 Kalei'okalani of Huraiti Mana was featured live on Q13 Fox news promoting Northwest Folklife's Our Big Neighborhood Event. Click above to see the full clip.
We were so excited to announce Huraiti Mana's participation in Northwest Folklife's newest program Our Big Neighborhood and to be able to participate in their Movin' Around the World segment focused on Polynesia. This week marked the Spring Break for many schools in the nearby area, which meant lots of youth and families were able to come through Seattle Center. There, they could find program after program featuring teaching artists from across disciplines, across cultures, and for some - like Etienne of Gansango whom I met and learned was originally from West Africa - from across the globe.
The morning began with a generous invitation from Q13 Fox News to feature Huraiti Mana in their early morning live broadcast to help share the news of Northwest Folklife's youth event! I had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful, charismatic, energetic, super-real, and quick-witted Ellen Tailor. The Q13 Fox Morning Features Reporter and I talked-story about our heritage, her Greek background and my Native-Hawaiian, about the similarities of laughable language barriers, of appreciating our elders, and of a peoples' resilience. My day continued with performances and workshops led by Halau 'O Napualani's Kumu Gloria and Bill Nahalea (both of whom also run the non-profit organization Pacific 'Ohana Foundation (POF)). It was so beautiful to see so many keiki (children) perform and help teach hula and Maori poi ball dancing! My hands were twitching the whole time - it's hard for a dancer to watch others and not feel compelled to join! And following this, I had an absolutely amazing time meeting the bright faces and inquisitive minds of so many youth during Huraiti Mana's 45-minute hula workshop. There is Hawaiian proverb: a'a i ka hula. Dare to dance. And these youth danced unabashedly, learning kāholo, hela, and 'uwehe steps. They listened to my story as I recited "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai" and danced. After watching intently and listening to nothing but 'ōlelo Hawa'i (Hawaiian language), they repeated to me the story they saw unfold before them; "in the beginning, you were looking at sea-waves," "and you loved it and shared it with everyone," "and the plants of the ocean smelled good." 'Ae. Pololei. They in turn stood to learn and perform this story - and they did so beautifully. Questions followed after I left the stage and youth gathered around: "when you dance hula, how come you always dance with flowers?" "How come you dance barefoot when you're doing hula?" "Do you always dance hula?" Questions we look forward to addressing each day with Huraiti Mana. Our sincerest mahalo to Anna and Leta of the Northwest Folklife team for having Huraiti Mana as a part of your innovative program to engage our youth and create empathy across the many cultures that create our big neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest.  Huraiti Mana's table presentation at the Highline High School Multilingual Career Fair Huraiti Mana was kindly invited by the College & Career Readiness team of the Highline School District to participate in the high school's Multilingual and multicultural career fair as a community career partner. Students sat down to an introduction to the fair's main themes: that multilingual skills and multicultural backgrounds are an invaluable asset to our everyday lives and can be used to help each of us thrive in our future endeavors. There are many creative opportunities out there for us multicultural people of color to achieve and in which to excel. Many students in our communities of color are soon to become the first in their families to graduate high school and the first to attend college. This endeavor is very exciting - but it can also be intimidating. So, Highline High School has been building ways to engage their students in networking opportunities to prepare them for their next chapter.
