By Ryan Anderson and Visa Castillo

NaHHA is proud to share an article from our Lamakū Hoʻokipa – Beacons of Hospitality – who exemplify the value of mālama and are making meaningful impacts as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.

The ʻōlelo noʻeau chosen as the theme for the 2026 Holokū Ball, “Ka Lama Kū o ka Noʻeau – The Standing Torch of Wisdom,” reflects both the enduring legacy of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and the collective responsibility of our generation to carry that legacy forward.

Through this year’s theme, the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu (HCCH) honors three distinguished leaders and organizations whose work embodies the vision of Prince Jonah Kūhiō in service to the lāhui: The Royal Order of Kamehameha I – Chapter One; Kali Watson, director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and Kūhiō Lewis a Hawaiian Civic Club member, homesteader, and Native Hawaiian community leader.

Established in 1928, the Holokū Ball is one of Hawaiʻi’s longest-standing Native Hawaiian legacy events now in its 98th year. More than a gala, it is a gathering that celebrates Hawaiian achievement, strengthens community relationships, and raises critical scholarship funds.

Celebrants at the 2025 Holokū Ball show off their finery on the red carpet. – Photos: Kat Wade Photography

This year’s Holokū Ball is on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at the historic Royal Hawaiian Hotel; a place rich with history and deep cultural significance.

Long before Waikīkī became a global visitor destination, it was the cherished home and retreat of many aliʻi, including our beloved Prince Kūhiō. Holding the Holokū Ball here serves as a powerful reminder that wahi kūpuna like Waikīkī remain Hawaiian gathering places where our stories, traditions, and celebrations allow us to continue to thrive.

For nearly a century, proceeds from the Holokū Ball have supported the HCCH Scholarship Fund with more than $1.3 million invested in over 2,000 scholarship recipients pursuing their educational goals at vocational academies, colleges, and universities in Hawaiʻi and abroad.

These investments help fulfill the objectives Prince Kūhiō laid out for HCCH in 1918 at our founding with a vision of a thriving lāhui empowered through education, knowledge, and opportunity to become the next generation of Native Hawaiian leaders.

Community members, businesses, and supporters are invited to join us for an evening of elegance, culture, and purpose. Table sponsorships, silent auction items, and direct donations to the fund will go towards support of educational scholarships. Together, we celebrate our past, invest in our future, and ensure that Prince Kūhiō’s legacy continues to flourish for generations to come.

To learn more, purchase tickets, send a silent auction or monetary donation, or to become a sponsor, please contact Holokū Ball co-chairs Ryan Anderson and Visa Castillo at hcch.holoku.ball@gmail.com.

The post The 98th Annual Holokū Ball appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

By Kamaka Pili

NaHHA is proud to share an article from one of our Lamakū Hoʻokipa – Beacons of Hospitality – who exemplify the value of mālama and are making a meaningful impact as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.

For many people today, Waikīkī is synonymous with tourism. For more than a century, its shoreline has been shaped by the visitor industry, beginning with the opening of the Moana Hotel in 1901, often called the “First Lady of Waikīkī.” That era established Waikīkī as a global destination known for luxury accommodations and oceanfront leisure. But in the broader story of Waikīkī, 125 years is only a short chapter.

Long before hotel towers lined Kalākaua Avenue, Waikīkī was the political and cultural center of Oʻahu for nearly 400 years. From the reign of chief Māʻilikūkāhi to the unification of the islands under Kamehameha I, Waikīkī was a thriving seat of governance, abundance, and innovation.

The area once known as Ulukou, near where the Moana Surfrider now stands, was home to Māʻilikūkāhi himself. Imagine Waikīkī, not as it appears today, but as a landscape of coconut groves stretching across the shoreline.

Even the name Waikīkī, “spouting waters” tells the story of this place. Waikīkī was sustained by freshwater springs and streams that fed expansive loʻi kalo and fishpond systems. The streams Kuekaunahi, ʻĀpuakēhau, and Piʻinaio once carried the waters of Mānoa and Pālolo to Waikīkī before being redirected with the construction of the Ala Wai Canal in 1928.

