Hoʻoulu ʻĀina: Restoration in the Heʻeia Ahupuaʻa

Abstract

The research presented in this dissertation examines a modern-day recovery of a ma uka ʻāina kuleana, a ma waena nenelu, and a ma kai loko iʻa, all located in the same ahupuaʻa and undergoing rehabilitation simultaneously. By studying three different sites currently undergoing restoration in the He‘eia ahupua‘a, I examine the ways in which Kānaka Maoli are, 1) rehabilitating and restoring once degraded ʻāina and resources; 2) using and implementing ʻike kupuna, and integrating Western and Indigenous science in the restorative process; and 3) utilizing mālama ʻāina strategies that are framed by an ahupuaʻa systems approach. Given the context of the local land use and history that has preceded them, how are Kānaka Maoli returning to, managing, and restoring ʻāina toward food production and food sovereignty at the commencement of the third decade of the 21st Century? I argue that the ancient connection shared between each of the sites is premised on their shared piko, the living waters of Kāne. Those source waters flow from the ma uka uplands to the ʻāina mōmona of the Heʻeia nenelu, establishing the muliwai at Heʻeia kai while flowing into the loko iʻa. I posit that the chronology of the land tenure of each site establishes similar patterns of resurgence, based on a shared political history that resulted in the preservation and protection of those sites making restoration possible today.