Midday Manaʻo with Manu and Mehana

Midday Manaʻo Episode 29 l Mele Lāhui with Kawika Aspili Manu and Mehana are joined by ʻŌiwi musician Kawika Aspili, who shares his journey since his song "E Pi‘i Mai" went viral. The trio also explore the importance of music to our Hawaiian identity and how Mele Lāhui continues to inspire, connect, and uplift our people. To watch more head to Hawaiiancouncil.org/podcast

"Na wai e hoʻōla i nā iwi?" (Who will save the bones?) This traditional proverb speaks to the solemn kuleana of caring for iwi - which ʻŌiwi believe hold the mana of the departed. Join Manu and Mehana for a discussion with Halealoha Ayau, who has long been the leader in bringing the bones of our ancestors home.

In this episode of Midday Manaʻo, Manu and Mehana are joined by Native Hawaiian Filmmaker ‘Aina Paikai, creator of Hawaiian Soul. Journey with us as we take a look through the lens of an indigenous perspective.

Native Hawaiian advocate and Board Member with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Naʻalehu provides an update on the Kapūkaki (Red Hill) Crisis and why we all need to stay vigilent and engaged with this environmental catasrophe.

On this week's episode, Manu and Mehana are joined by Bret Nainoa Mossman to discuss one of our favorite topics – manu! No, not our gracious and eloquent co-host; the other manu – birds! Nainoa is a conservationist and founder of Birds Hawaiʻi Past Present, an organization that seeks to rebuild our connection to native birds. In typical Midday Manaʻo fashion, the conversation starts with birds, but touches on a range of other topics including mele, reforestation, food sovereignty and sustainability, mosquitoes, and even the kumulipo. For information about Birds Hawai'i Past Present, visit: www.birdshawaiipastpresent.com For more information about the Environmental Assessment to control mosquitos and avian malaria on East Maui, visit: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=306&projectID=102795&documentID=125202Comment period: Dec 6, 2022 - Jan 23, 2023

This week, Mehana is joined by KHON2 Weather Anchor and Reporter Kamaka Pili to discuss traditional place names in Hawaiʻi. Why is it important to remember and honor the traditional name of an area, and why is it problematic when these names are replaced with English? Tune in to find out!

This week, Manu and Mehana are joined by Kēhaunani Abad, Director of Kealaiwikuamoʻo in Kamehameha Schools' Community Education Division. Kēhau leads a team that supports collaboration among Kanaeokana, a paeʻāina-wide network of some 80 schools and Hawaiian organizations focused on strengthening the lāhui and growing aloha ʻāina leaders through collaboration as a Hawaiian education system. Kanaeokana has been instrumental in amplifying important Native Hawaiian issues and events, including the upcoming Lā Kūʻokoʻa holiday. Together, they discuss the origin of this kingdom holiday - what it meant to Native Hawaiians in the past, and what it means to us today.

In this week's episode, Mehana flies solo and interviews Dr. Marcus Iwane, chief of Kīpukaoha (West Oʻahu Medical Office at Kapolei). Dr. Iwane shares with us his path to health and medicine, and together the pair discuss the social and cultural determinants of health, the challenges of addressing men's health, and the importance of health and wellbeing to a thriving lāhui.

This week, Manu and Mehana are joined by community organizer and former state legislator Kaniela Ing. As our 2022 election cycle comes to a close, the trio discuss voting, politics, and how to effectuate systems change to increase civic engagement.

Did you know that October is Kalo Appreciation month? In this episode, Manu and Mehana are joined by Davis Price, CNHA Business Development Strategist, and Kaina Makua, Executive Director of Kūmano I Ke Ala and owner of Aloha Aina Poi Company. Together, they remind us of our kuleana to Hāloa and the connection between a thriving food system and a healthy nation.

This week, Manu and Mehana are joined by Kathleen Ho, Deputy Director of Environmental Health for the Hawai'i State Department of Health. From Kaho'olawe to Kapūkakī, Kathy shares her past and present experiences protecting Hawaiʻi's environmental resources.

