Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies

Welina mai nei e nā hoa (Welcome Friends)

The Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies is named for Gladys Kamakakūokalani ‘Ainoa Brandt, the late Native Hawaiian educator, whose reputation, integrity and passionate devotion to education, still inspires and guides Kamakakūokalani today. We offer both a Bachelor’s and Master of Art degrees in five areas of concentration encompassing the breadth of Hawaiian knowledge and experience, from politics and history, to literature, visual arts, music, natural resource management and Hawai’i’s relationship with the rest of Polynesia.

Our programs aspire to promote academic excellence, perpetuate Hawaiian ancestral wisdom, and emphasize Native Hawaiian perspectives in all areas of study. Recognize our kuleana to nurture and educate our students to become community leaders, teachers and scholars who will make a positive contribution to our people and our island homeland into the future.

 Strengthen genealogical ties to Papahānaumoku, our earth mother, and Hawai‘i as our ancestral homeland in order that our students will know Kanaka Maoli are a Lāhui connected by our ancestor Hāloa across Nā Kai ‘Ewalu. Present the interplay of history, culture and politics as well as the interconnectedness of all knowledge, contemporary and ancestral, from Kanaka Maoli perspectives in order that students will understand Kanaka Maoli experiences in the context of world indigenous peoples.

 In addition to finding employment in a wide variety of sectors in the community, our Hawaiian Studies BA graduates have gone on to seek advanced degrees in Anthropology, Art, Botany, Business, Communications, Counseling, Education, Engineering, English, Geography, Law, Linguistics, Medicine, Music, Ocean Science, Pacific Islands Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Social Work, Theater, Urban and Regional Planning, and Hawaiian Studies.   Our MA program provides graduate level challenges in critical thinking, research, writing and other scholarly skills. Our interdisciplinary coursework addresses sustainability, economic development, land and resource management in Hawai‘i; issues in visual culture, both contemporary and traditional; issues of Indigenous education, methodologies, and epistemologies; and issues regarding colonization, self-determination and governance for Hawai‘i and all Pacific nations.