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Kanu i ka ʻĀina (Planting the Seeds): Investing in the Next Generation of Indigenous Stewards and Scientists
December 2024
Dr. Kanoe Morishige (PhD) shares her career journey as a Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) scientist and cultural specialist with NOAA over the last three years, and how Indigenous community partnerships helped students overcome systemic barriers and build the next generation of Kānaka ʻŌiwi scientists and young leaders through support from NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. The Kūʻula course was created in the Marine Science Department and provided life changing experiences for Kānaka ʻŌiwi, Pacific Islander, and local students to weave Indigenous and western knowledge systems through building relationships with communities through service to people and place. Morishige strives to pass the torch to future generations of Kānaka ʻŌiwi scientists, educators, and practitioners, who are all members of the communities we call home.
“I am a forever haumāna (student) learning how to think with intention, set expectations early on, and have the honest conversations we need to reach a place where co-production of Indigenous and western knowledge can happen in a pono (appropriate, ethical) way.” – Kanoe Morishige
Inspired by the words of renowned Fijian and Tongan poet, ‘Epeli Hau’ofa, there are no better caretakers for the world’s largest ocean than the Indigenous communities who have lived in sync with this sea of islands, which has sustained them for millenia. The wisdom and Indigenous scientific inquiry over time allowed our ancestors to navigate across thousands of miles of the worldʻs largest ocean, what we know as Moananuiākea.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are known as the ʻāina akua (realm of the gods/deities) and kūpuna (ancestral) islands to Kānaka ʻŌiwi. This is a place where our archipelago and all life forms originate, recorded in the longest known oral narrative of the birth of our world, our islands, our coral polyp, and the many life forms that succeeded. This special place is one of the worldʻs largest marine protected areas known as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and is the only Mixed Natural and Cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site in the U.S.
three people on a sailing-style vessel stare off at the sunrise
Kānaka ʻŌiwi conducting cultural protocols at sunrise upon arriving at Mokumanamana. Photo: Kaʻaleleo Wong
For the past 22 years, the Cultural Working Group has been actively engaged in caring for these islands and waters as the Native Hawaiian community voice providing advice to the Monument Management Board through the Monument co-manager and co-trustee, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The Cultural Working Group is composed of Native Hawaiian kūpuna (elders), researchers, cultural practitioners, educators, and community members that have deep connections and historical ties to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument through a living pilina bound by genealogy, cultural protocols, and values building contemporary multi-disciplinary research and practice. The Cultural Working Group advocated for the creation of the position I currently serve in as the Native Hawaiian program specialist for NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. I work closely with the group to uplift their voices in all aspects of management.
Upholding Indigenous Values as a Scientist
This job is more of a kuleana (privilege, responsibility) to me and is intertwined into my self-identity and personal relationships. In Hawai’i, Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiians) are rooted in aloha ʻāina, a deep seeded love and devotion to support the health and well-being of places and people, and the pilina that bind us to who we are and where we come from. For us, our knowledge systems grow through pilina, moʻolelo (stories/experiences), values, and practices that honor the moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy) and legacy of our kūpuna (ancestors) and kumu (mentors/teachers). I carry with me the knowledge and pilina with Kānaka ʻŌiwi mentors, friends, and communities who I regard as family.
Investing in Indigenous Students as Future Leaders
As Indigenous scientists navigating academic systems, we often find ourselves in institutions that prioritize individual achievements—publishing papers, securing grants, and reaching career milestones—while sidelining the values of community, reciprocity, and collective knowledge that are central to our cultures at the core of who we are. Kūʻula was established in 2008 through the efforts of Kānaka ʻŌiwi NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument staff Moani Pai and ʻAulani Wilhelm who saw the need to address the systemic barriers that undervalue ʻŌiwi expertise and hinder access to obtain leadership and decision-making roles in academia, conservation, and resource management. Collaborating with Dr. Misaki Takabayashi, they launched the first Kūʻula class to support and empower ʻŌiwi scientists.
The goals of Kūʻula were to explore the intersections of ʻŌiwi and western sciences, integrating these systems to conduct research through perpetuating ʻŌiwi knowledge systems, values, and practices in contemporary conservation. The first three cohorts also traveled to Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) in Papahānaumokuākea, part of cultivating pilina with this sacred place. We centered our work on serving our people by engaging directly with ʻŌiwi experts, exploring ancestral knowledge, and immersing ourselves in Hawaiian oral traditions such as oli (chants), mele (songs), moʻolelo (narratives, stories), and kaʻao (epic stories), while supporting communities who are caring for the land and ocean they call home.
a group of people in business casual attire pose for a photo
The Kūʻula 2008 cohort pose for a photo together. Photo: Misaki Takabayashi
Kūʻula was the lifeline I needed to persevere as a marine science and Hawaiian studies double major. Watching many Kānaka ʻŌiwi and local classmates drop out or change majors left me feeling isolated in a department where few shared my background. I felt alone within the department as more and more people in my classes were not from Hawai‘i and asserted themselves in ways that were fundamentally and culturally different from how we are raised in Hawaiʻi. Kūʻula was the first course that empowered me to embrace my identity and build confidence as a Hawaiian scientist. It showed me I could succeed in a western academic system while staying true to my values and ancestral knowledge. Kū‘ula was the pewa (connector) to who I was as a Hawaiian woman, how I chose to weave my values, practices, and ancestral knowledge systems into research.
