For decades, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has stood alongside the community in supporting the festival and uplifting the cultural traditions that Merrie Monarch helps to perpetuate. As the home campus of poʻe hula, UH Hilo continues to play an important role in honoring and engaging with the festival each year.

The roots of this relationship stretch back to the earliest days of Merrie Monarch. The festival began in 1964 following the devastating 1960 tsunami that reshaped Hilo. Community leaders envisioned a celebration that would restore pride in the town, revitalize the local economy, and bring people together. What began as a lively community festival eventually evolved into the internationally respected hula competition known around the world today.

When the festival nearly dissolved in the late 1960s, Aunty Dottie Thompson stepped forward with a powerful vision inspired by the cultural renaissance of King David Kalākaua.

With guidance from respected hula masters such as ʻIolani Luahine and Edith Kanakaʻole, the festival shifted toward a deeper commitment to traditional hula. The first hula competition debuted in 1971 with nine hālau and the first Miss Hula, now known as Miss Aloha Hula.

Last November, members of the Hilo community had the opportunity to hear more about the festival’s history and evolution during UH Hilo’s Kuleana & Community Talk Story series, a weekly campus gathering that invites community stewards to share the kuleana they carry in their professional and personal lives.

Festival President Luana Kawelu and Festival Vice President Kathy Kawelu (Associate Professor of Anthropology at UH Hilo) reflected on their family’s longstanding stewardship of the Merrie Monarch Festival and the deep connection between the festival and the Hilo community that sustains it.

UH Hilo’s connection to Merrie Monarch continues through educational programs, student involvement, and community partnerships. This spring semester, UH Hilo students are exploring the legacy of King Kalākaua through a special topics course examining the monarch whose cultural vision helped inspire the festival itself.

During Merrie Monarch week, the university will host presentations and cultural gatherings that invite students and the broader community to deepen their understanding of hula, mele, and Hawaiian cultural revitalization.

Many of these events will take place at the university’s ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, including a panel titled “Cultural Renaissance in Motion: Merrie Monarch’s Enduring Influence on ʻŌlelo, Mele, and Hula.” UH Hilo professors Dr. Kalena Silva, Dr. Larry Kimura, and Dr. Kekoa Harman will reflect on the festival’s role in strengthening key pillars of Hawaiian cultural resurgence.

Across campus, Merrie Monarch week is also marked by cultural performances and student engagement. Visiting hālau share special presentations, international students offer cultural performances celebrating their own traditions, and UH Hilo student-athletes volunteer during the festival by helping to operate concession stands that serve thousands of attendees. These campus events, branded Kahikuonālani in honor of King David Laʻamea Kalākaua, exhibit UH Hilo’s ongoing commitment to connecting learning, community, and aloha.

In Hilo, the Merrie Monarch Festival is not simply an event. It is a reminder that culture lives through the people who carry it forward.

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“Ola ka inoa o nā kūpuna, hoʻomau ʻia i ke kahua hoʻomanaʻo.”

Ma ia kahua hoʻomanaʻo hoʻokahi nō i hāpai ʻia ai ka inoa ʻo Mary Kawena Pukui ʻo ka meʻe kupuna o ka lāhui, ma ka makahiki i hala iho nei. He lālani kēia mai loko mai o ke mele a Pukui i haku ai no ka Hale Hōʻikeʻike ʻo Pīhopa, kona honua hana no nā makahiki he nui. Mai ka mahina ʻo ʻApelila a hiki i ka lā 19 o Kekemapa ma ka makahiki 2025, ua mālama ʻia ka pukaʻina ʻo “Nānā I Ke Kumu,” he mau hanana e hāpai aʻe ana i ka ʻike kūhohonu a manomano o ka Hawaiʻi a me ka hoʻoilina a kēia wahine kupaianaha maoli nō, ʻo Mary Kawena Pukui, i waiho ai na kākou.