Today, those streams are no longer visible in the same way, and much of Waikīkī has been reshaped through urban development. Yet Waikīkī still remembers.

If you stand in the waters at Kaimana Beach, you are standing where Kamehameha arrived on Oʻahu in 1795 through the Kāpua Channel before the Battle of Nuʻuanu. These are not simply stories of the past, they are living landscapes layered with memory, ʻike, and meaning.

As a Native Hawaiian, Waikīkī was once a place I avoided. It felt overcrowded and disconnected from the Hawaiʻi I knew. But the more I learned its stories through mentors like Uncle Joe Recca and others, the deeper my aloha for Waikīkī grew.

With that aloha also comes kuleana, both a responsibility and a privilege; the honor of being entrusted with these stories, and the privilege of continuing to share them. It is this kuleana of knowing these places and speaking their names which ensures that the story of Waikīkī continues to flow like the fresh waters for which it was named.

Kamaka Pili is the owner of Now & Then Tours, a walking tour in Waikīkī that shares the rich history of place. A familiar face to many across Hawaiʻi through his years in television broadcasting, Kamaka is widely known for his passion for sharing place names in ways that reconnect people to the deeper identity of Hawaiʻi. For more info: nowandthentours.com

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By Nāpualokelani Kamakele

NaHHA is proud to share an article from one of our Lamakū Hoʻokipa – Beacons of Hospitality – who exemplify the value of mālama and are making meaningful impact as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.

In 1998, I left Hawaiʻi with my then husband, as a 21-year-old mother with an infant child, bound for a duty station in North Carolina. My story wasn’t the typical “priced out of paradise” narrative, but over time, as the cost of living climbed, returning home felt increasingly impossible. Frankly, I didn’t want to.

I built a career in Washington, D.C., navigating the “K Street Old Boys Network,” yet remained rooted in my kuleana. I stayed connected through hula and service as a board member of the Hawaiian Civic Club and the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association East Coast Region. My three children were raised to be proud Kānaka, even thousands of miles from Hawaiʻi.

After a divorce in 2016 and a devastating house fire in 2021, I reached a turning point. I stepped away from the corporate world to pursue a lifelong passion: sharing our culture through food. From years of feeding colleagues’ full spreads of kalua pig, shoyu chicken, poke, and more, Pua’s Plate Lunch was born.

The business grew through grassroots energy. Within three years, I built a loyal following, catering for Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office and the Washington Commanders’ training camp. My food truck became more than a kitchen, it was a classroom, a place to share culture and kuleana.

In 2025, I started making plans to come home. Today, just a few months into my return, I am still adjusting to island life while leading a branch office for an independent elevator company.

As I have throughout my career, I continue to hold space for other wāhine, ensuring opportunities for growth and advancement, paying forward what was once shared with me.

To my Kānaka in the diaspora: e hana kou leo. Use your voice. Educate, perpetuate, and advocate. Never let your zip code define your identity.

To my Kānaka at home: e hana kō kākou leo. Let’s create pathways and hold space for those seeking to come home. If you are in leadership, ask yourself how you can help “bring our people home” in sustainable ways. It must be more than a phrase; it’s time to hana ka lima.

Nāpualokelani Kamakele is a mother and community leader whose journey has spanned decades on the continent and recently returned her home to Hawaiʻi. Balancing her professional work with kuleana to ʻohana and community, she is strengthened by her commitment to serving others. As an entrepreneur and now general manager with Centric Elevator, she creates space for wāhine while championing pathways for kānaka to hoʻi i ka piko.

The post Hoʻi i ka Piko appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

By Jessica Wong

NaHHA is proud to share an article from one of our Lamakū Hoʻokipa – Beacons of Hospitality – who exemplify the value of mālama and are making meaningful impacts as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.

KAMEA began in the summer of 2014 when our oldest child was just one year old. In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, mea can refer to “things” or “creations,” the many expressions that come from our hands through ʻike, manaʻo, and lived experiences.

