness of the harm that RIMPAC causes, the movement is circulating an “END RIMPAC” sign-on letter online. Key areas of concern outlined in the letter are RIMPAC’s negative environmental, social and political impacts.

Addressed to Gov. Josh Green, Hawaiʻi’s Congressional Delegation, Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, Admiral Stephen T. Koehler, and the heads of states of all countries participating in RIMPAC, the letter calls for the immediate and permanent termination of RIMPAC, restoration of the lands and waters affected by RIMPAC, and for the return of all Hawaiian lands in safe and healthy condition once leases expire.

RIMPAC includes amphibious operations, gunnery and missile exercises, anti-submarine warfare and a sinking exercise (SINKEX) of a decommissioned naval ship. The devastation to the marine ecosystem cannot be overstated.

According to the letter, during RIMPAC, a “take” (i.e., kill) permit is granted to the military by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) allowing for the deaths of over a million marine animals per cycle as acceptable collateral damage from the missiles, explosives and gunfire deployed during live-fire exercises.

SINKEX bombing exercises release large quantities of toxins into the water including PFAS, PCBs, asbestos and heavy metals that poison fish and contaminate the marine food chain. Turtle nesting areas and coral reefs are severely harmed by amphibious landing exercises. And sonar used during naval war games terrify and disorient cetaceans like whales and dolphins, often resulting in death.

The letter states that besides the devastating environmental consequences, sex trafficking increases dramatically during RIMPAC. Bars and strip clubs even hang “Welcome RIMPAC” banners outside their establishments during the exercises. For more information or to sign the letter go to endrimpac.org.

Oʻahu Rainwater Capture Program

Nonprofit Mālama Maunalua recently launched its Get Rain Ready Rainwater Capture and Incentive Program in collaboration with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Facility Maintenance. The program’s goal is to help Oʻahu’s communities reduce flooding and pollution in our waters.

They are currently seeking applicants from homeowners for the free direct-install program. Selected applicants will receive a free rain barrel installed on their property, a rain garden, or a native tree. Each of these rainwater capture solutions help to reduce storm water runoff within that watershed.

“Rainwater catchment systems, like rain barrels, are crucial for mitigating storm water runoff, especially during heavy rainfall events like we’ve been experiencing,” said Mālama Maunalua Executive Director Doug Harper. “Whether the homeowner chooses the rain barrel, a rain garden, or a native tree, these systems will work together across a watershed to capture and manage rainwater, protecting the waterways that feed into the ocean.”

Rainwater capture solutions are a cost-effective way for residents to protect Oʻahu’s precious groundwater, reduce localized flooding, mitigate storm water pollution in streams and the ocean, and potentially save money on water bills.

For more information or to apply, go to rainwaterhawaii.com and click the “Apply Now” button. The application window is open now through July 15. Program requirements and application instructions are on the website. To qualify for the rain barrel installation, applicants must have an existing rain gutter and downspout.

Blaisdell-Brennan Receives National Honors

Dr. Helen Kaleleonalani Blaisdell-Brennan, MD, has received multiple honors from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), including recognition as a Mental Health Equity Champion and Resident Fellow Mentor. In May she was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the APA and granted the 2026 APA Rural Psychiatry Award.

The Distinguished Fellow designation is among the organization’s highest honors. The Mental Health Equity Champion recognition highlights leadership in advancing culturally responsive care and reducing disparities in access, while the Rural Psychiatry Award recognizes outstanding contributions in rural and underserved communities.

Blaisdell-Brennan is a two-time past president of the Hawaiʻi Psychiatric Medical Association and has served on the boards of numerous organizations including: Ke Ola Mamo Oʻahu Native Hawaiian Health Care System; Hui Hānai; St. Andrew’s Schools; the Honolulu County Medical Society; and ʻAhahui o nā Kauka, the Native Hawaiian physicians association.

Now in private practice, she served for 17 years as a psychiatrist at Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center focusing on mental health equity, suicide prevention, physician workforce development, and improving access to care for rural and underserved populations.

Blaisdell-Brennan graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and Harvard College. She earned her medical degree from UH’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and served as chief resident at the University of California, Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Freitas Appointed to UH Board of Regents

Makai Freitas has been appointed to the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents by Gov. Josh Green. The Board of Regents is responsible for the general management and oversight of the University of Hawaiʻi system.

Freitas is a distinguished labor leader with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union with more than 20 years of experience in organizational leadership and workforce advocacy. He has a track record of cross-sector collaboration, working with educators, public agencies and community organizations, and has spearheaded complex negotiations and strategic workforce development initiatives that have strengthened economic opportunities for Hawaiʻi families.

In addition to his leadership in the labor sector, he is the West Hawaiʻi representative on the Hawaiian Homes Commission within the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. In this role, Freitas advocates for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, focusing on affordable housing, community development and educational advancement.

A graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and the University of Arizona, Freitas brings a balanced perspective of statewide advocacy and local community insight. He resides in Waimea with his wife, Aulani, and their two daughters.