ʻOiai ua hoʻolālā ʻia kēlā me kēia hui ʻana e kekahi pūʻulu liʻiliʻi, he mau limahana mai ka Hale Hōʻikeʻike ʻo Pīhopa a me kekahi poʻe lālā o ka Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, ua alu pū nā loea o nā ʻano hana kuʻuna like ʻole: ʻo ka hula ʻoe, ʻo ke oli ʻoe, ʻo ka hana noʻeau a hoʻoponopono ʻoe, nā kumu, nā palapala moʻolelo, nā hui Hawaiʻi a me nā hoa kaiaulu me ka manaʻo e hoʻomanaʻo, hoʻomau, a hoʻolaulaha i nā hana noʻeau a ʻoi kelakela a ka lāhui aloha.

ʻO ka hāpai aʻe i ke akamai a me ka noʻeau o ka Hawaiʻi ka pahuhopu nui o kēlā me kēia hanana i mālama ʻia ihola.

ʻAʻole nō i like nō a like ka papahana akā ma o ka hula, ka hīmeni, ka haʻi moʻolelo, ka hōʻikeʻike, a me ka noho pānela paha i hoʻoulu a kahukahu ʻia ai ka ʻike ma waena o ka poʻe o ka wā i hala a me ka poʻe o ke ao kanaka nei. Ua hōʻoia ʻia ka manaʻo o Liholiho Kamehameha II ma kona puana ʻana aʻe i nā lālani kaulana no ke akamai a ka Hawaiʻi: He hoʻomau hoʻoilina ola kā kākou e hoʻokō ai.

He lāhui naʻauao, aloha ʻāina, hakuhia, a hana pūpūkahi kākou. He poʻe lanakila ma ka pae ʻoi kelakela mai ka wā kahiko a hiki i kēia e kū nei akā pono kākou e kūlia mau i ka nuʻu a hoʻoulu i ia ʻano kuanaʻike ma waena o ka hanauna hou.

ʻO ka hoʻoilina aloha a Mary Kawena Pukui ka ʻīkoi o kēia hana. Nāna nō i ʻohi, palapala, a aʻo aku i ka ʻike o ko kākou mau kūpuna – ʻo ka ʻōlelo ʻoe, ʻo nā moʻolelo ʻoe, a ʻo ka hana kuʻuna ʻoe – i ō mau kēia ʻike no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. Wahi a Pukui: “ʻO ka ʻike, aia ma laila ke ola.”

Ma loko o kāna puke ʻōlelo noʻeau, ua palapala ʻia: “E kanu meaʻai o nānā keiki i kā haʻi,” ʻo ia hoʻi, na kākou e hōʻike aku a hoʻoulu i ka mauli ola Hawaiʻi ma loko o kā kākou mau keiki i ʻole nalowale, i ʻole e puni wale aku nā ʻōpio i ka ʻike o nā lāhui ʻē.

Ua makemake ke kōmike hoʻolālā i ka pukaʻina e hoʻonoʻonoʻo i ke anaina a paipai i ka hoʻoulu i ka “ʻai maikaʻi” no ko kākou lāhui aloha. E like me kā Pukui, he aha kā kākou e hana nei no ka pono o ka lāhui o kēia mua aku?

ʻO ke alu like o nā kānaka he nui ma luna o ka pahuhopu hoʻokahi kekahi hua nani i ʻike ʻia; ka hana a ke kupuna me ka moʻopuna, ka hana pū o nā hui ʻokoʻa kekahi me kekahi. Ua pūpūkahi nā limahana o ka Hale Hōʻikeʻike ʻo Pīhopa, nā ʻelele o ka Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, a me nā kānaka i haʻiʻōlelo a hōʻike paha me ke aloha. A ʻoiai ua pani ʻia kēia pukaʻina, ʻaʻole e pau ke alu like ʻana ma waena o kākou i mea e hoʻoholomua ai i ka lāhui Hawaiʻi.

