Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 2, 1 February 2022 — A Living Language in Ocean Exploration [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Living Language in Ocean Exploration

By J. Hau'oli Lorenzo-Elarco, Hōkūkahalelani Pihana and Alyssa Anderson Dive and rise, until reaching the deep blue oeean, Dive and rise, until reaching the seafloor, Dive and rise, until reaching the sea ridge, Dive and rise, until reaching the foundation (ofthe oeeanie islands) From Hawai'i to Hōlanikū, we extend our deepest aloha to our readers and raise our voices chanting the lines of Lu'u a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipo lipo for the vast oeean of Moananuiākea - an important plaee where olelo Kanaka lives. In preparation for deep-sea expeditions in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, members of the Papahānaumokuākea Cultural Working Group (CWG) collaborated with Oeean Exploration Trust (OET) in late 2021 to integrate Hawaiian culture and language during the expeditions and create culturally grounded oeean science education and outreach opportunities for Hawai'i's diverse eommunities. This partnership aimed to strengthen connections between Papahānaumokuākea and students in Hawai'i, with a special focus on Hawaiian language revitalization. One of the projects led by the CWG nomenclature subcommittee was naming the deep-sea expeditions through traditional Hawaiian naming processes. From eollahorative conversations between language educators, scientists, schoolteachers, and community members, four expedition names were created: Lu'u a ea, a hiki i ke kai lipolipo; Lu'u a ea, a hiki i ka papakū; Lu'u a ea, a hiki i ke kualono kai; and Lu'u a ea, a hiki i ke kumu. The names were inspired by a traditional nane (riddle) and have heeome the chant that opens this article. Eaeh name reflects the work of OET in Papahānaumokuākea. Digital mapping technology and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) offer a deeper understanding of the oeean floor and ancient seamounts. In addition to naming expeditions, the collaboration with OET supported storytelling through the development of promotional videos in Hawaiian highlighting Kanaka worldviews of oeean exploration; compiling Hawaiian vocabulary for oeean science and technology terms and creating Hawaiian language outreach information; broad-

SEE A LIVING LANGUAGE IN OŪEAN EXPL0RATI0N ON PAGE 7

A LIVING LANGUAGE IN 0CEAN EXPL0RATI0N Continued from page 5

Photo taken on the north side ridge of the Don Quixote Seamount, about 900 miles northwest of Kaua'i and 70 miles south of Kapou/ Papa'ōpoho. This is a great example of the diversity of sponges and corals on these seamounts that are rich foundations for communities supporting many other creatures. - Photos: Oeean Exploration īrust / Nautilus Live

ening outreach to loeal schools; and supporting live "ship-to-shore" inI teractions between the | research vessel and class- ' rooms in both Hawaiian ■ and English. Kalama'ehu Takahashi and Kainalu . Steward joined the crew ■ for the expeditions and • led the ship-to-shore in- ( teractions for Hawai'i's ' students and eommu- . nity groups. There were , 30 school groups ffom , Hawai'i that connect- . ed through the interactions, and seven of these were Hawaiian language schools. This collaboration helped share Pap-

ahānaumokuākea with students in Hawai'i and will hopefully inspire future Indigenous scientists to be firmly grounded in their identity. We thank everyone in the CWG, the OET team, and members of the community involved in creating these names and nurturing this relationship for the benefit of future generations. A special mahalo goes to Kalama'ehu Takahashi and Kainalu Steward for their work on- and off-ship, inspiring future generations of Kānaka to weave Hawaiian culture and language with marine sciences and oeean exploration. For more information, visit: https://nautiluslive.org/. ■

| I [m 1 yy y^^Kv//j t F w W ' ' r&\ 1 / '4 Kumu Kainalu Steward