On this week's episode, Manu and Mehana are joined by Mark Kawika Patterson, Administrator of the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center and Chair of the Hawaiʻi State Correctional Systems Oversight Commission. With over 30 years of experience working in the criminal justice system, Kawika shares about the importance of shifting our mindsets from punishment to rehabilitation, creating a place of recovery, and the role of ʻāina-based healing.

In honor of Hawaiian History Month, Manu and Mehana are joined by Professor Leilani Basham to discuss Mele Lāhui - songs that are typically political in nature and that express our rights to sovereignty and self-determination. Watch, listen, and learn as we take a deep dive into the evolution of mele lāhui from the time of Liliuʻokalani to today.

On this week's episode, Manu and Mehana are joined by Zabrina Zablan and Ipolani Duvauchelle from the Gay Agenda Collective, a wedding and event planning business that specializes in events for LGBTQ couples. Zabrina and Ipo discuss the origin of the Gay Agenda Collective, the importance of inclusivity in event planning, and their other business endeavors.

On this week's Midday Mana'o, Manu and Mehana sit down with Rick Barboza, Native Hawaiian plants expert and co-founder of Hui Kū Maoli Ola. Tune in to find out what constitutes a “native” plant, the difference between indigenous and endemic, and which introduced plants pose the greatest threat to our local ecosystems.

For this special Labor Day episode of Midday Mana'o, Mehana is joined by 'Ilima Long, a field organizer for the Hawai'i State Teacher Asscoiation, and Ikaika Hussey, a former organizer for UNITED HERE Local 5. Reflecting on the struggles and sacrifices of laborers throughout our history, the conversation takes us from the first plantation strike in Koloa, Kaua'i, in 1840 to our modern understanding of organized labor and itʻs significance in Hawai'i today.

This week, Manu and Mehana are joined, via zoom, by Dr. Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat, a political strategist and founder of Honua Consulting. Coming off the heals of the 2022 Primary Election, the conversation revolves around elections, civic engagement, and voting as a part of our Hawaiian heritage.

On this week's Midday Manaʻo, Manu and Mehana are joined by Eweleiʻula Wong, 2022 ISA World Junior Surfing Champion, to talk story about competing in El Salvador, the place names of surfing spots, and using ʻŌlelo in the ocean.

Join us for a special episode of Midday Manaʻo coming straight from the 21st Annual Native Hawaiian Convention. How can Native Hawaiians leverage the intellectual property system to protect Indigenous culture and the legacy of our kūpuna? Watch, listen, and learn as Hawaiʻi State Senator Jarrett Keohokālole moderates a discussion about intellectual property rights with Makalika Naholowaʻa, CNHA Board Member and Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and Nahoa Lucas, Senior Counsel for the Education Legal Division at Kamehameha Schools.

Join us for a special episode of Midday Mana'o coming straight from the 21st Annual Native Hawaiian Convention. Watch and listen to county mayors as they explore their vision for the future of regenerative tourism in Hawai'i.

Join us for a special episode of Midday Mana'o, filmed during the 21st Annual Native Hawaiian Convention. Listen to Pu'uhonua leaders to explore new paradigms in how Hawai'i can address our affordable housing crisis. With Twinkle Borge, James Pakele, Colbert Matsumoto, Xan Avendano, and moderated by Michelle Ka'uhane. Pu'uhonua O Wai'anae is a village of approximately 250 people living unhoused on the edge of the Wai'anae Boat Harbor on the leeward side of O'ahu. It is home to keiki, kupuna and working families. Two-thirds are Native Hawaiian. The village is led by Twinkle Borge, a longtime village resident affectionately known as, “Mama." The people of Pu'uhonua O Wai'anae have built a remarkable community that, in many ways, is a role model for other communities. We know our neighbors, caring for children is a shared kuleana, rules are created and honored by residents, and community service is expected from everyone. Our village is also a refuge where many heal from financial disaster, trauma, abuse, addiction, injury or illness. In 2020, they completed fundraising to purchase land and bought a 20-acre property in the back of Wai'anae Valley. Village leaders then refined plans and designs for the site and structures, clearing and healing the land. They also built the first pilots for communal structures and homes on the land. Today, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Hawaiian Wayfund are focused on raising the funds to support the continued building. Your tax-deductible donation will help improve the quality of life for others. Mahalo! Hawaiiancouncil.org/pow

