Native Hawaiian kupuna (elders) from throughout Hawai’i will gather this weekend at the Waimea Plantation Cottages for the fifth annual Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Conference. The conference, which runs from June 14-18, is being sponsored and hosted by the Kaua’i Hawaiian
Native Hawaiian kupuna (elders) from throughout Hawai’i will gather this weekend at the Waimea Plantation Cottages for the fifth annual Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Conference.
The conference, which runs from June 14-18, is being sponsored and hosted by the Kaua’i Hawaiian Studies kupuna in the Department of Education.
A key focus of the gathering is to “keep alive the Hawaiian place names, stories, chants, mele (songs ) and hula of west Kaua’i,” said conference host and Kaua’i Department of Education Hawaiian Studies leader Sabra Kauka.
The participants teach Hawaiian studies in public elementary schools and private schools throughout the state.
“Our Hawaiian elders are rich, living resources of cultural treasures. They possess knowledge that is hundreds if not thousands of years old and would be tragic if lost. Our kupuna are not only our link to the past, but our keys to the future,” Kauka said.
Co-sponsors of the conference include the Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development, Inc., the Native Hawaiian Education Council of Kaua’i, the Kawakami Foundation, and the Koani Foundation, an Anahola based Native Hawaiian rights unity organization.
Here is the daily schedule for the conference:
– June 14, 1 to 9 p.m.
– June 15, a field trip from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and activities at Waimea Plantation Cottage from 1 to 9 p.m.
– June 16, 2 to 9 p.m.
– June 17, a field trip from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and activities at Waimea Plantation Cottage from 3 to 9 p.m.
For more information, contact Ehu Kekahu Cardwell at (619) 885-4848.
