Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - March 1, 2023

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK MARCH 1, 2023
An Engaging Hip-hop Anthology Of Hawaiian History
By Maile Naehu, program director of Hui o Kuapā and co-founder of Ka Hale Hoaka
I’m a parent to three kanaka maoli keiki and co-founder of Ka Hale Hoaka, an online school of Hawaiian learning, and it’s my mission to create more educational resources that are tailored for the native initiative Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi. The Hoʻokupu project began when a high school Hawai- ian studies teacher asked if I considered creating a cur- riculum that tells Hawaiʻi’s history through hip-hop. The crew was born from my im- mediate ʻohana and beloved and trusted friends.
The group is composed of some of Hawaiʻi’s best hip- hop emcees, artists, academ- ic professors, cultural prac- titioners and educators. We lived together for 10 days in the ahupuaʻa of Kūmimi, Molokaʻi, at my husband, Hanohano Naehu, and my home. There, we worked
the community and serve as a model of a flourishing ah- upuaʻa mauka a makai.
Hoʻokupu is an offering to Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi. We are alchemizing the meaning of oral storytelling by telling our story in a traditional fashion blended with the hip-hop, education and me- dia. The project’s long-term vision is to tour the islands and schools with a stage per- formance including the full Hoʻokupu team, dancers and projected images to al- low the audience to journey through Hawaiʻi’s history in a way that has never been done before.
Members of the Ho‘okupu team found reasons to celebrate during the creation of their album on Moloka‘i.
Streamed across multiple countries, the album is free to listen to and download. The project was optimized by creating supplemen- tal resources, including a Learner and Teacher Re- source Guide. This collabo- rative project is being used in classrooms as a resource to teach Hawaiʻi’s history. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s School of Educa- tion was one of the first to implement the Hoʻokupu curriculum in the classroom.
To support Hui O Kuapā, visit huiokuapa.org/hook- upu. There, you can find links and order the Hoʻok- upu Learner and Teacher Resource Guide.
PHOTO COURTESY KAWAHINE‘ILIKEA NAEHU
to restore a fishpond while creating, composing and re- cording the Hoʻokupu album together. The album was re- leased Sept. 2, 2022, which is the birthday of Queen Liliʻuokalani, Hawaiʻi’s last
reigning monarch.
Hui O Kuapā is a non-
profit organization founded in 1989 by communities on Molokaʻi and it’s the organi- zation that spearheaded the project. Its mission is to as-
Follow us on Instagram (@hui_o_kuapa) and Face- book (@huiokuapa), or con- tact alohahaloa@gmail.com or 808-558-8575.
sist in the grassroots efforts to restore the Molokaʻi fish- ponds back to productivity. The objective is to increase food production from both the loko iʻa and adjacent lands to feed and educate
island school
(808)-246-0233 www.ischool.org

Pre-K through 12th Grade.
Tours are available by appointment Visit today!
This project aligned with that mission in that it was created for all learners and all ages to strengthen their relationship to Hawaiʻi. Hui o Kuapā is led by my hus- band, who is the head kiaʻi loko and director. I serve as the program director.
Creating that
“place of peace
and balance”
in your garden
(808) 828-6400
www.gardenpondskauai.com
In Kilauea, next to Mini Golf • Open Wed-Sun • 12 to 5 pm
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