Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum
Name Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum
Age 30
Town/Moku Makawao
Island Maui
Social Media Handle @anelauilani
Nominated by Max Mukai
Leadership Category Civic Engagement/Emerging Law
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.
Originally from Makawao, Maui, Uʻilani Tanigawa Lum is an attorney and cultural practitioner. She now resides in ʻĀhuimanu, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu with her ʻohana. She is currently a Post-Juris Doctor Fellow at Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, the President of the West Maui Preservation Association, and a founder and the Director of Operations at Kāhuli Leo Leʻa. Uʻi is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Maui and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge where she earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Hawaiian Studies. Her thesis examined hula’s role in society and in particular, its performance in Japan as a cultural, social, economic, and political mechanism. Uʻi graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law in 2019 with specialities in Native Hawaiian Law and Environmental Law. She first began law school as an Evening Part-Time student while working as a Trustee Aide at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. During her time as a law student, she was a Research Assistant for the Environmental Law Program, a Staff Editor for the Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, and an extern with the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations. Most recently, Uʻi published a book “Malu ʻUlu o Lele – Maui Komohana in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa” and earned a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for the liner notes for the album, “Huliāmahi, Vol.1.” As a hula practitioner, Uʻi recently underwent formal ʻūniki ceremonies, and ensures space for the practice of hula, ʻohana, and the kuleana that surrounds those kahua.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?
Our practices offer a cruicial foundation to our identity as Kānaka Maoli. Practices, like hula, teach us about our history, our ways of knowing, and how to interact with ʻāina, our natural counterpart. Likewise, our laws offer a tool to protect and advance our traditional and customary practices. Our practices also offer solutions to many of the pressing issues we face as a global society (e.g., climate change).
Our laws in Hawaiʻi are unique – the cultural underpinnings of our laws underscore the importance of our cultural and historical context. In many ways, law and our culture are intertwined. This important relationship and the potential that results from it offer incredible opportunities for our communities, ʻāina, and lāhui aloha.
For these reasons – and many more – it is important for me to advance our practices, and use law as a vehicle for transformative healing, change, and restorative justice.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.
Transformative leaders are driven by something other than themselves. They have integrity. They work to empower and uplift others. They are hard working and are committed to excellence. Inspired by others’ examples, I seek to embody these qualities – at home, at work, and in our communities.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?
Many incredible kumu who have inspired and paved the way including Nāpua Greig, Cody Pueo Pata, Kamana Beamer, Kahikina de Silva, Kekai Perry, Kapua Sproat, and Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, to name a few. I am also continually inspired by my peers, ʻohana, husband, and son.
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?
Advocacy
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?
Advocacy