DLNR’s ?Ike Kai?ulu series interviews local experts to share their knowledge

HONOLULU - Our natural resources in Hawai?i are inextricably connected to the communities that rely upon and care for those resources. The “?Ike Kai?ulu,” or “Community Knowledge,” video series, produced by education teams within the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), seeks to tap into an understanding of this rich history of caring for ‘?ina and kai.

The series premiered in 2023 with four videos sharing community knowledge related to limu, wood carving, l??au lapa?au (medicinal plant use), and caring for special places like Ka?ena Point.

Four new videos were recently added to the series, featuring experts with knowledge to share across a variety of practices:

- Kumu Hulu Mele Kahalepuna Chun explores her family’s history with Hawaiian featherwork and its relationship to the health of forest birds in Hawai?i
- Paepae o He?eia Executive Director Hi?ilei Kawelo shares her experiences with loko i?a (fishponds) and their connection to mauka and makai ecosystem health
- ??pelu fisherman Chuck Kealoha Leslie discusses his knowledge of net making and his hopes for the future of fishing in Hawai?i
- Dr. Kawika Winter, Director of the He?eia National Estuarine Research Reserve, discusses biocultural restoration and the importance of centering indigenous ways of thinking in ecosystem management.

While sharing knowledge from different fields, the interviewees expressed common themes. Each of the four experts talked about their knowledge coming from parents, grandparents, or other k?puna and the importance of passing on that knowledge to younger generations.

Mele Kahalepuna Chun said that passing along the knowledge provided by her t?t? and her mother was not a job, but a kuleana. “What I want to say to our keiki is to make sure it lives. Just holomua: keep it going.” 

Another common theme was the endurance of cultural practices in communities. “The relationships we have within the ahupua?a, that’s what makes the magic happen,” said Hi?ilei Kawelo. On the topic of featherwork, Kahalepuna Chun added that her t?t? was often asked, “‘Isn’t this a dying art?’ She’d say no, not as long as I can help it.”

Interviewees also shared hope for the future of their particular areas of expertise. Chuck Kealoha Leslie shared that he wanted keiki to know how we did things in the old ways, and then they can make it their own. He added, “If they want to do fishing, make fishing their life and make it joyful.”

Dr. Kawika Winter articulated his views of cultural practice as part of management and life in Hawai?i, saying, “We’ve been here a long time, we’re going to continue being here a long time.” On the importance of sharing experience and knowledge, he added, “So many of the elders who came before me have said that Hawai?i has the answers that will help heal the world.”

All videos are available on the DLNR website.