Rainbow Ulii
NAME Rainbow Ulii
AGE 25
TOWN/MOKU Waiāhole/Hauʻula
ISLAND Oʻahu
social media @queen.reignbow
NOMINATED BY Kaleopaʻa Vares
Leadership Category Culture
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.
Aloha! I am Rainbow Uliʻi and I've been playing music since I was a pēpē. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools in 2015, I've been specifically interested in Traditional Hawaiian Falsetto music and have been blessed to be able to share my talents with the Lāhui. I've also been attending higher education at the University of Hawaiʻi for the last seven years, and recently received my Master's in Urban and Regional Planning.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?
As a musician, it has become clear that the lives of our lāhui have been heavily influenced by non-traditional forms of Hawaiian music. While I am a firm believer in the importance of all genre of music, I especially believe in the importance of moving forward Hawaiian music as the main genre for the Lāhui so we always remember who came before us, and we will never forget the strength and beauty of our kūpuna. Furthermore, I'm able to share this belief and my talents with all of those around me to perpetuate a lāhui that strives for cultural resilience and excellence.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.
I admire the quality of resilience; I embody this quality in the way that I perpetuate the stories and songs of our kūpuna Hawaiʻi. I also admire the quality of graciousness; sharing what you have to build up others around you so that we may all reach the successes and goals that our nāʻau desire. I admire the quality of serving others; I believe that as a leader, you have to serve others in the way that you share and exemplify genuine aloha. I do this when I share my manaʻo and mele with those around me, and bless their lives in doing so.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?
There are so many inspirations that incentivize my work around mele Hawaiʻi. Some of them include other Traditional Falsetto Hawaiian singers; Genoa Keawe, Vickie Iʻi Rodrigues, and my great-grandfather, Albert Newell Woodward. Additionally, the inspiration in receiving my degrees in higher education come from the discipline of my dear parents, Verna and Guy Uliʻi, as well as the support from my husband Kaimana Uliʻi-Finau, and my sister Jacelyn Uliʻi.
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?
Ola: the continuous life of our lāhui
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?
ʻĀina: the issues revolving around policies and care for all ʻāina that we stand for.