He wahi leo mahalo kēia i nā lima a pau i komo ma ka hoʻokō i kēia pukaʻina ʻo “Nānā I Ke Kumu” – nā haʻi ʻōlelo, nā puʻukani, nā ʻōlapa, nā kanaka noiʻi, nā lālā o ke kōmike hoʻolālā, nā kōkua manawaleʻa, ke anaina nānā, a me nā mamo a Pukui. E hoʻolele ʻia ana nā pukana ma ʻŌiwi TV i kēia makahiki 2026 a ke hoʻolālā ʻia nei kekahi mau hoʻonui ʻike hou aku.

E ola mau ka inoa o nā kūpuna!

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“Ancestral names live on, perpetuated at this commemorative foundation.”

In this shared place of remembrance, the name of Mary Kawena Pukui – beloved kupuna and champion of the lāhui – was lifted up over the past year. These words come from a mele she composed for Bishop Museum, her life’s work and professional home for many years.

From April through Dec. 19, 2025, the “Nānā I Ke Kumu” series was held – a sequence of gatherings that elevated the depth and breadth of Hawaiian knowledge, as well as the enduring legacy left to us by this remarkable woman, Mary Kawena Pukui.

While each gathering was planned by a small team of Bishop Museum staff and members of the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, practitioners and experts from many fields came together: hula, oli, the creative arts, hoʻoponopono, educators, historians, Hawaiian organizations, and community partners. Together, they shared a common purpose: to remember, to continue, and to uplift the cultural excellence of our lāhui.

The central goal of each gathering was to elevate Hawaiian intelligence and creative brilliance.

Though no two programs were the same, knowledge was nurtured and woven across generations through hula, song, storytelling, exhibitions, and panel discussions, bridging those of the past with those of the present. In doing so, the words attributed to Liholiho Kamehameha II about the excellence of Hawaiian knowledge were affirmed: this is a living inheritance that must be carried forward.

We are an intelligent, land-loving, creative, and collaborative people, long successful at the highest levels from ancient times to today, yet we must continually strive for excellence and cultivate this worldview within the rising generation.

At the heart of this work is the beloved legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui. She gathered, documented, and taught the knowledge of our ancestors – language, stories, and cultural practices – so that it might endure for generations to come. As Pukui stated: “Knowledge is life itself.”

In her collection of ʻōlelo noʻeau, she reminds us, “Plant the food of your own children, not that of others,” calling upon us to nurture Hawaiian identity and vitality within our children, so they are not lost nor drawn only to the knowledge of other peoples.

The planning committee envisioned this series as an opportunity for reflection and a call to cultivate “good nourishment” for our lāhui, echoing Pukui’s enduring question: what are we doing today for the wellbeing of the generations yet to come?

One of the most beautiful outcomes was the collective effort of many people united by a single purpose; kupuna working alongside moʻopuna, and organizations collaborating in shared commitment. Staff of Bishop Museum, representatives of the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, and all presenters came together in a spirit of aloha. And although this series has concluded, we shall continue to collaborate on projects that seek to advance our people.

This is a voice of gratitude to all who made “Nānā I Ke Kumu” possible – speakers, musicians, dancers, scholars, planning committee members, volunteers, audience members, and the Pukui ʻohana. Episodes of this series will be broadcast on ʻŌiwi TV in 2026, with additional community-based learning opportunities already in development.

May the names of the ancestors live on always!

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These two global events – centered on Indigenous knowledge, language revitalization, and the role of youth in shaping culture – highlighted UH Hilo’s leadership at the intersection of scholarship, ʻike kupuna, and community.

Held at UH Hilo and chaired by Dr. Patsy Y. Iwasaki, the New Directions in the Humanities conference marked the first time this prestigious gathering was hosted in Hawaiʻi. Previous locations included Paris and Rome, with Lisbon, Portugal, set to host next.

The conference opened with a kīpaepae welcome ceremony, grounding guests in the spirit of the land and people of Hawaiʻi.

