Blog Posts

Ours Will Not be Bones Scattered in the Wind

1/6/2019

For some of our iwi kūpuna, it has been twenty years of waiting in boxes and bags on shelves of "temporary" curation units. For all, it has been ten years of our "weʻll find a place" promises and their mostly quiet patience. At last, hiki iā lākou nā iwi kūpuna ke hoʻi i ka moe kau a hoʻoilo. At last they can return to uninterrupted sleep – "the sleep of summer and winter." The Waiʻauia preserve has taken them in, and we ʻōiwi of Kailua will mālama these kūpuna until our last aloha ʻāina. (KdS)

Photo: Nick Tomasello @nicasello

Lau Kukui

12/27/2018

Uluponui: This is how we fertilize our loʻi at Ulupō. Nothing new, just the same way loʻi and māla been fertilized in Hawaiʻi for the last couple thousand years. ʻIke kūpuna | ʻike ʻōpio. Many hands make light work, many feet make sweet dirt. Mahalo iā ʻoe e @kanielalm for bringing down yo Punahou ʻōpio. #laukukui #juststepum #microbestakethewheel.

Photos: Kaleo Wong

Nui a Kū Hohonu ka Mahalo iā ʻOukou Pākahi

12/8/2018

Penei Kākou e Hoʻokūʻokoʻa Ai

12/5/2018

(Thus do we demonstrate our independence.) More images from our Saturday celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa at Ulupō in the piko of Kūkanono, Kailua. -- KdS

The Kūkanono All-Star Band

12/3/2018

Not their own name, if they have one, but it fits: Gonzo, Kaipo, Chad (Koʻolau Envy) and Kīhei. They were making music on Nick M's generator-rigged sound system that somehow came out of the ʻāina itself -- deep, rich, flavorful, and so reminiscent of that Sons' session at Waipiʻo as documented in "Liʻa." No kidding. -- KdS

Photo: Kīhei de Silva

He Leo Kupa o Kailua, he Ewe Hānau o ka ʻĀina

12/2/2018

A native voice of Kailua, one born of the land. Dr. Noenoe Silva challenge-charms us into taking up the pathway of kūpuna enlightenment in our thinking and re-thinking of kūʻokoʻa for this ʻāina that we so love. Mahalo nui to Kaleo Wong, Maya Saffery, and their many helping hands for a most memorable and moving Kūʻokoʻa Kūkanono yesterday at Ulupōnui. -- KdS

Photo: Kīhei de Silva

Even More From Maya

11/30/2018

How do we KŪʻOKOʻA? We nānā i ke kumu...look to those sources of knowledge, those teachers who carry ʻike kūpuna from families who have lived in one place over generations so we can learn and grow from their solid foundations.

Come to the base of Ulupō heiau on Saturday Dec 1st from 10-3 to learn from and enjoy two of our treasured kumu hula and their hālau of Kailua, Māpuana de Silva & Hālau Mōhala ʻIlima and Charlani Kalama & Hālau Haʻa Hula o Kekauʻilani Nā Pua Hala o Kailua.

Photos courtesy of Māpuana de Silva and Charlani Kalama

Wahi Hou a Maya

11/29/2018

How do we KŪʻOKOʻA? By reestablishing a relationship with Hāloa through planting, preparing & EATING kalo.

This year a group of 12 Kailua-connected families have been coming to Ulupō to reroot themselves in their homeland by reviving the cultural practices associated with kalo in their ʻohana. Our Pili Mai families have (re)acquired the ʻono for our traditional foods and you can too.

Come down to the base of Ulupō heiau on Saturday, Dec 1st, 10-3, to partake in the ʻono of Kūkanono, Kailua, and nā Koʻolau by pounding your own kalo under our kuʻi tent with Kamuela Bannister, Kalamaʻehu Takahashi and our Pili Mai families. Aunty Tammy & Uncle Danny Smith of Hale Kealoha will also be there to satisfy your desire for some ʻai pono.

Photos: Kaleo Wong, Kīhei de Silva

Wahi a Maya

11/28/2018

How do we KŪʻOKOʻA? By remembering our history so we never forget what happened and can learn from it as we envision thriving futures for our ʻāina and lāhui.

Come down to the base of Ulupō heiau on Saturday, Dec 1st, 10-3, to help us commemorate the 175th anniversary of Lā Kūʻokoʻa. Like our kūpuna did centuries ago, we will mark this Hawaiian national holiday with a community gathering complete with food, music, and even a speech by reknowned Kanaka author and professor Dr. Noenoe Silva. Want to learn more about Lā Kūʻokoʻa now? Here’s an awesome video created by Kanaeokana: Lā Kūʻokoʻa.

Hauʻoli Lā Kūʻokoʻa iā kākou!

ʻAuhea ʻOukou e nā Kini o ka ʻĀina!

11/18/2018

KŪʻOKOʻA - to stand free and independent
KŪKANONO- the name of the ʻili ʻāina where Ulupō heiau is situated.
In the words of Maya Saffery and Kaleomanuiwa Wong: "Join us in Kailua at the base of Ulupō along the banks of Kawainui on December 1st from 10am-3pm for KŪʻOKOʻA KŪKANONO. In commemoration of the 175th anniversary of Lā Kūʻokoʻa, we proclaim through the name of our event that we stand in opposition to the heavily commercialized, settler dominated, tourist mecca of Kailua town. We resist this imposed identity by returning to the land, reviving our cultural practices on the land, cultivating and eating our traditional foods, retelling our stories, and passing on this knowledge to our families and community. A hui hou i laila!"

Hawaiʻi's People's Fund, Envisioning the Future

11/13/2018

From Maya Saffery: "What’s our vision for the future you ask? As our kāne of @uluponui, Kaleomanuiwa and Peehi, depict in their lole heleuī, it is a thriving Kawainui fishpond full of fish with people tending its walls and waters and throwing net to feed their families again. It is a healthy ʻāina covered in loʻi, growing both kalo and Kānaka. When balance and abundance is restored to this piko of our ahupuaʻa so will balance and abundanced be restored to Kailua. Mahalo e Hawai'i People's Fund for posing the question, for creating a space last night for us to share it, and for your kākoʻo in helping us achieve this vision. Mahalo hoʻi to our Hikaʻalani crew for representing at this event and to those of you who came to support us and all the other HPF grantees."

Photo: Kaʻolu Luning

Ulupō Eight-Pounders

10/27/2018

Almost monster moi (not quite Hoʻokuaʻāina-size but getting there). According to Kaleo's calculations: 10.38 - 1.8 (for the bucket) = 8.58 - .4 (huli) = 8.18# moi. -- KdS

Photo: Kaleo Wong

Kailua's Own

10/26/2018

Wahi a Kaleo: Mahalo nui to our invasive species eradication team today from Kailua Elementary.

Come See What We've Been Up To

10/17/2018

The culmination of our 11-month Project Pilimai... a chance to witness, first hand, the results of four years of Hikaʻalani effort at Ulupō...a day to celebrate our quest for reclaiming ʻāina and identity in Kailua. Kūʻokoʻa, indeed. -- KdS

Lā Kalo ʻEkolu

10/16/2018

Project Pilimai began 10 months ago with over a dozen Kailua and Kailua-connected families. In that time of honoring and tending to Hāloa, we've had two babies, and our original newborn is now a toddler. When we old guys show up (Kīhei, Doc, Kaʻolu) we are literally a ʻpilimaiʻ -- three generations of Ulupō-nourished kānaka.
-- KdS

Photo: Kaʻolu Luning

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