Sewing and crafting had always been part of my life, and in many ways, KAMEA grew from that simple idea: creating with care and intention. I never attended fashion school or earned a degree in design. When I first started, I only knew how to sew one style of dress. With patience, practice, and faith, that single design slowly grew into the collection we create today.

In the early days, I did everything myself, from cutting fabric and sewing each piece to tagging garments and shipping orders one by one. As the business grew, I began working with trusted manufacturing partners. Even now, designing and sewing remain deeply personal to me and where I feel most creative and connected.

Over time, our journey began to grow beyond clothing. My husband and I felt a calling to create opportunities for other small businesses like ours. That calling eventually became Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi.

The word kākoʻo means to uphold, support, and assist. Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi began as a small pop-up market with a simple purpose: to give local artisans and entrepreneurs a place to share their work and connect with the community.

Today it has grown into a vibrant marketplace rooted in collaboration and the spirit of hoʻokipa. Many of the businesses that participate are Native Hawaiian-owned and incorporate the ʻike, values, and stories of this place, along with a broader community of local makers who celebrate and respect Hawaiian culture.

During Merrie Monarch week that sense of community becomes even more meaningful. We are deeply grateful for the Merrie Monarch Festival and the way it brings people from across Hawaiʻi and around the world to Hilo to celebrate hula and Hawaiian culture.

My husband and I believe the marketplace can also be ministry. When we choose collaboration over competition, we strengthen one another. Leading with faith and aloha means creating opportunities, mentoring where we can, and remembering that success is meant to be shared. With faith, hard work, and a community that believes in you, even the smallest idea can blossom into something meaningful.

Jessica Wong is the founder of KAMEA and co-founder of Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi along with her husband, Kameaaloha Wong. She is a mother of three. Grounded in faith and guided by the values of our culture, Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi will host the Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi Market – One Merrie Event at Sangha Hall in Hilo from April 9–11, 2026. For more info and for ways you can support local and buy Native Hawaiian-owned products, visit kakoohawaii.com.

The post ʻAʻohe Hana Nui ke Alu ʻia – No task is too big when done together by all appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

To be a Native Hawaiian leader is to be courageous. It is to enter rooms that were not designed for us and to speak with clarity and conviction anyway. It is to advocate for Native Hawaiian voices at every decision-making table, not as token participants, but as rightful leaders. It is to carry kuleana that extends beyond job descriptions and titles.

In my work with NaHHA and through my writing for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, I am blessed to share stories from many Native Hawaiian women leaders. Leadership is not performance, it is responsibility. The same is true across our lāhui. Whether we are protecting ʻāina, advancing education, strengthening our economy, or nurturing our keiki, we are stewarding something far greater than ourselves.

We all ask the same questions, regardless of sector: Who benefits? Who decides? Who is sustained?

Indigenous leadership means building capacity within our communities so that our people are not only participants in systems, but designers of them. It means ensuring our youth see pathways to pride, prosperity, and resilience all around them. It means protecting culture from commodification and safeguarding our sacred spaces and practices with integrity.

Most of all, it means remembering that our work is intergenerational. I stand as a reflection of seven generations of ancestors behind me and as a promise to seven generations into the future. Every decision I make carries that awareness. Every Native Hawaiian woman I stand beside carries it too, whether she leads in a boardroom, a classroom, a loʻi, a clinic, or in her own home.

We may hold different roles, but we are united by the same intention: to choose our people every single day.

My call to action this Women’s History Month is simple: lead where you stand. Lead with courage. Lead with cultural grounding. Lead with aloha and actively uplift Native Hawaiian women who are doing the same.

When we center our values together, our leadership becomes more than representation. It becomes an act of resistance that strengthens our resilience. It becomes collective healing in motion. It becomes self-determination lived out in real time – for ourselves, for our communities, and for the many generations yet to come.