“Higher education plays a vital role in Hawaiʻi’s future. I look forward to strengthening the university’s mission of teaching, learning and community service,” Freitas said.

Hoʻomaikaʻi to Pūʻōhala’s First Graduating Class!

Kanakaʻole Named DLNR Chair

Ryan Kanakaʻole has been appointed by Gov. Josh Green to serve as chairperson and director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), effective July 7, 2026. Kanakaʻole replaces Dawn Chang who has retired.

Kanakaʻole has been acting chairperson since December 2025. Prior to that, he served as DLNR first deputy. He is on the advisory committee for military leased lands and represented DLNR on the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority, Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, the Agribusiness Development Corporation Board and the Commission on Water Resource Management.

Before joining DLNR, Kanakaʻole was a deputy in the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General. From 2017 to 2023, he was a deputy attorney general for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Kanakaʻole is from Waiʻōhinu on Hawaiʻi Island. He graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, has a BA in Political Science from UH Hilo, and a Juris Doctor, along with a certificate in Native Hawaiian Law, from William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa.

“Serving the people of Hawaiʻi is an enormous responsibility, one I take very seriously. Our public trust duty to protect the cultural, historical and life-giving resources of these islands is the legacy we pass on to our children. I remain committed to leaving this place better than we found it,” Kanakaʻole said.

Keaulana Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

On May 16, Waikīkī Film Awards, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Film Alliance, presented world-renowned Mākaha waterman Brian Keaulana with a Hawaiʻi Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born and raised in Mākaha, Keaulana is one of the most influential watermen of all time and is widely recognized for revolutionizing ocean safety practices, including the use of jet ski rescue techniques.

Over the decades, Keaulana’s ocean expertise in the waters of the west side was parlayed into work in the film industry when he was tapped to provide critical support and consultation to major film and television productions including Waterworld (1995), 50 First Dates (2004), Jurassic World (2015) and Hawaiʻi Five-O (2010-2020).

He has also acted, with appearances in movies including The Big Bounce (2004) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). And he played himself for two seasons on Baywatch: Hawaiʻi (1999-2001). Keaulana has also worked as a producer, a stuntman, and stunt coordinator in numerous other productions.

His work in the film industry and commitment to the Hawaiian culture and community inspired Keaulana to co-found the International Cultural Arts Network (ICAN), a nonprofit dedicated to elevating, educating and empowering diversity in Hawaiʻi’s television and film industry focusing on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

950 Acres of Kāneʻohe

ʻĀinapreneur Network Launched

Changemakers Hawaiʻi, an ʻŌiwi-led nonprofit, is launching the ʻĀinapreneur Small Business Network, a new community- rooted initiative designed to help Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs grow businesses that are connected to place, guided by values, and built for shared prosperity.

The network brings together small business owners, aspiring founders, creatives, makers, workforce participants, mentors, funders, and community partners to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Members will gain access to peer connection, mentorship, business education, capital-readiness support, resource sharing, visibility opportunities, and collaborative partnerships.

“For too long, our local founders have had to choose between growing their business and staying true to their cultural values. With the launch of the ʻĀinapreneur Network, we’re proving you can do both,” said Changemakers Hawaiʻi Founder Olani Lilly. “This is a collective of leaders who are as committed to the health of our ʻāina as they are to their bottom line.”

Grounded in the “4 Ps” – Place, People, Purpose, and Prosperity – the ʻĀinapreneur Network is built to help entrepreneurs move ideas into action while keeping capital, relationships, and opportunity circulating within Hawaiʻi.

“Capital should be a relationship, not just a transaction,” Lilly said. “Our goal is to see every dollar recirculate back into our islands, building a regenerative economy that honors our home.”

Changemakers Hawaiʻi hosted a virtual soft launch on June 25 for entrepreneurs and partners interested in becoming founding members.

For more info go to https://changemakershawaii.org/ainapreneurs

Another Attack on Pacific Marine Monuments

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The Trump Administration wants to open Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Sanctuary to commercial fishing. – Courtesy Photos

On June 11, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation intended to allow commercial fishing in the Mau and Hoʻomalu Zones of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, as well as in the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.

The order threatens critical species habitat within and around the monument and disregards Native Hawaiian cultural practices, beliefs and conservation efforts in the region. Environmental law firm Earthjustice will take legal action in response.

Deputy Managing Attorney David Henkin from Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific Office asserts that not only would commercial fishing in marine monuments be disastrous for the environment, it does not help the fishing industry. “Without fishing in the monuments, U.S.-based fisheries hit their catch limits for tuna every year. Safe havens allow marine life to maintain healthy populations and prevent corporate greed from stripping the ocean of life,” he said.

Research shows that no-fishing zones in marine monuments significantly boost fish stocks. Establishing marine monuments as safe havens allow fish to grow larger and reproduce more successfully which leads to a spillover effect in which excess fish migrate to adjacent waters ultimately increasing commercial catch rates.