Join us for a special episode of Midday Mana'o coming straight from the 21st Annual Native Hawaiian Convention. Watch and listen to key players of Kapūkakī (Red Hill) discuss the ongoing water crisis and its implications for Honoluluʻs future. Nā'alehu Anthony, Native Hawaiian Film Maker and Board of Directors for the Honolulu Board of Water; Wayne Tanaka the Executive Director of Sierra Club Hawai'i; Ernie Lau, Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer; Kathleen Ho, Deputy Director for Environmental Health from the State of Hawai'i Department of Health; and Rear Admiral Stephen Barnett, Commander, Navy Region Hawai'i.

This week, Manu and Mehana are joined, via zoom, by Rebecca Soon and Dr. Kealoha Fox for a robust discussion about the implications of Dobbs v. Jackson, which recently overruled Roe v. Wade and eliminated the US constitutional right to an abortion. They also weave in the Hawaiian cultural traditions around family planning and women's health as documented in our history and moʻolelo. Learn more at hawaiiancouncil.org/podcast

The Fourth of July - the United States' Independence Day - has a complex history in Hawaiʻi. The forces that illegally overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi sought to symbolically bring the islands closer to the U.S. in part by using July 4th as the date for significant political acts. This includes the promulgation of a new constitution that established the Republic of Hawaiʻi (July 4, 1894) and the approval of the Newlands Resolution, which purported to annex Hawaiʻi (July 4, 1898; signed by President McKinley on July 7, 1898). Join Manu and Mehana for a lively discussion about the July 4th holiday, Native Hawaiians' complicated relationship with the United States and Hawaiian Kingdom national holidays.

On this episode of Midday Mana'o, Manu and Mehana speak on the renaming of Kauaʻi Russian Fort Elizabeth to Pāʻulaʻula and the importance of place names around our pae ʻāina. Manu and Mehana also sit down and talk story with Dr. Noe Noe Wong-Wilson on the topic of Maunakea. She shares her experience living on the mauna for nine months and discusses the current status of Maunakea with the passing of House Bill 2024. ABOUT MIDDAY MANAʻO Hosted by Manu Boyd and Mehanaokala Hind, join us each week for a show full of laughs, throwbacks, and much manaʻo. Our hosts sit down with friends and talk about the latest in Native Hawaiian news and entertainment. Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... this is the show you don't want to miss. Learn more at hawaiiancouncil.org/podcast

In this episode of Midday Manaʻo, Manu and Mehana are joined by CNHA's own Cultural Ambassador Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, known worldwide as Kumu Hina. Come listen and learn about Kumu Hinaʻs journey into becoming her "Kū Haʻaheo self," as well as her recent project involving the Healing Stones of Kapaemahu.

Huliau, hulihia, the time transformative change is on the horizon for Hawaiʻi. In this episode, Manu and Mehana speak to CNHA CEO Kūhiō Lewis about the word Hulihia as the theme for the 21st Annual Native Hawaiian Convention happening on July 19-22, 2022 and they share memories from past convention years as the space to bring people together to have conversations and ignite change for the future.

On this episode of Midday Mana'o, Manu and Mehana speak with Kumu Hula Robert Cazimero and talk about his latest adventures from his latest CD release to his recent return from his Japan tour. Topics of the $600 million heading to DHHL, Oʻahu's water crisis, and Iwi Kūpuna repatriation efforts taking place in Aotearoa are in this week's hot discussions. ABOUT MIDDAY MANAʻO Hosted by Manu Boyd and Mehanaokala Hind, join us each week for a show full of laughs, throwbacks, and much manaʻo. Our hosts sit down with friends and talk about the latest in Native Hawaiian news and entertainment. Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... this is the show you don't want to miss. Learn more at hawaiiancouncil.org/podcast

In our inaugural episode, Manu Boyd and Mehanaokala Hind share the purpose of Midday Manaʻo and reflect on recent events and leaders in our Native Hawaiian Community.

Hosted by Manu Boyd and Mehanaokala Hind, join us each week for a show full of laughs, throwbacks, and much manaʻo. Our hosts sit down with friends and talk about the latest in Native Hawaiian news and entertainment. Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... this is the show you don't want to miss.