Following an introduction to our goals, students split into small groups and visited various tables of community partners to learn more about job opportunities, resources, and experiences. At the table for Huraiti Mana, I shared about my experiences with Huraiti Mana as a business and cultural community partner, but I also shared about other organizations in which my cultural work has developed. Organizations including the Wing Luke Museum where I've exhibited my work and am also the Director of Museum Services; and Arts Corps, where I am a Master Teaching Artist instructing after-school hula classes. Students asked me questions about starting my own business, building skills for design and accounting, and why I chose particular majors to study in college. I was able to follow up with individual students after the fair, and it has been a tremendously rewarding experience. It's been great to meet curious students and hear about their dreams: some wanted to begin a restaurant or food truck and others wanted some type of business "but I'm not sure what, just yet." I suggested joining clubs on campus to build resumes and receive "free professional training" in a way; if you want to create a restaurant someday, become your club's Food Logistics Chair and learn about permits, licensing, and catering for your club's annual food-centered fundraiser. Or, if you don't want to begin a business, there are other ways to be creative; such as suggesting a new job position at your organization, one that will be mutually beneficial and fits your unique skill set. Although conversations were short with only an hour and six career partners to visit (including Seattle Times, Interpreters, and more), they sparked inspiration and excitement - for students, but most definitely for myself as well. I realize there are many more ways to partner with the community and tabling opportunities would be great to continue! Students shared feedback with organizers of the event:
 United Territory Of Pacific Islanders' Alliance or UTOPIA has graciously invited Huraiti Mana to take part in their annual lū'au fundraiser, which celebrates our cultures of the Pacific while raising funds that support educational programming for our Pacific Islander LGBTQI communities. UTOPIA is a transgender and fa'afafine-led, member-based organization that creates a safe, vibrant, and supportive space for members of the LGBTQI communities. Huraiti Mana stands together in solidarity and in unity with the values of UTOPIA and hope to build more connections with this great organization. UTOPIA offers beautiful programs that advocate for social justice through meaningful conversation. Events such as their upcoming Talanoa invites everyton to witness "a cultural and theological dialogue between our Pacific Religious Leaders and our Queer & Trans* Pacific Islander (QTPI) communities. The dialogue will explore the role of QTPIs within the Polynesian community and Church, insider/outsider politics and ongoing reconciliation. The talanoa will seek fa’aaloalo (mutual respect), malamalama (illumination), and tofa sa’ili (transformed minds)." Find out more about UTOPIA, their mission, and their programs! Imua e UTOPIA - go forth!
  Northwest Folklife has partnered with Seattle Center for a three-year venture called Our Big Neighborhood! Our Big Neighborhood will provide year-long opportunities for youth and families to participate in folk, ethnic, and traditional arts with multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary, and intergenerational programming. Huraiti Mana has loved joining Northwest Folklife and Seattle Children's Festival for their past programs, and we are so very excited to be a part of their first-ever Our Big Neighborhood events! Huraiti Mana will be hosting a hula dance workshop at the Seattle Center as a part of their Movin' Around the World celebration. Please enjoy this half-hour hula dance class where you'll see what a class with Huraiti Mana is like: filled with laughter, stories, and passionate work.
The Meridian Schools so kindly invited Huraiti Mana back to participate in their amazing educational programs such as the annual Global Citizen's Symposium. The Meridian Schools faculty and staff believe "that the challenges of our world require culturally competent, well-rounded, critically thinking individuals who are prepared to be responsible and active local and global citizens. This symposium offers an opportunity to expose our students to leaders who promote local and global social change in many different ways. Through a variety of workshops, we seek to inspire and empower our students by learning how people help to improve conditions in their communities with everyday big and small contributions."
Huraiti Mana hosted a lei-making workshop focusing on the wili style in Native Hawaiian lei lā'ī or ti-leaf lei. First, we begin with our oli kahea, an entrance or permission chant. We center ourselves. Open ourselves to new wisdom and experience. Some students focused and closed their eyes while oli filled the room. Then, we agree upon ka papa oia'i'o - our class values - to (1) care for and be kind to our space, our environment; take only what you need. (2) To be kind to ourselves and give ourselves time; be patient with our work. And (3) value the experience and our lei. Then, we create! And afterwards we ask: was it challenging? "Yes!" If you were to give others' your lei, would they understand or see how challenging it was? "Yes, maybe, no!" Our answers varied. Perhaps it is because they may not have experienced this process or seen this process before. It is important that we do experience other people's practices, even if for a moment, because it is not until we understand a small portion of the experience - the spirituality of oli, the mālama or care for our land, the difficulty and labor of love in lei - that we understand the significance, the meaning, and the love of a people's tradition. We create empathy for people other than our own. And for those who are Native Hawaiian, we create empathy for ourselves and our people. It is with this kind of understanding we hope students and teachers carry forward in the world. There were so many amazing artists I met in passing between our workshops, Roger with his captivating Native American Indian Story Telling, Nahaan with Carving and Design from Alaskan heritage (children carved using soap!), Arturo with Afro-Cuban drumming, and so many more. It is an honor to work within such a great program and community. Mahalo nui loa!  Our 'ono (delicious) guava cake made by Cakes of Paradise! Mahalo nui to everyone who came out during the month of January 2018 to celebrate with Huraiti Mana in our first year anniversary! We shared in a little bit of Guava cake (after practice!) and talked story about our past year and looking forward to the next. It's great to see everyone meet each other and learn from each other. That's what community and culture is all about. That's what Huraiti Mana hopes to share with you! E manava, e komo mai. Hau'oli lā hānau e Huraiti Mana. Happy Birthday!
