By Brook Kapūkuniahi Parker
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.
I ka wā kahiko, in the times of our earliest ancestors, three vital elements guided daily life: moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy), hoʻomana (spiritual practice), and moʻolelo (historical memory). These were not separate subjects, but deeply intertwined strands of one system of knowledge, binding ʻohana together and giving integrity to our society. Together, these foundations supported the strength and resilience of our ancestors for generations.
Today, these ancestral ties still resonate deeply, connecting us to our kūpuna and shaping our identity. To know where you come from is to recognize the continued presence of your ancestors in your daily life. We are reflections of those who came before, binding us across time.
To research your moʻokūʻauhau is to experience the profound joy of rediscovery. It is to find pieces of yourself in those who came before. To recognize your own way with words in the flowing script of your great-grandmother’s letters, or to see the familiar shape and expression of your grandchild’s eyes reflected in the gaze of a long-gone relative. These moments are not mere coincidence, they are hōʻailona, affirming your place in the ongoing, living line of our people.
As an artist, I feel this ancestral presence in the work I create. When I paint warriors, aliʻi, and kūpuna, I do not see strangers, I see relatives. I can feel their mana, I dream of their faces, the way they hold themselves, their expressions, and my brush becomes a conduit between past and present. They are ʻohana whose blood still flows through our veins.
We are the continuation of our ancestors and a bridge to our descendants. Every Kanaka is connected and no matter their starting point, we each can find connection. We are the survivors of every struggle our people have ever faced. With diligence and kōkua, we can uncover the ties that unite us all. And as we do so, may we pause with intention and ask ourselves: What kind of ancestor are you going to be?
Brook Kapūkuniahi Parker is a Native Hawaiian artist, historian, and genealogist known for his powerful portraits of aliʻi and kūpuna that celebrate Hawaiian identity, bridging past and present. He and his wife, Drena, have raised their five children in Hawaiʻi, grounding them in the values of Hawaiian culture. hawaiianatart.org
