Lanihuli Kanahele

Name Lanihuli Kanahele

social media @lanihuliokauahaao

Age 22

Town/Moku Hilo and Kaʻu

Island Hawaiʻi Island

Leadership Category Education

Nominated by Malu Dudoit

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.

I was born and raised in a traditional Hawaiian family, where all that we learn is from our ancestral knowledge and it must be applied in our daily lives. Since I was little I have practiced many Hawaiian traditions such as Hula(traditional dance), speaking Hawaiian, fishpond restoration, sailing, and many more. As the next generation of Hawaiian practitioners, It is our job to keep these practices thriving and flourish into something that will inspire the new generation to have a connection to their people and environment. As a Hawaiian practitioner I would want to produce videos of my own culture and beliefs. My goal is to create content that will inspire not only Hawaii, but the entire world that indigenous groups suffer from desecration through land management and occupation yet nothing is being done about it.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?

Impacted communities is the reason why I do the work that I do. I have done a lot of activist work, stewardship, and restoration of cultural resources within communities. I can say that my biggest challenge in my career so far is TIME. Like everyone else we battle through deadlines and messy schedules, but I am also fighting on my own level of time. Since I have this sense of urgency to making these issues known, to show these stories of my people to the world, I feel like I have to finish things much quicker because we donʻt have time. Soon these issues will fly by and be forgotten if no one makes the audience aware of what's happening in your own backyard, beaches, parks, and homes. There are reasons why we have media content.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.

I think some qualities of leadership that I admire is to know where you come from, know your people, and know your practice. Using this helps you better understand yourself and your responsibility as Kanaka. I found that knowing this gives you a foundation to back on and makes you reliable. I use this everyday I work and to me when it comes to leadership especially in your community its important to represent them in a way we as kanaka understand. This is expressed when I introduce myself or when I speak to others, whether its through the way I talk or the practice that I pursue people can find out many things about you and truly understand the place you come from.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?

My community and future generations is what motivates me to tell stories. The inspiration came from constantly seeing my place, people, and practices in danger. I can say that my biggest challenge in my career so far is TIME. Like everyone else we battle through deadlines and messy schedules, but I am also fighting on my own level of time. Since I have this sense of urgency to making these issues known, to show these stories of my people to the world, I feel like I have to finish things much quicker because we donʻt have time. Soon these issues will fly by and be forgotten if no one makes the audience aware of what's happening in your own backyard, beaches, parks, and homes. There are reasons why we have media content. My reason is to create content that shares the truth and guides our keiki to lead Hawaiʻi to a great place.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?

Rejoice

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?

Desecrate