Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa
Name	Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa
Native name	Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa
Formation	1976
Founder	Kealakai Kiona
Headquarters	Honolulu, Oʻahu
Region served	Hawaiʻi
Focus	Hawaiian language, Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian studies, scholarship

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa is a Hawaiian scholarly and cultural organization founded in 1976 to advance Hawaiian language revitalization, promote Hawaiian studies, and support community-based research into Indigenous knowledge. The organization operates from Honolulu and collaborates with universities, cultural institutions, and community groups across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Through conferences, publications, educational programs, and archival projects, it has influenced policy debates and curricular development at colleges and cultural centers.

History

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa was established in the mid-1970s amid a wider Hawaiian Renaissance that included figures such as ʻĪmaikalani Kalua, Mary Kawena Pukui, and George Kanahele and institutions like the University of Hawaiʻi, Kamehameha Schools, and the Bishop Museum. The organization emerged alongside movements such as the Hawaiian Civic Club revival, the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana protests, and the founding of ʻAha Pūnana Leo immersion preschools, responding to language loss documented by scholars from Yale University and the East–West Center. Early activities involved partnerships with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Hawaiʻi State Archives, and community leaders who had been active in the Treaty of Annexation debates and land rights litigation related to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa’s archives grew through contributions from kūpuna, educators, and researchers affiliated with institutions like the Lunalilo Home and the Kīpuka Center, reflecting scholarship that interacted with works by David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander.

Mission and Goals

The mission emphasizes revitalization of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, preservation of traditional navigation practices, and promotion of contemporary Hawaiian arts. Goals include supporting research partnerships with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, collaborating with the Department of Education’s Hawaiian Language programs, and advising cultural policy at the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa seeks to bridge practitioners such as kumu hula, kānaka maoli leaders, and voyaging crews like those of Hōkūleʻa with academics from Stanford University, Columbia University, and the University of California system to ensure Indigenous epistemologies inform curricula and museum exhibits at institutions such as the Bishop Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.

Programs and Activities

Programs have ranged from Hawaiian language immersion workshops and oral history projects to navigation seminars with voyaging organizations and environmental stewardship initiatives in partnership with the Nature Conservancy and Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Activities include annual symposia that draw presenters from Harvard University, Yale University, the East–West Center, and the Pacific Islands Forum, certificate programs developed with Kapiʻolani Community College and Hawaiʻi Community College, and community archives supported by the Library of Congress and the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System. Outreach projects have included exhibits co-curated with the Honolulu Museum of Art, public lectures featuring researchers affiliated with the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Australian National University, and cultural exchanges involving the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Cook Islands National Museum.

Membership and Organization

Membership comprises kūpuna, educators, researchers, and students from institutions such as the University of Hawaiʻi, Brigham Young University–Hawaiʻi, and Leeward Community College, as well as representatives from Kamehameha Schools, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and community organizations like Hui ʻAloha ʻĀina and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. Governance includes a board of trustees with advisors drawn from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, and nonprofit leaders from the Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. Committees coordinate work with partners such as the East-West Center, the Pacific Islands Development Program, and UNESCO field offices, while volunteer chapters liaise with municipal councils and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Cultural Impact and Education

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa has influenced curricula adoption in the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, supported immersion teacher training at ʻAha Pūnana Leo and Kamehameha Schools, and contributed materials used at the University of Hawaiʻi and community colleges. The organization’s cultural initiatives intersect with hula halau, mele composers, and voyaging practices exemplified by Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, affecting language policy debates that reached the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Partnerships with museums like the Bishop Museum, the Iolani Palace Foundation, and the Smithsonian have increased public programming on Hawaiian genealogies, traditional agriculture (ʻāina), and celestial navigation, while collaborations with media outlets such as Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now broadened public engagement.

Publications and Resources

Publications include conference proceedings, language curricula, and oral-history anthologies produced in collaboration with presses and institutions such as the University of Hawaiʻi Press, the East–West Center, and Hoʻokuleana Publishing. Resource collections hosted by Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa comprise digitized manuscripts, audio recordings of elders, and educational toolkits used by Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Education Hawaiian language programs. The organization has issued position papers cited in policy papers presented to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and training materials distributed to cultural practitioners associated with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Pacific Islands Forum, and UNESCO.

Recognition and Partnerships

Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa has received acknowledgments from cultural institutions including the Bishop Museum and awards from community organizations such as the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development. National and international partnerships involve the East–West Center, UNESCO, the Pacific Islands Forum, and universities including Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California. Collaborations with government entities like the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education continue to shape recognition in the form of grants, fellowships, and consultative roles in initiatives exemplified by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act processes and museum repatriation projects.

Category:Hawaiian organizations