Perspectives of Kanaka Well-Being: The Stories of Native Hawaiian Doctoral Students

Abstract

This study examined Kanaka (Native Hawaiian) well-being and focused on two questions: (a) How do Kanaka doctoral students describe their well-being? and (b)What lived experiences contribute to the development of their well-being? Rooted in a multiple case study design, this exploratory qualitative inquiry tells the story of 11 Kanaka doctoral students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and their genealogy of well-being. Well-being is explored through hula as a research approach. This approach is informed by a combination of Kanaka ʻŌiwi Critical Race Theory with aspects of embodied cognition theories. It also draws upon hula as an art form in the research design. The author’s hula genealogy framed what she heard, smelled, tasted, touched, and felt and informed how she heard, understood, and re-told the stories of the Kānaka who participated. She developed a (k)new understanding of well-being as pono (balance within the mind, body, and spirit) and mālama (care for the relationships with others and ʻāina, as land and ancestor), to make sense of how contemporary Kanaka well-being was rooted in a practice of care. Kanaka doctoral students experienced and embodied imbalance, and through the process, I discovered pono and mālama routines and activities that maintained their well-being practice. While challenging, the COVID-19 pandemic provided the opportunity for these Kānaka to honor and nurture themselves and their needs in ways that may have had other benefits. Results highlight the potential for prejudice to influence self-stigma and negative attitudes about self-care. Results also suggest the privilege of having a relationship with ʻāina, and the need for cultivating a culture of care through healing Hawaiian communities.