The post Carrying Kuleana: Native Hawaiian Women Rising appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Language isn’t just something we study, it is something we live. In Hawaiian thought, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is inseparable from place, purpose, and interaction. When we speak ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in context, it carries memory, responsibility, and connection, whether we are referring to ʻāina, community, work, or tourism.

This month’s Ka Wai Ola issue reminds us that revival is not nostalgia. The resurgence of hōlua sledding is not about preserving a relic of the past; it is about restoring practice and relationship between people and land across time. In the same way, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is meant to move, practiced with intention, not displayed without understanding.

In the hospitality industry, Hawaiian language is often present through signage, business names, and menus, sometimes in ways that do not properly reflect place. Presence alone, however, is not enough. How words are used, and who is involved in their use, matters. Moving forward requires humility and curiosity, asking whose stories are being told, who is being consulted, and whether language reflects relationship rather than assumption.

For Native Hawaiians, our role is not to position ourselves as distant critics, but as partners grounded in ʻike and lived experience. Feedback can begin with invitation rather than correction, by sharing context, offering meaning, and creating space for learning and understanding.

Trust grows when consultation is consistent, not occasional, when cultural practitioners are engaged early, not after decisions are made, and when stories are shaped with community. This is how ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi stays in motion, through relationship, shared responsibility, and care.

The post ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in Motion appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

ʻAʻole ʻo ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi he mea a mākou e aʻo wale ai, he mea e ola ai kākou. I ke kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi, ʻaʻole hiki ke hoʻokaʻawale ʻia ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi mai kahi, ke kumu, a me ka launa pū ʻana. Ke ʻōlelo kākou i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma kona mau pōʻaiapili e piha pono ai, ola nā hoʻomanaʻo, ke kuleana, a me ka pilina, inā paha e kuhi ana i ka ʻāina, ke kaiaulu, ka hana, a i ʻole ka hoʻokipa malihini ʻana.

Ke hoʻomanaʻo mai nei ka pukana Ka Wai Ola o kēia mahina iā kākou ʻaʻole ka hoʻōla hou ʻana he minamina wale ʻana i ko ke au i hala. ʻO ka hoʻāla hou ʻana i ka heʻe hōlua, ʻaʻole pili i ka mālama ʻana i kahi koena o ka wā i hala; pili i ka hoʻi ʻana i ka hana a me ka pilina ma waena o nā kānaka a me ka ʻāina. Ma ka manaʻo like, he pono ka holomua o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, e hoʻomaʻamaʻa ʻia me ka manaʻo, a ʻaʻole e hoʻopuka ʻia me ka maopopo ʻole.

Ma ka ʻoihana hoʻokipa, ʻike pinepine ʻia ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma o nā hōʻailona, nā inoa ʻoihana, a me nā papa kuhikuhi, a i kekahi manawa ma nā ʻano i hōʻike pono ʻole ʻia ai kahi e pono ai. Eia naʻe, ʻaʻole lawa ka loaʻa wale ʻana nō o ia mau hōʻailona. He mea nui ka hoʻohana ʻia ʻana o nā huaʻōlelo a me ka mea i komo i ka hoʻohana ʻana. I mea e holomua ai, he pono ka haʻahaʻa me ka haʻohaʻo, me ka nīnau ʻana no ke kumu o nā moʻolelo, iā wai e ʻimi ʻia nei ma ke ʻano he loea, a inā paha e hōʻike ana ka ʻōlelo i ka pilina ma kahi o ka mahuʻi wale ʻana.

No nā ʻōiwi Hawaiʻi, ʻaʻole ʻo ko kākou kuleana ka noho ʻana ma ka hoʻohalahala ʻana iā haʻi, akā naʻe ma ke ʻano he mau hoa ʻike o ka nohona Hawaiʻi. ʻO ke kūkaʻi manaʻo, he hoʻomaka nō paha ma ka hōʻike ʻana i ka pōʻaiapili ma mua o ka hoʻoponopono ʻana, ka hōʻike ʻana i ka manaʻo, a me ka hoʻokumu ʻana i kahi no ke aʻo ʻana a me ka maopopo ʻana.

