Restor(y)ing coco palms: Talking story and multiple strategies of care in Wailua, Kauaʻi

Abstract

This thesis examines how community members in Wailua, Kauaʻi envision restoration and enactmultiple strategies of care within the redevelopment of the Coco Palms Resort. Drawing on Kānaka ʻŌiwi geography and Indigenous methodologies, the study asks: (1) What is the moʻokūʻauhau of the Coco Palms Resort? and (2) How do community memories and place-based practices shape contemporary debates over its restoration? Integrating talk story and follow- thething methods, this thesis situates Coco Palms within the broader cultural landscape of Wailuanuiahoʻāno, a sacred and storied region of Wailua. The findings illustrate that the Coco Palms Resort is a site of conflicting geographic imaginaries, contributing to varying perspectives grounded in memory, moʻokūʻauhau, and relationships to ʻāina (land). Ultimately, this thesis argues that the struggle over Coco Palms is a broader conversation about the future of Wailua itself.