Online registration required for new dancers, open now! Fee free to share this post with friends and family as we invite them to our month of free classes! Note: no practice Wednesday, January 3.   Kalei'okalani's art installation featuring handmade fresh lei in the Visions of Pasifika exhibit now on display at the Wing Luke Museum December 7, 2017 - November 2018. Now thru November 2018, visit the Wing Luke Museum and be transported from traditional museum galleries into a space that is very personal. Very vulnerable. Very warm and comforting. Step into this living room-style exhibit space featuring art installations of four different Pacific Islander artists. Perhaps the living room transports you to another world. Perhaps it reminds you of home, the way you remember it, as it was.
I am so honored to have had the opportunity to participate in creating this exhibit and weaving together lei to be shared with all who walk into the space. I feel what's most rewarding, is when I am able to give lei. To give lei to someone to celebrate them, to thank them, to love them. And the lei lives its purpose. To carry the aloha spirit, happiness, and mana from myself to someone else. I ask myself, how can I continue my indigeneity outside of the land to which I'm indigenous. Of my lei, though the pua and lau, the flowers and leaves, are of plants not native to Hawai'i, they still represent a Hawaiian tradition. And they speak of the land where I live, now. The Pacific Northwest. It is a sign of traditions adapting. It is a sign that the aloha spirit can live in many forms. It is indigenous to Hawai'i and transcends across all lands and people. And it continues to connect us all. My visions for Pasifika? That all our huraiti, dancers, teachers, and artists, will in our own way perpetuate traditions and create new ones as we are each stakeholders in our communities. Join in this conversation and ask yourself, what do you envision for the future of our Pacific Island communities?  Huraiti Katie dances as we celebrate with goPoké in Seattle's Chinatown-International District for their first year! The Le brothers of goPoké kindly invited Huraiti Mana to perform at their first birthday celebration! The day kicked off with raffle prizes, giveaways, and rainbow cake from Cakes of Paradise. Festivities went on from 11:00AM - 808PM (shout out!). Congratulations to the Le borthers and their entire 'ohana for such a successful year. Their family's story is rich and full of triumph. We are all here, supporting the future of our communities, creating new traditions, and furthering our culture and history. Here, in Seattle. But we will always remember Hawai'i as the home of our hearts.
 Kalei with keiki from the Northwest Folklife Seattle Children's Festival! She will be conducting a similar lei workshop for the Wing Luke Museum on Saturday, November 18 All are welcome to the Wing Luke Museum's Family Fun Day!
Event: Family Fun Day Place: Wing Luke Museum 719 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104 Date: Saturday, November 18, 2017 Time: 10AM-5PM full of activities and film screenings (exact time of lei-making TBD) Admission to the museum galleries are by donation all day! The Wing Luke Museum will soon be opening its next Pacific Islander exhibit (opening on Thursday, December 7). Featured in the exhibit will be lei created by Kalei'okalani of Huraiti Mana and lei created by YOU! Join us as we learn how to craft orchid lei, ti-leaf lei, and more. Lei will then be displayed in the upcoming exhibit featuring Pacific Islander artists and exploring questions about the future of our Pacific Islander communities. |
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