Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 4, 1 April 2004 — Educators honored [ARTICLE]

Educators honored

Aunty Māila Craver and Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell were honored March 6 for their life-long contributions in education to the Native Hawaiian community at a benefit dinner. The 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition and other Hawaiian cultural practitioners, along with the PA'I Foundation, the non-profit arm of Pua Ali'i 'Ilima, organized the dinner called Kūlia I Ka Nu'u as a fund raiser for the Hawai'i-Hopi High School Summer Program 2004. The program will send 10 Native Hawaiian high school students to study at Harvard Medical School for three weeks. At the dinner, Craver and Blaisdell were eaeh presented a leihulu from PA'I and 'īlio'ulaokalani, and a resolution from OHA's Board of Trustees in honor of their contributions. Craver is the Statewide Kūpuna Cultural and Spiritual Coordinator for the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, and as a student of the late Mary Kawena Pūku'i, is recognized as a Hawaiian language and poetry expert. Blaisdell, a retired medical doctor and educator, is recognized in Hawai'i and abroad as a community leader and a strong advocate for Hawaiian political independence, sovereignty and self-determination.