Kamelamela, Katie

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10125/24289

Katie Kamelamela is born and raised on Oahu with family on most of the Hawaiian Islands.

Educational background is in Botany and Hawaiian Studies with influences from Art and Marine Sciences.

Her academic and personal interests are how people cultivate relationships with their environment and community, especially through plants, food and ceremony, which enhance cultural vibrancy.

This engagement and approach stems from understanding potential health trajectories of minority populations when integrated into cash and subsistence economies.

Research location is focused in Oceania but has also made connections in Canada, Mexico and Europe.

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Contemporary Hawai'i Non-Timber Forest Plant Gathering Practices
(2019-08) Kamelamela, Katie
Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a critical role for communities in the United States and across the globe. NTFPs include a diversity of plants and plant parts - from fruit, flowers and leaves to bark, and other parts – as well as fungi. NTFPs provide materials for a multitude of uses, including food, medicine, housing, the arts, and ceremonies. In Hawai‘i, NTFPs were used extensively and continue to be important to subsistence practices and/or make major contributions to cash economies. The purpose of this research is to assess in Hawai‘i what contemporary forest plants are wild harvested, why, and by whom, as well as the social, ecological, and economic implications of wild plant harvest. Methods to identify key forest plant species and harvesters include interviews, the first analysis of the Department of Land and Natural Resources plant permit database, surveys of markets and cultural events, including an online structured survey of plant harvesters across the islands. Results illustrate the importance of connection to place and practice, that conservation methods can be utilized while harvesting, that introduced species can play key substitution roles in contemporary practices, and Hawaiians are key harvesters with many others who engage and contribute to Hawai‘i forests. The kuleana, enduring concern and blessing, of forest resiliency sits between harvesters and formal social structures of management. Native species are still being harvested for subsistence, educational and economic purposes. This NTFP research informs future policy decisions affecting the cross section of contemporary cultural, economic, and conservation values of Hawai‘i forests.
Learning through hands-on activities: Student Ethnobotany experiments
(Open Science Network, 2012-09) Kamelamela, Katie
Make the most of the time that you have with students
Archaeological Technician Training Kaho‛olawe Practicum Report
(Cultural Surveys Hawaii, Inc, 2009-09) Uyeoka, Kelley L.; Kamelamela, Katie; Hammatt, Hallet
Plants of Kahoolawe: A Bi-lingual Digital Resource
(Hawaii Conservation Alliance, 2011-08) Kamelamela, Katie; Thomas, Michael
Native Hawaiian culture is heavily dependent upon biological resources, primarily plant resources. Much of the biological and traditional knowledge about Kaho‘olawe is available only in English and not presented in the Hawaiian Language, also an official language of the State of Hawaii. The Joseph F. Rock Herbarium, Department of Botany at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa has initiated a biological plant database and digital collection of plants of Kahoolawe, supported by historical published literature and related digital plant photographs. Vascular plant species recorded on Kahoolawe were initially identified from literature research and species names were then updated utilizing the International Taxonomic Integrated System. A database model was developed for dissemination of the plants of Kaho‘olawe including presentation of taxonomic plant information, descriptions and digital photographs of herbarium specimen. The English web site interface terms were translated to complete the development of a Hawaiian language interface. Resulting from this project is a functional bi-lingual digital library, evaluation data, a standard methodology for documenting recorded traditional knowledge and increased awareness and use of the library reference collection. This project serves as a reproducible extensible model which other culturally digital biological library reference collections can utilize and will promote a greater awareness and understanding of the Native Hawaiian language and its relationship to a living culture. It is encouraged for institutions that provide support for Indigenous languages across the world to provide resources that people in the local community can utilize for the continuation of cultural perpetuation and preservation of knowledge.
Imu o nui mai mauka i kai: Contemporary Native Hawaiian Gathering Practices in Culturally Vibrant Communities
(Hawaii Conservation Alliance, 2011-08) Kamelamela, Katie