Most importantly, it helped the students become better community members through building meaningful pilina with ʻŌiwi communities, many of which we all work with today. It reinforced that our understanding of the environment is not confined to a single perspective and that we are inseparably tied to the land, ocean, and by extension, our kūpuna and communities. Yet, Indigenous students often face systemic barriers in academia, where power dynamics can marginalize and invalidate our knowledge. Indigenous Knowledge is too often dismissed as outdated, leaving many of us frustrated by its exclusion from western scientific literature and the devaluation of our intellectual traditions.
the intertidal zone at Lalo
Kānaka ʻŌiwi community members, scientists, fishermen survey the intertidal zone at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals) as part of the Intertidal Research Cruise in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Photo: Pelika Andrade
Hoʻopulapula: The Seeds Will Grow
The Kūʻula program sheds light that the solution to overcoming those systemic barriers is for NOAA and other federal agencies to invest more time and resources into planting the seeds with young Kānaka ʻŌiwi scientists. The long-term investment pays off once the seeds take root and sprout. Over 90% of Kūʻula alumni now work in natural resource management or pursue advanced degrees, actively integrating Indigenous Knowledge into research, policy, decision-making, and conservation practices. Many Kūʻula alumni remain steadfast in their commitment to caring for Papahānaumokuākea, ready to kōkua (help) whenever called upon.
Grounded in our identity as Kānaka ʻŌiwi, we aim to drive systemic change within resource management agencies and education systems, ensuring they reflect our values and kuleana to kaiaulu (community) and lāhui (Hawaiian nation). Under the leadership of Pelika Andrade, Kūʻula alumni founded Nā Maka Onaona (formerly Nā Maka o Papahānaumokuākea), a Native Hawaiian nonprofit organization that has been conducting intertidal research for more than a decade to support adaptive community-based management. Alumni have also trained as science divers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, contributing to coral reef surveys in Papahānaumokuākea, and some have continued to build the Native Hawaiian Program as NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument staff.
Papahānaumokuākea’s legacy continues to inspire and invest in the next generation of Kānaka ʻŌiwi stewards, scholars, and scientists. This collaboration challenges the extractive practices of “parachute science,” where researchers fly in to do their research and leave without future correspondence or acknowledgement of the communities who made their research possible. The goal is to promote research grounded in pilina and reciprocity, ensuring the communities enabling the work are acknowledged and uplifted.
I ola ʻoe, i ola mākou nei.
When you thrive, we all thrive.
The ʻāina (lands/oceans) can be abundant and healthy while also allowing us to feed our communities. When we shift the relationship between people and nature away from being extractive and transactional towards one committed to building pilina and trust over time with Indigenous communities, that’s when the real work can begin to heal our relationships with nature for future generations.
E Kanu Hou - Plant More Seeds
To foster better Indigenous engagement, federal agencies must seriously invest in hiring more Indigenous People in agency decision-making roles. These individuals bring invaluable lived experiences and deep connections to Native Hawaiian communities, fostering pilina and supporting multidisciplinary collaborations in research, policy, management, and community engagement. Their presence is essential for teaching the agency how to engage in equitable, ethical, and reciprocal ways. Only through long-term investments will partnerships with Indigenous communities be able to grow. As part of that, developing training programs and internships for Kānaka ʻŌiwi and local students and community members should have specific strategies to dismantle barriers that inhibit Kānaka ʻŌiwi participation and contributions. The success of Kūʻula and other long-standing partnerships, guided by the Cultural Working Group, highlights the importance of Indigenous leadership in building lasting, meaningful relationships between communities and agencies.
Indigenous Peoples comprise less than 5% of the world's population and protect 80% of global biodiversity. Addressing today’s conservation challenges requires federal agencies to uphold trust responsibilities and follow guidelines for Indigenous engagement. This means fostering equitable, ethical, and reciprocal relationships through open and honest discussions, even when difficult. Clear, transparent expectations and constant communication are essential to achieving a shared vision. When diverse knowledge systems meet, Indigenous NOAA staff play a vital role in providing leadership and guidance within an inclusive community of practice.
Kanoe Morishige is the Native Hawaiian program specialist at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
Rachel Plunkett is the content manager and senior writer at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries