Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2014 — Advancing kamaʻāina intellectual leadership [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Advancing kamaʻāina intellectual leadership

Trustee 's note: Mahalo to The Kohala Center for eontrihuting this month's eolunm. n 2008, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in collaboration with Kamehameha Schools, established the MellonHawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at The Kohala Center. The fellowship program is

designed for Native Hawaiian scholars early in their academic careers and for others who are committed to the advancement of knowledge about the Hawaiian natural and cultural environment, Hawaiian history, politics and society. Doctoral fellows are given the opportunity to complete their dissertations before accepting their first academic posts; postdoctoral fellows are given the opportunity

to publish original research early in their academic careers. Over the years, fellows have conducted research focused on issues ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to ethnomathematics and education reform. Books have been published (or are being published) by esteemed academic presses such as Duke University Press, Kamehameha Schools Press, University of Arizona Press, Oregon State University Press, Oxford University Press, University of California Press, University of Hawai'i Press and University of Minnesota Press. The

fellows are also gaining academic appointments and promotions: of the 25 Mellon-Hawai'i Fellows supported through the end of June 2014, seven have achieved tenure, seven are in tenure-track positions in the University of Hawai'i

system, and one is a research fellow at Oxford University. "When future generations look back at the explosion of Hawaiian scholarship after the turn of the 21 st century, they will be able to clearly see the impact of those who were funded by the Mellon-Hawai'i program. This is no exaggeration," said Noelani GoodyearKa'ōpua, Ph.D., associate professor and undergraduate chair in the department of polkieal science at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and a 2010-2011 MellonHawai'i postdoctoral fellow. Matthews M. Hamabata, Ph.D., president and CEO of

The Kohala Center, agrees. "The past several decades have seen a resurgence of 'ōlelo Hawai'i, Hawaiian cultural praxis and academic advancement," he said. "Even though more and more Native Hawaiians are transcending barriers to

higher education and entering graduate programs, they still face challenges that ean hinder eomplehon of doctoral degrees and postdoctoral publications. These realities include being in-demand for academic committees, carrying heavy teaching loads and guiding young people through their studies, while at the same time operating in a 'publish or perish' system. The Mellon-Hawai'i programis intended to alleviate some of these pressures and enahle scholars to focus on completing their dissertations and manuscripts." Since the program began, a peer network of budding

and seasoned Kānaka Maoli scholars has emerged and continues to grow. At a time when Native Hawaiians are still underrepresented on the faculty and in the administration of Hawai'i's university system, the support and encouragement of other indigenous scholars ean be priceless. "I was, and still am, overwhelmed by the honor and a sense of gratitude in knowing that The Kohala Center and my

colleagues find my work valuable and meaningful, and that our work ean bring about change and inspire young Hawaiians to push further in their academic pursuits," said 2012-2013 fellow and doctoral candidate Marie Alohalani Brown, acting assistant professor in the department of religion at UH-Mānoa. "Mel-lon-Hawai'i has helped grow an 'ohana of intellectual leaders contributing in meaningful ways to the Native

Hawaiian community and to eaeh other. The support and experiences of those before us have given many of us great comfort and inspiration." Founded in the year 2000, The Kohala Center is an independent, community-based center for research, conservation and education. The Center turns research and traditional knowledge into action, so that communities in Hawai'i and around the world ean thrive - ecologically, economically, culturally and socially. To learn more about the Mellon-Hawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, visit mellonhawaii.org. ■

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Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. Trustee, Hawai'i

Several of The fellows and mentors from the Mellon-Hawai'i Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program pose for a photo in November 201 3 in Keauhou, Hawai'i lsland. Front row, from left are: Dr. Kaipo Perez III, Dr. Sydney Lehua laukea, Marie Alohalani Brown, Dr. Katrina-Ann Rose-Marie Kapā'anaokalāokeola Nakoa Oliveira, Dr. Noenoe Silva, Dr. Maenette Ah Nee-Benham. Back row, from left, are: lokepa Casum-bal-Salazar, Dr. Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu K. Lipe, Dr. B. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Dr. Keao NeSmith, Bryan Gene Kamaoli Kuwada, Dr. Noelani Goodyear-Ka'ōpua, Dr. Cristina Bacchilega, Dr. Brandy Nālani McDougall, Dr. Eōmailani Keonaonalikookalehua Kukahiko and Dr. Joseph Zilliox. - Courtesy: īhe Kohala Center