Center for the Promotion and Survival of Hawaiian
Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
No Ka Hale
About the Mary Kawena Pukui Hale
Under the direction of Dr. Maya L. Kawailanaokeawaiki since its founding in November of 2005, the Mary Kawena Pukui Hale is a resource center housed within Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language dedicated to the promotion and survival of Hawaiian. The faculty and staff of Kawaihuelani, led by Dr. Sam L. Noʻeau Warner, identified a need for such a center within Kawaihuelani to support their instructional, curriculum development, and research goals back in 2003 when they composed the original motto and mission statement for the center and received permission to name the center after one of the most important Hawaiian scholars, genealogies, composers, and kumu hula of our time, Mary Kawena Pukui.
Leia ka ʻōlelo i ō ka leo kanaka.
ʻOiai ʻike ʻia kanaka ma o kāna ʻōlelo, a ʻo ka ʻōlelo ka mea e puahia ai kanaka, ua hoʻokumu ʻia ka Mary Kawena Pukui Hale i laha ka leo kanaka a e wawalo hoʻi i ke kula a paʻa ma ka ʻāina a puni. No ka Mary Kawena Pukui Hale ke kuleana no ke kūkulu ʻana i ka paepae pōhaku no ka ʻōlelo ʻōiwi o ka ʻāina nei, ma o ka mālama, ke aʻo, ka hoʻomāhuahua, a me ka noiʻi ʻana i ka ʻōlelo ma nā kaiāulu a pau e puapuaʻi ai ka ʻōlelo.
In essence, the mission of the Mary Kawena Pukui Hale is to revitalize, promote, and enhance the research, curriculum development, and teaching of Hawaiian so that the voices of the Native people of this land may be made known, resound, and become a permanent feature of the University as well as the surrounding community. This mission is achieved by increasing access to and availability of various forms of Hawaiian resource materials through planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating activities and projects that range from collection and preservation of resources (i.e., databasing, indexing, digitizing) to the production, showcasing, and dissemination of newly developed resources and curriculum materials.
Director
Assistants
The Mary Kawena Pukui Hale has been able to provide employment and mentorship to many UH Mānoa undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of Hawaiian research and education. To date, the MKPH has hosted three undergraduate student assistants, two undergraduate student interns, and five graduate research assistants who were recruited not only from Kawaihuelani’s MA program in Hawaiian but also from the Master’s of Education in Teaching program at the College of Education and the Center for Pacific Island Studies. Finally, MKPH is privileged to have had many student volunteers over the years. The support provided by these students is invaluable to the success and growth of the Mary Kawena Pukui Hale, and consequently, the opportunities offered to them have positively impacted their own learning and development, which will hopefully lead to successful graduate studies in related fields and/or meaningful careers in their own communities. He wahi leo mahalo kēia iā ʻoukou!
Nā Haumāna Laeoʻo
Kahanu Oʻ Keola Walker
Kahala Johnson
Kaikaina Kekua
Kaʻiuokalani Damas
Kaʻanoʻi Walk
Keoni Kuoha
Nā Haumāna Laepua
Melia Kalawe
Keʻalohi Foster
Kauluponookaleilehua Luʻuwai
Halemano Kalāhiki
Kanoe Kaʻōpūiki
Kahaʻiola Johnson
Kamāmalulani Hara
Maya L. Kawailanaokeawaiki Saffery, PhD
Director, Mary Kawena Pukui Hale
Curriculum Specialist,
Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language
Maya L. Kawailanaokeawaiki Saffery was born and raised in Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu and is an ongoing student of the language and culture of her ancestors. With a Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Language and both a Master’s and PhD in Education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), she serves as the Curriculum Specialist for Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at UHM. One of her foremost professional endeavors as Curriculum Specialist for Kawaihuelani is Director of the Mary Kawena Pukui Hale (MKPH). In honor of the original intentions of Dr. Warner and the kumu who originally conceptualized the Hale, Maya built the MKPH from the ground
up, both physically and administratively, and continues to realize its mission by planning, executing, and evaluating a variety of projects that range from collection and preservation of resources to the production, showcasing, and dissemination of newly developed Hawaiian research and curriculum materials, resulting in increased access to and availability of various forms of Hawaiian knowledge. See Kawaihuelani's website for more information about Dr. Saffery and her research interests and scholarly publications.