ʻŌiwi TV

ʻŌiwi TV
Name	ʻŌiwi TV
Founded	2004
Founder	Keoni Kalahiki, Nāʻālehu Anthony, Cleon Kaʻupu
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Country	United States
Language	Hawaiian, English

ʻŌiwi TV is a community-based media organization producing video content in Hawaiian language and English focused on Native Hawaiian culture, history, politics, and arts. Founded in the early 21st century, it operates from Honolulu and collaborates with cultural practitioners, educators, and activists across the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific. The outlet contributes to multimedia documentation alongside museums, universities, and nonprofits devoted to Indigenous knowledge.

History

ʻŌiwi TV emerged in 2004 amid a resurgence of Hawaiian Renaissance and renewed attention to Hoʻoponopono practices, community media initiatives, and language revitalization efforts associated with institutions like Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Hawaiʻi State Archives. Founders worked with kūpuna and practitioners from Waikīkī, Kāneʻohe, Hāna, Hawaiʻi (island), Maui, Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi to record moʻolelo and mele, paralleling archival projects at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and collaborations with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Early distribution included screenings at ʻAha Kūkā, ʻAhahui Kākala, community centers, and partnerships with PBS Hawaii and grassroots networks like Nā Mamo O Hawaiʻi. Over time the organization expanded production facilities and digital channels, engaging with contemporary movements such as the 2014 Mauna Kea protests involving groups like Kīhei Council and leaders linked to Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi and Nā Koa Ikaika o ka Lāhui. Key collaborators and interview subjects have included cultural figures associated with Iolani Palace, Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, and practitioners from Hoʻokahua Cultural Conservancy.

Programming

Content spans documentary series, newsmagazines, oral histories, and arts showcases featuring subjects from Kingdom of Hawaiʻi history to present-day activism. Programs document practices led by practitioners of hula, kānaka maoli artisans, and mālama ʻāina initiatives near sites like Waiʻanae Coast, Hāmākua, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe. Series have profiled kūpuna linked to Queen Liliʻuokalani, participants in the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and descendants connected to ʻIolani Barracks narratives and Hawaiian sovereignty movement leaders. Episodes highlight collaborations with musicians from Na Leo Pilimehana, visual artists associated with Honolulu Museum of Art, and authors featured by Tūtū's Bookstore and Bishop Museum Press. Investigative pieces have intersected with land use disputes involving organizations like Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and policy debates under Hawaiʻi State Legislature initiatives.

Language and Cultural Preservation

ʻŌiwi TV produces material supporting revitalization of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in partnership with schools such as Kula Kaiapuni immersion programs, the language departments at Kamehameha Schools', and researchers at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Programming records chants, oli, and mele from kumu hula connected to lineages recorded by scholars who have worked with Samuel Kamakau archives, Mary Kawena Pukui collections, and the Hawaiian Language Newspaper corpus. Content aligns with curricula used by Nā Mamo Kākoʻo and community workshops at places like Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau and Heʻeia Fishpond, and complements pedagogical materials developed by practitioners from Alu Like and Hoʻoulu Lahui. The outlet amplifies voices from cultural custodians involved in canoe voyaging with organizations such as Hōkūleʻa and Polynesian Voyaging Society.

Production and Distribution

Production employs directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers drawn from local creative communities and institutions like University of Hawaiʻi Maui College media programs and Kapiʻolani Community College broadcasting. Equipment and technical workflows reflect industry practices used at facilities comparable to KITV, KHON-TV, and independent studios that service Pacific media such as Pacific Islanders in Communications. Distribution channels include community screenings at ʻopio centers, digital platforms modeled after YouTube hosting, and broadcast partnerships with entities like PBS affiliates, community cable in Hawaiʻi County, and festival circuits including Native American Film + Video Festival and Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. Funding and support have come from philanthropic sources like Kamehameha Schools', Office of Hawaiian Affairs, arts grants from National Endowment for the Arts, and collaborations with cultural NGOs including The Nature Conservancy in Hawaiʻi.

Community Engagement and Education

The organization runs outreach through workshops, internships, and collaborative projects with educational bodies such as K-12 Hawaiian language immersion schools, Hawaiʻi Department of Education programs, and university research centers including the Center for Hawaiian Studies at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Community screenings have been hosted in partnership with groups like Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, festivals organized by Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking, and cultural events at venues including Iolani Palace and community hale in Waimānalo. Training initiatives connect youth with mentors from media organizations such as Honolulu Star-Advertiser alumni and independent producers who previously worked on projects for Aloha Festivals and Mānoa Valley Theatre.

Awards and Recognition

ʻŌiwi TV productions and contributors have been recognized at events and by institutions such as Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, Native American Journalists Association, Pacific Islands Film Festival, and have received commendations from community organizations including Office of Hawaiian Affairs and local ʻohana networks. Individual filmmakers and productions have been honored with awards analogous to those given by Peabody Awards juries, regional broadcast accolades referencing Edward R. Murrow Awards, and acknowledgments from cultural institutions like Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and Honolulu Museum of Art for documentary stewardship.

Category:Native Hawaiian media Category:Television stations in Hawaii