Hawaiians, the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, have an ʻōlelo no'eau or wise saying, "He aliʻi ka 'āina, he kauwa ke kānaka." The land is a chief, the person is a servant." This speaks to the importance of ʻāina (land) in a Hawaiian world-view and our responsibilities to aloha ʻāina and to mālama ʻāina—to love and care for the land—for the land will take care of and nurture us.
ʻĀina is our source of ulu (growth) in the food it provides, the food we cultivate and in how that food nourishes and sustains us. It is a foundation for how we hoʻoulu lāhui (to grow and increase the nation). It prompts us to always ask, "How do we best aloha and mālama ʻāina?" "How do we best love and care for the land?"
This ʻāina we call home here in Hawaiʻi is sacred and is our source of pilina (relationship) with each other and our natural environment. While moving about in Hawaiʻi and meeting new people, a common question you may be asked is, "Where are you from?" "No Hea Mai ʻOe?"
Reflecting on our home ʻāina, Hawaiʻi, and how it is a source of ulu (growth) and pilina (relationships), this digital exhibit features materials about Hawaiʻi from some of our special collections in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa library. We hope these materials will help you grow a deeper understanding of Hawaiʻi behind the swaying palm trees and picturesque images that you may often see Hawaiʻi depicted as. We also hope this exhibit helps you develop a stronger, more meaningful, pilina with Hawaiʻi and with the many unique collections we have in our library.
This exhibit is organized in three themes:
The first theme focuses on ʻāina or land. It provides glimpses into the intimate relationship that Hawaiians have with ʻāina, how ʻāina is remembered, and how ʻāina is protected.
The second theme focuses on kānaka or people in Hawaiʻi. It provides glimpses into some of the communities of people that call Hawaiʻi home. From Hawaiians to the many settlers from Asia and the West who settled in Hawaiʻi and made it their home for generations.
The third theme focuses on Hawaiʻi, more specifically the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's campus, as a place of pilina or relationships in and throughout the Pacific. It provides glimpses of Hawai'i as part of this regional network of interactions, crossroads, and connections.
Kapena Shim, Hawaiʻi Specialist Librarian, Hawaiian and Pacific Collections
Dongyun Ni, Chinese Studies Librarian, Asia Collection
Daniel Ishimitsu, Web Developer, Library Information Technology
The exhibit was made possible by the great support and contributions from
Hawaiian and Pacific Collections
Dore Minatodani, Hawaiʻi Specialist Librarian
Jodie Mattos, Hawaiʻi Specialist Librarian
Asia Collection
Monica Ghosh, Public Services Division Head & South Asia Studies Librarian
Karen Kadohiro Lauer, Russian Studies Librarian
Patricia Polansky, Russian Bibliographer
University Archives and Manuscript Collections
Leilani Dawson, Department Chair & Manuscript Collections Archivist
Malia Van Heukelem, Art Archivist
Helen Wong Smith, Archivist for University Records
Dawn Sueoka, Congressional Papers Archivist
We acknowledge that the ʻili ‘āina—Pilipili, Wailele, and Puahia—on which our library gathers on in Mānoa is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawaiians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku.
We recognize that Her Majesty Queen Lili‘uokalani yielded the Hawaiian Kingdom and these territories under duress and protest to the United States to avoid the bloodshed of her people. We further recognize that Hawai‘i remains an illegally occupied state of the United States of America.
We acknowledge that each moment we are in Hawai‘i she nourishes and gifts us and every other person here with the opportunity to breathe her air, eat from her soils, drink from her waters, bathe in her sun, swim in her oceans, be kissed by her rains, and be embraced by her winds. We further recognize that generations of Hawaiian knowledge shaped Hawai‘i in sustainable ways that allows all of us to enjoy these gifts today. We recognize our kuleana—both our responsibilities and our privileges—to care for this ‘āina for the many generations yet to come.
Adopted from UHM's Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office by Kapena Shim, Hawaiʻi Specialist Librarian.