Oʻahu North Shore Field School

The North Shore Field School (NSFS) started in 2012 as an Indigenous, community-based archaeological methods training program working at Kupopolo Heiau and ‘Uko‘a in the Waialua moku; it was run as a Spring semester Saturday class by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) Department of Anthropology and sponsored by the ‘Āina Ulu program of the Kamehameha Schools (KS). After a successful five years of offering the field school to both graduate and undergraduate students, the field school in 2017 shifted its focus to ethnographic and oral history methods aimed at documenting, preserving, and honoring the stories of the people of Waialua. The UHM Department of Ethnic Studies joined the Department of Anthropology in running the program, and the Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club became a primary community partner. KS supported the program with funding through ‘Āina Ulu between 2018-2021 and additional funding through the Hi‘ialo program between 2021-2022. The interviews represented here come from the NSFS Spring 2018, 2019, and 2020 classes. A total of 22 kūpuna (elders) were interviewed, with transcripts and digital Story Maps produced for each. The 2020 class was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 class was fully virtual with no new interviews conducted in Waialua. Between 2021-2022, NSFS staff worked to complete transcript edits and secure consent for archiving on ScholarSpace with the UHM Center for Oral History. Due to the disruptions of the pandemic, and to the passing of several kūpuna since 2018, not all of the interviews conducted are represented here. We invite all to visit our website at http://northshorefieldschool.org to view our Story Maps and other materials not included on ScholarSpace, including an audio recording of the mele (song) “Waialua is Calling to Me,” composed and performed by Daven Chang. The NSFS offered an ‘āina-based learning opportunity that engaged students and community volunteers in honoring wahi kūpuna (ancestral places), building respectful pilina (relationships), and perpetuating mo‘olelo (stories and histories). We worked with cultural practitioners and community volunteers in the North Shore area. They shared their manaʻo and moʻolelo with the Field School at “talk story” events and hosted visits. Student participants fostered relationships with the community and ʻāina, and they learned how to conduct oral histories to be able to collect stories from the narrators. Our team, comprised of former NSFS haumāna, alakaʻi and kumu, have working diligently to collect, compile and save the oral histories that were shared with us over the years by the kūpuna so that future generations have the ability to learn from the voices of this special community. We dedicate this to Waialua and to all of our narrators and their families who welcomed us into their homes and lives: George Ai, Alfred Alameida, Vanderlyn Anana, Leif Andersen, Kanani Awai, Keith Awai, Diane Canon, Emmaline Causey, Herbert Chun, Mary Chun, Francis Forsythe, John Hirota, Moki Labra, Kimo Lyman, Judy Miram, Lois Pacolba, Frank Perreira, Leilani Perreira, Kenneth Segawa, Kenneth Souza, Jock Sutherland and Gay Timon. Your stories give life to Waialua — e ola no Waialua.