Candid Moments: Capturing Indigenous Knowledge Through Social Media

Abstract

The use of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook to promote Native Hawaiian ideologies has increased over the years. From increasing Hawaiian language retention through Instagram highlights to learning how to make a mākāhā through YouTube, ʻike kūpuna has been easily accessible. This thesis attempts to explore the ways in which social media platforms can continue to promote ʻāina well-being and ʻāina advocacy. Through the use of various archival materials and with the conduction of interviews, this research looks into ancestral understandings and cultural practices of mālama ʻāina and how these are expressed on social media. The culmination of conclusions drawn in this thesis are part of a purposeful strategy to advance appropriation of modern technology by welcoming different mediums that improve mālma ʻāina rhetoric.