Ulu ka hilinaʻi i ka wā e kūlike ai ke kūkākūkā ʻana, ʻaʻole i kekahi manawa wale nō; ke komo koke ka poʻe loea i loko o ka hana, ʻaʻole ma hope o ka hoʻoholo ʻana, a i ka wā e hoʻokumu ʻia ai nā moʻolelo ma ke kaiaulu. Pēlā nō ka holomua ʻana o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, ma o ka pilina, ka ʻauamo pū ʻana i ke kuleana, a me ka mālama pū.

The post Holomua ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

By Po‘okela Hanson

NaHHA is proud to share an article from one of our Lamakū Hoʻokipa who exemplify the value of mālama and are making meaningful impact as contributing members of the Native Hawaiian community.

“I Ka Wā Ma Mua,
I Ka Wā Ma Hope”

January 11 marks the 175th anniversary of the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD). Established by King Kamehameha III, HFD was the first fire department west of the Mississippi River and the first founded by a ruling monarch. Its creation reflected the deep sense of kuleana our aliʻi had to protect the people, the ʻāina, and the future of Hawaiʻi.

For more than seven generations, the HFD has been grounded in Hawaiian leadership and values. Members of the aliʻi class did not stand apart from the work, they immersed themselves in it.

King David Kalākaua proudly served with Engine Company No. 4. Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa, “Ka Haku o Hawaiʻi,” was named an honorary member. HFD has continuously perpetuated leadership in action, reflecting the significant role of fire service within the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Since its founding, HFD has evolved from hand-pulled carts and bucket brigades to advanced rescue teams and specialized response units. Beyond emergencies, firefighters serve in the community as mentors, teachers, and community partners strengthening community resilience across Oʻahu.

As a second-generation firefighter with the HFD, I am proud to be part of this legacy. I grew up watching my father and his fellow firefighters dedicate themselves to this work as a calling. Their lessons taught me that being a firefighter isn’t just about putting out flames, it’s about actively supporting and advocating for your community, being dependable, and caring for others with aloha.

Those same values of ʻauamo kuleana, hoʻihoʻi hou, and laulima guide us today. Through emergency response, prevention, and outreach, we honor our responsibility to protect people, place, and future generations.

When we visit schools and mentor youth, we perpetuate the spirit of the department and pass on the discipline, teamwork, and service that defines our profession. Through our prevention and outreach efforts, the next generation learns not just how to serve, but why we serve.

As the HFD looks ahead to the next seven generations of service, the foundation remains the same: courage rooted in compassion and service grounded in aloha ʻāina. The 175th anniversary is more than a celebration of history, it is a living reminder that we are part of a lineage of protectors bound by kuleana, inspired by aloha, and dedicated to the safety and wellbeing of our lāhui.

Poʻokela Hanson is a 17-year firefighter and currently serves as fire captain at Waipahu, Station 12. He is involved in the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) Explorer Program, supporting youth development and career pathways, and serves on Ka Manai Ahonui, HFD’s cultural advisory group. For more information about HFD’s 175th Anniversary and related events, follow HFD on Instagram or go to fire.honolulu.gov.

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Hawaiʻi made history in 2015 as the first state to adopt an energy policy to transition from a predominantly imported oil-based energy system to 100% clean energy sources by 2045. However, progress has been frustratingly slow.

Of Hawaiʻi’s six main islands, Oʻahu houses 70% of the state’s population and is facing an escalating energy reliability crisis. The clock is ticking, and an urgent response is required.

Recently, 20% of Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO) generation fleet was offline or operating at a significantly reduced capacity. Blackouts are an escalating concern.

The record for the largest HECO blackout was on Jan. 8, 2024, when rolling blackouts affected about 120,000 customers across two dozen communities on Oʻahu.

Oʻahu is more reliant on imported oil than anywhere else in the country. Due to the use of low-sulfur fuel oil – the most polluting of all energy sources – 67% of Oʻahu’s electricity is produced by burning oil, resulting in the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., given the island’s population.

