Daily Manaʻo for Cohort Kumukahi May 2024 – Thursday

With the arrival of our “Isms Day,” we transitioned to our final destination at the Campus Center Ballrooms back “home” in Mānoa. We again had the opportunity to hear from Candace Fujikane and think about decolonization as more than just a metaphor (to invoke the scholarly work of Eve Tuck and Wayne Yang) and to frame rematriation of land as “real decolonization.” In this way, we discussed that kuleana is much more nuanced than feeling the need to leave Hawaiʻi as a settler, and thus part of our collective responsibility is to be in relationship with one another to take care of this place. 

Next were the campus tours that included special attention to the many ʻili ʻāina across our campus. The pre-recorded tapes included slack key backing tracks that provided peaceful, tranquil walking experiences through the sprinkling rain. The moʻokūʻauhau of researching and writing these tours extends much before my time working with our team, so I am thankful to the many lineages of people who have shared such rich ʻike with us. At the close of the tours, we gathered in groups to reflect and discuss some questions concerning the aesthetics of the campus and how it relates to our work of becoming a Native Hawaiian place of learning. How might art better reflect the values of this place and invite visitors and new folks to be curious and seek out more information about Mānoa? This is just one of the open-ended questions we pondered together as we walked back from the tours to our space in Campus Center. 

We then finished the afternoon with art time, which is always so much fun to see folks’ lively and thoughtful expressions through their artwork. It’s always especially beautiful to see how everyone chooses to represent the subjects of their art pieces, especially since many people featured their beloved ʻāina or familiar landscapes. Check out our website and scroll down to view photos of the artists and their art pieces in the photo gallery!