Communities around the world depend on plants for subsistence and cultural perpetuation. There is limited data available on contemporary gathering practices in indigenous communities worldwide. Factors affecting current gathering practices in Hawaii include ungulates, disease, invasive species, water diversion, urbanization, climate change and national security. This research addresses 1) what (42 of 196) plants Hawaiians commonly gathered and cultivated historically, 2) plants currently gathered in culturally vibrant communities, and 3) plants currently wanted or sold in Hawaii. In an ahupua’a case study it was observed that 60% of plants gathered were in support of imu practices. Imu, or umu, is a traditional food preparation technique utilized across Oceania for over 4,000 years, where staples are baked or steamed in an underground oven, for nutritional or ceremonial purposes. A comparison of gathering practices was conducted utilizing 2 years of participant observations, (20) semi-structured interviews, (130) surveys and online market tracking methodology. The gathering of native species for timber is a historical preference on Hawaii Island for imu and is possible because of continued land clearing in areas such as Puna and Hilo. Practitioners would rather see timber, native and invasive, be put to use rather than rot or used for mulch. Native Hawaiians still depend on plants for subsistence and cultural perpetuation. Understanding what plants are commonly gathered and what species the community would like to gather more of can provide insight for conservation efforts and place based partnerships in Hawaii.
Imu o nui mai mauka i kai-Contemporary Native Hawaiian Gathering Practices
(Hawaii Conservation Alliance, 2012-08) Kamelamela, Katie
Communities around the world depend on plants for subsistence and cultural perpetuation. There is limited data available on contemporary gathering practices in indigenous communities, especially within the Pacific. Factors affecting current gathering practices in Hawaii include ungulates, disease, invasive species, water diversion, urbanization, climate change and national security. This research addresses 1) what plants Hawaiians commonly gathered and cultivated historically, 2) plants currently gathered in culturally vibrant communities, and 3) plants currently wanted or sold in Hawaii. In an ahupua'a case study it was observed that 60% of plants gathered were in support of imu practices. Imu, or umu, is a traditional food preparation technique utilized across Oceania for over 4,000 years, where staples are baked or steamed in an underground oven, for nutritional or ceremonial purposes. A comparison of gathering practices was conducted utilizing 2 years of participant observations, (20) semi-structured interviews, (130) surveys and online market tracking methodology. The gathering of native species for timber is a historical preference on Hawaii Island for imu and is possible because of continued land clearing in areas such as Puna and Hilo. Practitioners would rather see timber, native and invasive, be put to use rather than rot or used for mulch. Native Hawaiians still depend on plants for subsistence and cultural perpetuation. Understanding what plants are commonly gathered and what species the community would like to gather more of can provide insight for conservation efforts and place based partnerships in Hawaii.
Aligning Paradigm Needs of Conservation and Culturally Vibrant Communities
(Hawaii Conservation Alliance, 2012-08) Kamelamela, Katie
Communities around the world depend on flora, fauna and minerals for contemporary subsistence and cultural perpetuation. The Hawaiian Islands case study reviewed here seeks to answer: 1) what are the current gathering practices of Native Hawaiians? 2) what proportion of plants gathered is native, Polynesian Introduced and introduced?, as well as 3) what implications do contemporary gathering practice interests have for conservation in Hawaii? From 2008-2010 participant observation and semi-structured interviews recorded over 44 plant species to be gathered, with most being introduced after the arrival of 1778 (n=21), followed by Polynesian-introduced (n=14) and then Native (n=9). In comparative semi-structured interviews (n=20) conducted between Oahu and Hawaii Island, which focused on plants used in traditional underground cooking techniques or imu, in 2011 illustrates how resources (human, environmental) influence availability and species preference for firewood. Mesquite (Prosopis pallida), like many other introduced species, has been given a Hawaiian name Kiawe, a measure of its significance in Hawaii. Kiawe is a dryland plant species introduced to Hawaii in the 1880s as fodder for cattle. Today kiawe has been identified by users as the most commonly gathered and valued resource for firewood (85%) but is also identified as a "pest plant" by conservation managers. It is imperative to know what kinds of plants people use and their understanding of what "native" means. To provide insight to conservation efforts and place-based partnerships in Hawaii a paradigm expansion to align management needs with local cultures' needs must include integrating this understanding into extension and management.

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