Ua ʻĀina: Testaments of Aloha in Food, People, and Place

Abstract

Food as a facet of cultural identity has been relatively unexplored in Native Hawaiian academic discourses of the 21st century. Utilizing an autoethnographic approach, this thesis aims to unravel an aho pākolu of ʻŌiwi identity, thereby increasing insight and understanding upon the fibers that connect us as Kanaka Hawaiʻi to food, people, and place. Following the footsteps of Kaweloleimakua, this research begins with initial food identity development at the Waipā Foundation on the island of Kauaʻi. From there, it crosses the Kaʻieʻiewaho sea and embarks on food identity loss at Kamehameha Schools and the subsequent recovery thereof at MAʻO Organic Farms on the island of Oʻahu. The journey is then summarized with the return home to Kauaʻi to explore the potential of future food identities at ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea and beyond.