Under the theme “Oceanic Journeys,” scholars, students, and cultural practitioners explored the humanities through a Pacific lens. Presentations spanned topics from language reclamation and Indigenous storytelling to cultural continuity and place-based education. A field trip to the luapele – the volcanic landscape sacred to Pele – provided an experiential learning opportunity rooted in Hawaiian ways of knowing and deepened participants’ understanding of the connection between land, language, and identity.

UH Hilo faculty, staff, and students played central roles sharing research, performing mele and oli, and engaging in cross-cultural dialogue. The conference affirmed UH Hilo’s strength as an Indigenous-serving institution committed to community-centered and place-based education.

Weeks later, UH Hilo’s voice resonated from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where university representatives participated in the 2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Under the theme “Youth and the Future of Culture,” the Hawaiʻi delegation led the Language Reclamation Program. Representatives from UH Hilo leadership, Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, and the National Native American Language Resource Center shared mele, oli, hula, and strategies for revitalizing ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.

A key facilitator for the folklife festival was UH Hilo alumnus Hālena Kapuni-Reynolds who serves as a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. His leadership helped ensure that Indigenous voices from Hawaiʻi were highlighted with respect and authenticity on this national stage.

Visitors to the Hawaiʻi tent participated in intergenerational dialogue and hands-on activities, learning how language restoration is deeply tied to land, education, and cultural identity. In a powerful gesture of continuity, several “Oceanic Journeys” attendees visited the Hawaiʻi tent to thank the UH Hilo delegation for extending the spirit and ʻike of the conference to the nation’s capital.

Whether we are hosting a conference as kamaʻāina at our own university or attending as malihini at a national gathering, our relationship to Hawaiʻi remains central to who we are and how we engage. In every setting, we carry this ʻike (knowledge), aloha, and the values rooted in this ʻāina with us.

These gatherings affirmed a shared vision: that the humanities are most powerful when grounded in place, lived experience, and Indigenous knowledge systems. UH Hilo’s presence at both events underscored its commitment to cultivating future cultural leaders – those who carry tradition forward while envisioning and shaping a resilient future.

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The coin features Pukui adorned with a hibiscus flower, a kukui nut lei, and a muʻumuʻu, alongside the inscription “Nānā i Ke Kumu,” a reference to the influential book series she co-authored.

As her great-granddaughter, I carry the privilege and kuleana of stewarding her legacy. While this national recognition is deeply meaningful, those who knew her best remember her humility.

“I know Tūtū Kawena would probably blush at all the attention because she was very haʻahaʻa,” reflects one of her descendants. “She documented our culture out of love for her people and because she was genuinely interested in learning.”

On March 28, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – where I serve as director of Native Hawaiian engagement – hosted a panel discussion and kanikapila to celebrate this historic recognition and Women’s History Month. The event brought together scholars, cultural practitioners, and community members to reflect on Pukui’s enduring legacy. The kanikapila honored her musical compositions. Coupled with impromptu hula offered by attendees, the event highlighted many aspects of her contributions.

This commemoration at UH Hilo exemplifies the university’s commitment to bridging academic scholarship with community engagement. By celebrating Pukui’s work, UH Hilo demonstrates the importance of integrating cultural knowledge into education and ensuring that Indigenous traditions remain a vital part of Hawaiʻi’s academic landscape.

Beyond UH Hilo, the Bishop Museum in collaboration with the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society will continue honoring Pukui’s legacy with monthly programs, beginning with a special After Hours opening event on April 11 and ending in December. These offerings reflect a broader effort to ensure that future generations connect with her scholarship and its lasting impact on Hawaiʻi.

The recognition of Pukui on the 2025 Native American $1 coin is a testament to her invaluable contributions and the importance of linking scholarship with community priorities. Through such efforts, places like UH Hilo play a vital role in keeping Indigenous knowledge relevant, accessible, and deeply connected to the people it serves.

Pelehonuamea “Pele” Suganuma Harman resides with her ʻohana in Puna on Moku o Keawe and is the great-granddaughter of Mary Kawena Pukui. She is an educator, community advocate, kumu hula, and the director of Native Hawaiian Engagement at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

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