Video: Native Hawaiian practitioner Pele Harman gives public talk at UH Hilo, “ʻOnipaʻa Kākou”
The talk, “ʻOnipaʻa Kākou,” is part of UH Hilo’s Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story gatherings.
By Staff/UH Hilo Stories
Pelehonuamea “Pele” Harman, director of Native Hawaiian engagement at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, gave a public talk January 17, 2025, at the university.
Harman is a UH Hilo alumna whose position is newly created as part of the Hawaiʻi Papa o Ke Ao team established throughout the statewide 10-campus UH System to help develop UH as a leader in Indigenous education.
In her talk as a Native Hawaiian educator and cultural practitioner, Harman spoke on “ʻOnipaʻa Kākou,” about the history-altering event in Hawaiʻi 132 years ago and where the community is in realizing its kuleana.
Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story
The goal of the series, named “Kuleana and Community Weekly Talk Story: Building Community Through Conversation” and launched in fall of 2024, is to strengthen the university’s connections to the local community through conversation. Talks cover youth-focused government programs, health care, food systems, climate challenges, and more. Following a short talk by a featured guest, attendees break out into discussion groups and then share their manaʻo (thoughts) with everyone.
The talks are held on campus at the Kilohana Student Success Center located in Edwin Mookini Library.
The Kuleana and Community series is sponsored by the UH Hilo Office of the Chancellor, Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, Kilohana Academic Success Center, Center for Global Education and Exchange, and Assistant Professor of Communication Colby Miyose and Associate Professor of Sociology Alton Okinaka.