The negative framework of Oʻahu’s dominant oil burning system is highlighted by the highest electricity costs in the nation at three times the national average, an aging grid system leading to an increasingly unreliable energy network, and escalating pollution.

The oil-based model struggles to meet increasing energy demands driven by Oʻahu’s urban economic growth. The continuing reliance on foreign oil imports keeps delaying the launch of large-scale renewable energy projects or the upgrade of Oʻahu’s power plants.

Hawaiʻi’s options for natural energy production include solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. The state is actively developing these renewable sources to reduce its reliance on imported oil.

It’s good news that Gov. Josh Green’s administration adopted the Alternative Fuels, Repowering, and Energy Transition Study, which outlines a practical path forward. The new strategy prioritizes reducing dependency on oil and expanding renewable energy sources by importing natural gas as a short-term fuel transition strategy that would immediately cut costs, lower carbon emissions, and improve grid reliability.

Natural gas would function as a temporary replacement for oil while transitioning to a platform of renewable energy sources.

Meanwhile, the state is actively developing its renewable resources to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Switching from oil to natural gas offers significant cost savings of about 15% for ratepayers, saving the average household approximately $340 a year.

Some critics argue that investing in natural gas would slow down the incorporation of renewables. The reality is the opposite. This plan escalates the transition.

Adopting a balanced approach to our energy strategy that incorporates natural gas to reduce costs and emissions in the short term while simultaneously scaling up renewables is a strategic option that would create a more affordable and sustainable future for Oʻahu. But the transition requires extraordinary leadership from HECO and the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office.

Meanwhile, islands such as Kauaʻi have successfully integrated renewable sources into their systems, lowering costs and reducing reliance on imported oil. I mua e Oʻahu!

The post Oʻahu’s Energy Future at Risk appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

One word we encourage people to avoid is “ancient.” While often used respectfully, it can imply that Native Hawaiian culture and people no longer exist. That we are relics of another time.

Referring to our kūpuna (ancestors, elders) as “ancient” risks separating them from who we are today. In truth, our kūpuna are not distant figures. Their knowledge, values, and practices are alive in us, in the way we care for ʻāina, raise our families, and practice our traditions.

Similarly, the phrase “Hawaiians of antiquity” may sound formal or scholarly, but it creates the same problem. The word “antiquity” is often used in academic settings to describe civilizations that no longer exist.

That framing does not reflect our reality as Native Hawaiians – a people whose ancestral line, cultural systems, and identity remain unbroken. Our kūpuna are not just of the past; they are our foundation and continue to guide our present and future.

This same understanding applies to wahi kūpuna, our ancestral places. In a Hawaiian worldview, these are not “ruins” or “relics.” They are living landscapes, imbued with the spirit and presence of those who came before us.

Wahi kūpuna connect us genealogically and spiritually, reminding us that our relationship to place is ongoing and alive. Just as our ancestors are not gone, their places are not forgotten. They are part of the same living continuum.

When referring to the time before Western contact, we prefer words that express the vitality and continuity of our people and culture. Terms like “kūpuna,” “early Hawaiian society,” or “early Hawaiian practitioners” honor the depth of our traditions while recognizing that they continue to live through us today.

Another word we encourage avoiding is “Hawaiiana.” This term became popular in the mid-20th century to describe Hawaiian- themed objects, stories, and practices. However, it often commodified and romanticized Hawaiian culture, turning it into a product rather than a living expression of Native Hawaiian worldview.

Today, we use “moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi” or “Native Hawaiian culture” instead. These terms center Native Hawaiian identity, sovereignty, and lived experience.

Language shapes understanding. When we choose words that reflect the living nature of our culture, we honor the resilience and strength of our people. Our history is not frozen in time, it moves with us, breathes with us, and continues to grow within us through every generation guided by the wisdom of our kūpuna.

The post Honoring Our Living Culture: The Power of Word Choice appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.