Hawaiʻi Rising

A conversation about community stewardship of ʻāina with Pualiʻi Rossi and Mason Chock from I Ola Wailuanui. I Ola Wailuanui is a grassroots community organization formed and managed by Kauaʻi residents for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and restoring Wailuanuiahoʻāno and the environmental, historical, and cultural treasures there. Their vision is a living ʻili ʻāina for and by thriving ka...

An interview about Pan-Pacific solidarity with Jonathan Osorio and Tammy Tabe, two organizers of the 2024 Protecting Oceania conference. During the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture held on Oʻahu in 2024, Protecting Oceania brought together Pasifika philosophers and grassroots organizers to forge new alliances, formations, strategies, and tactics rooted in their own worldviews, to determine how...

An interview about transnational feminist organizing with Alani Santana and ʻIhilani Lasconia from the Hawaiʻi chapter of AF3IRM. AF3IRM stands for the Association of Feminists Fighting Fascism, Imperialism, Refeudalization, and Marginalization. Founded in 1989, AF3IRM is a transnational feminist, anti-imperialist organization of women dedicated to the struggle for women’s liberation and the fight...

Today, January 17, 2025, is the 132nd anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Each year, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi and the Queen's Court convene the ʻOnipaʻa Peace March and Rally to make sure the overthrow is never forgotten. In this podcast short, re-aired from an interview in 2022, Healani Sonoda-Pale shares about the history of the overthrow, its impact on Kānaka Maoli, and the im...

On Friday, January 17, 2025, thousands will gather in Honolulu for the annual ʻOnipaʻa Peace March and Rally, marching from the Mauna Ala Royal Mausoleum to ʻIolani Palace. The 2025 march marks the 132nd anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the beginning of u.s. occupation. The annual event, convened by the Queenʻs Court and Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, raises public awareness abo...

A conversation about aloha ʻāina in the highly urbanized and militarized context of Kalauao with Anthony Deluze and Dani Espiritu from Hoʻōla Hou iā Kalauao. Hoʻōla Hou iā Kalauao revives and brings life to Kalauao, an ahupuaʻa in the moku of ʻEwa on the island of Oʻahu. Their vision is a thriving and abundant ʻEwa moku beginning with the ahupuaʻa of Kalauao. Recognizing the negative impacts of ur...

A conversation about supporting and empowering youth and ʻohana affected by incarceration with Jamee Miller and Kalei K-aloha from ʻEkolu Mea Nui. ʻEkolu Mea Nui is dedicated to addressing the overrepresentation of Native Hawaiians in Hawaiʻi’s carceral system and empowering those directly impacted by incarceration, particularly youth and families, to be leaders in the movement for transformative...

A conversation about uhau humu pōhaku (Hawaiian drystack masonry) and intergenerational knowledge transmission with Keʻalohi Wang and Kaimalu Cope from Hui Hoʻoniho. Hui Hoʻoniho’s mission is to build a firm foundation to cultivate and strengthen community through the practice of uhau humu pōhaku, providing entry into exploring ʻike Hawaiʻi through a deeper sense of stewardship towards ʻāina and u...

An interview about regenerative food systems and progressive leadership development with Anne Frederick, Fern Holland, and Hina Kaʻōpua at the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA). HAPA is a dynamic organization with a rich history of advocacy for environmental justice and public health in Hawaiʻi. Their roots lie in the fight for basic pesticide protections, a battle that saw them stand...

A conversation about protecting ʻāina by analyzing and intervening in government processes with Shelley Muneoka, Marti Townsend, and Logan Narikawa from KAHEA: the Hawaiian Environmental Alliance. KAHEA works to address the failure of government to protect Hawaiʻi communities and natural resources. Their members include Hawaiian cultural practitioners, aloha ‘āina advocates, and environmental cons...

A conversation about circular economic practices on Maui with Nicole Huguenin, Lehua Simon, and Leo Nahe Smith from the Circular Hawaiʻi Collective. Circular Hawaiʻi is a conduit and connector of dots in Maui’s circular economy, centering the reestablishment of indigenous models of circularity and incubating collaborative efforts to increase participation in circular-based economic practices. Circ...

A conversation about graduate worker organizing with Dianne Deauna and Ken Reyes, two Executive Committee members of Academic Labor United (ALU). ALU organizes graduate workers of the University of Hawaiʻi system to empower them to hold their employers accountable. Even as graduate worker labor is recognized by the University as fundamental to its success, their work is continually devalued by the...

