This article by 东精影业 Kanaka ʻ?iwi (Native Hawaiian) librarians Kawena Komeiji, Shavonn Matsuda and Kapena Shim was first published in Ka Wai Ola on .
As we celebrate Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea this month, Kānaka ʻ?iwi librarians in the 东精影业 (东精影业) System have been working towards restoring Hawaiian knowledge sovereignty to the lāhui Hawaiʻi, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
A new initiative launched this past December, Kahoʻiwai: Reclaiming Hawaiian Knowledge Sovereignty, focuses on improving access to Hawaiian resources in libraries and archives. The project will integrate ʻō濒别濒辞 Hawaiʻi and kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi into the ways we categorize, organize, and search for information in libraries.
Part of a collaborative effort by three 东精影业 campuses, Kahoʻiwai is led by Kānaka librarians at 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补, 东精影业 Maui College, and 东精影业 Hilo. This work builds upon previous groundbreaking work of the Ka Wai Hāpai project, which set the foundation and methodology for development of a Hawaiian Knowledge Organization System (HKOS) intended for implementation across libraries and archives with responsibilities for the preservation of Hawaiian knowledge.
Expanding on this work, Kahoʻiwai will also partner with Hawaiian language experts and scholars to create a Hawaiian language newspaper index from community-indexed information found in nūpepa, enhance 7,500 library catalog records with table of contents and descriptions, and revise incomplete and/or harmful descriptions in archival finding aids to provide better, Hawaiʻi-centered context, to Hawaiian collections at 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补.
As testament to the work of Kānaka librarians, Kānaka scholars and allies, particularly in recent years, 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补’s Hamilton Library has created two dedicated tenure-track faculty librarian positions to bolster Hawaiian knowledge sovereignty and ensure the long-term sustainability of this initiative.
Similarly, librarians at the 东精影业 West Oʻahu, 东精影业 Maui College, and 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补 have been building a social media archive rooted in community and ʻā颈苍补.
碍补ʻ辞丑颈辫ō丑补办耻 will consult with Kānaka activists and web archiving experts to identify tools and priorities for archiving social media content and to help establish culturally relevant practices for Hawaiʻi, culminating in a report that will be available to the public.
By shifting autonomy of collection development back into the hands of our people, we will empower the people of today to preserve their leo for the generations to come, much like our kūpuna did in the Hawaiian language newspapers.
Both the Kahoʻiwai and 碍补ʻ辞丑颈辫ō丑补办耻 projects are supported and strengthened by funding from the Mellon Foundation’s Public Knowledge Program. Kahoʻiwai was awarded $3.22 million over three years (2024-2027) and 碍补ʻ辞丑颈辫ō丑补办耻 was awarded $150,000 as part of a 1-year planning grant.
Libraries and archives are critical spaces for our lāhui to connect to and engage with. Through these efforts, we seek to center Hawaiʻi and improve libraries and archives in meaningful ways so that Kānaka feel welcomed and empowered to research, learn, and engage in these spaces and with the waiwai housed within these institutions.
While libraries are not commonly considered in the movement for ea, these efforts highlight our role as just one of the many pathways in furthering ea for the lāhui Hawaiʻi.