This latest order follows similar attacks on the environment by the Trump Administration, including the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument in early 2025. In that case, Earthjustice sued on behalf of Kāpaʻa, the Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi, and the Center for Biological Diversity, and in August 2025 a federal district court struck down the resumption of commercial fishing in the monument.

The post News Briefs | July 2026 appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Aloha pumehana kākou. Ma waena o nā momi i loko o nā nūpepa kahiko, aia nā kiʻi o nā manawa iki (moments) i paʻi kiʻi ʻia – nā manawa iki e hōʻike ana i ka hanohano o ka lāhui Hawaiʻi.

ʻO kekahi o ia mau kiʻi ke kiʻi o ka Hale o Nā Aliʻi ma nā alapiʻi o ʻIolani Hale Aliʻi e hoʻomanaʻo ana iā Kamehameha ʻEkahi ma ka lā nui nona—ka lā nui ʻo Kamehameha i hoʻokānāwai ʻia e kona moʻopuna, e ka mōʻī Kamehameha V, Lota Kapuāiwa ma 1871.

Ma ka nānā pākākā ʻana i ke kiʻi (nāna ma lalo), he kiʻi wale nō ia o kekahi hui kānaka. Akā, ua maopopo ʻia e nā kānaka noiʻi me nā kānaka kākau mōʻaukala, na ke kiʻi kahiko e kono a hoʻolalelale i nā nīnau i loko o ka mea nānā. ʻO wai nā kānaka i ke kiʻi? No ke aha mai lākou e kū nei pēlā? Ma hea lākou? Ināhea i paʻi ʻia ai ke kiʻi?

ʻO ka nīnau “ʻO wai?” ka mea maʻalahi e pane ai. Aia ma ka lepe kiʻi kēia: “HUI KA HALE ALII MA KE ALAPIʻI O KA HALE MANA HOOKO…”

ʻO ka Hale o Nā Aliʻi (House of Chiefs) kekahi hui i hoʻokumu ʻia ma hope o ka hoʻokāhuli aupuni a i ʻōili ma ka makahiki 1911 i mea e mau ai ka hana a Kalākaua ma kāna Hale Nauā, kekahi hui i mālama i nā moʻolelo a me nā moʻokūʻauhau o nā kūpuna.

Ua pane ʻia ka nīnau “Ma hea?” ma ka lepili “ma ka ke alapiʻi o ka Hale Mana Hoʻokō.” ʻOiai ua pau ke aupuni Hawaiʻi i ka lima pākaʻa, ua kū haʻaheo ka Hale o Na Aliʻi ma ka ke alapiʻi o ʻIolani Hale Aliʻi i mea e kākoʻo mau ai i ka mana o nā aliʻi.

ʻO kekahi nīnau koʻikoʻi ʻē aʻe ka nīnau “Inahea?” Ua paʻi ʻia ke kiʻi ma ka makahiki 1914, ka wā o ka Territore a he wā i luna ʻia e nā ʻElima Nui (Castle & Cooke mā). Na lākou e hopu ana i ka mana o ke kālaiʻāina, ka ʻona ʻāina, me ke kālā he nui mai nā ʻāina mahikō.

No laila, koʻikoʻi ke kiʻi no ka mea aia ka Hale o Nā Aliʻi ke kū ʻonipaʻa a lōkahi nei no ka mana o ka lāhui Kanaka me na mea i ʻona ʻole ʻia e ka ʻElima Nui: ka moʻokūʻauhau, ka moʻolelo, ka moʻomeheu, ka ʻōlelo.

No ke aha mai lākou e kū nei ma nā alapiʻi? Ma kekahi mau moʻolelo nūpepa o ka wā like, ua ʻōlelo ʻia ua kū haʻaheo ka Hale o Nā Aliʻi ma ʻIolani Hale O Nā Aliʻi ma ka lā paikau ʻo Kamehameha.

ʻO ka ʻAhahui Māmakakaua, ua kū kiaʻi lākou ma ka kia ʻo Kamehameha. A ʻo nā kāne o ka Medala Mōʻī ʻo Kamehameha me nā wahine o ka ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu, ua paikau lāua ma ke alanui Mōʻīkāne mai ʻAʻala, kūnou ma ke kia ʻo Kamehameha, huli hema ma Kauikeaouli ʻĪpuka, kaʻalo i ka Hale o Nā Aliʻi, huli hema a puni ka hale aliʻi.

ʻO kekahi mea kupanaha ʻē aʻe i loko o ke kiʻi ʻo ia nō ʻo kekahi kiʻi ʻo Kūkāʻilimoku, ke akua kaua a Kamehameha. Ua hoʻokō nō ka mana o ke aupuni Hawaiʻi.

No kākou, he mea hoʻomanaʻo ia mau kiʻi kahiko. ʻAʻole moakāka nā pane, akā na nā nīnau e alakaʻi iā kākou i kekahi ʻike hohonu e pili ana i nā kūpuna i paikau no kākou ma lā Paikau ʻo Kamehameha ma kēlā wā.

The post He Kini a Mano ka ʻIke i nā Kiʻi Nūpepa Kahiko appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.