A conversation about community care and shifting the perception of consensual sex work in Hawaiʻi with Doug Upp and Jin Kwak, organizers with the Hawaiʻi chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP). SWOP Hawaiʻi is a grassroots organization led by sex workers, advocating for the safety, healing, and liberation of marginalized communities engaged in consensual adult labor. Through direct sup...

A conversation about Palestine solidarity organizing in Hawaiʻi with Cynthia Franklin and Imani Altemus-Williams from the Hawaiʻi chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. JVP Hawaiʻi works to educate Hawaiʻi communities about settler-colonialism in Palestine and the links to colonialism and militarism in Hawaiʻi. They organize Jewish and non-Jewish communities towards an end to u.s. funding to Israeli a...

A conversation about creating spaces of reconnection for Black folks in Hawaiʻi with Dr. Akiemi Glenn and Jamila Jarmon from the Pōpolo Project. Founded in 2017, the Pōpolo Project is committed to redefining perceptions of Black people in Hawai‘i and creating a deep reconnection to themselves as individuals, to their community, to their ancestors, and to the lands that sustain them. They build com...

A conversation about organizing for a rehabilitative justice system with Kaleihau Kamauʻu and Ron Fujiyoshi from ʻOhana Hoʻopakele. ‘Ohana Ho’opakele was founded by kūpuna as an intervention to the disproportionate number of Kānaka Maoli in Hawai’i’s prisons. The hui began this journey by opposing the building of new prisons on Hawai’i Island, and their research illuminated the goal of building pu...

Announcing a new season of Hawaiʻi Rising featuring our 2024 grantee cohort, coming soon wherever you listen to podcasts.   Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Each year for Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, two people are honored for their activism and commitment to ea. This year, the two honorees are Sparky Rodrigues and his late wife Leandra Wai of Mālama Mākua, who have fought for the care and reclamation of Mākua Valley since 1996. In this special episode, Sparky reflects on his and Leandra’s life, work, and legacy. To learn more about Mālama Mākua, check out our pre...

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is coming up at the end of July! In this special episode from 2023, learn about community celebrations of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, or Sovereignty Restoration Day, in recent years. The 2024 Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea celebration at Pōkaʻi Bay, Waiʻanae, is on Saturday, July 27, and the celebration at Thomas Square, Honolulu, will be on Sunday, July 28. Come join us! Guests in order of appearance: ʻĪmaika...

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is coming up at the end of July! The 2024 LHE celebration at Thomas Square will be on Sunday, July 28. In this episode from 2022, we spoke with organizers of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea Honolulu: ʻĪmaikalani Winchester, Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, and Mahina Kaomea. LHE Honoluluʻs mission is to provide safe spaces to celebrate Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea through educational, cultural, and community networking...

In this episode with Hui Iwi Kuamoʻo, Halealoha Ayau and Mana Caceres talk through a case study of a successful repatriation of iwi kūpuna (Hawaiian ancestral bones) from the Duckworth Laboratory at Cambridge University, from first learning about the iwi at Cambridge to their reburial last year. This repatriation was noteworthy as the first ever successful repatriation of ancestral remains from Ca...

In this two-episode special, we hear from five students active in the 2019 mobilization to protect Mauna Kea from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Part 2: "The Occupation Bachman Hall" shares the experiences of students who occupied the Board of Regents' office building on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus during the fall 2019 semester. Their 117-day sit-in was the longest i...

In this two-episode special, we hear from five students active in the 2019 mobilization to protect Mauna Kea from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Part 1: "Students Standing for Mauna Kea" focuses on action up on the Mauna during the summer of 2019. These stories were recorded in conjunction with the Kūkulu Exhibit "Hoʻomana" brought to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa through a p...

In this special episode, we take a step back and share some of the voices of the HPF board and grantmaking committee whose volunteer service and leadership behind the scenes is crucial to the work. We ask them: why do you choose to serve with HPF? Mahalo to these directors and grantmakers for sharing their voices: Ashley Galacgac, Hina Kaʻōpua-Canonigo, James Maunakea Secritario, Jonathan Pilikai...

In this episode, hear updates about the restoration of Kahaluʻu Loʻi with Phillip Kapu and Aimee Sato from Kaiāulu ʻo Kahaluʻu. Kaiāulu ʻo Kahaluʻu is a grassroots hui created to serve, organize, and uplift community voices of the Kahalu’u ahupuaʻa on Oʻahuʻs windward side. Currently, their primary focus is the restoration of the Kahalu’u Lo’i, hosting community engagement events, and serving and...