{"id":187833,"date":"2023-11-30T13:06:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=187833"},"modified":"2025-02-03T15:19:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T01:19:01","slug":"leeward-multicultural-mural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/30\/leeward-multicultural-mural\/","title":{"rendered":"Aloha, Hola, Konnichiwa! Multicultural mural welcomes at Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_36052\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oMSCQWwlQ9A?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"The Aloha Mural\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>A vibrant, colorful work of art that honors <span aria-label=\"Olelo\">&#699;&#332;lelo<\/span> <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> (Hawaiian) as the Indigenous language of the region and the many languages represented at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leeward.hawaii.edu\/\">Leeward Community College<\/a> now welcomes visitors to the space near the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leeward.hawaii.edu\/theatre\/\">Leeward Theatre<\/a> lobby.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_187837\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187837\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"two student making hearts with their hands\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-187837\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-187837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leeward <abbr>ESL<\/abbr> students. (Photo courtesy of Dave Miyamoto Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The mural aligns with the campus vision and mission\u2014to be <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s leading Indigenous-serving community college, with a special commitment to Native Hawaiians, and was helmed by Assistant Professor and English as a Second Language Coordinator Kelly Kennedy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The root of this mural was the desire to make visible what is often invisible, which is our heritage,&rdquo; said Kennedy. &ldquo;The languages of our community and ancestors are represented here on this wall.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Abraham Hughes, a Leeward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> student in the Lauhoe (first-year) program, was one of the first to put his handprints on the wall.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To dip our hands in paint, and slap our hands on the wall&#8212;it\u2019s literally a physical imprint (that) represents us being one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was really fun and engaging.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Honoring <span aria-label=\"Puuloa\">Pu&#699;uloa<\/span><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_187839\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187839\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-3-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"kids putting their handprint on a mural\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-187839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-3-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-3.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-187839\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Keiki from Leeward Children\u02bbs Center. (Photo courtesy of Dave Miyamoto Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the center of the mural, near the top, is written &ldquo;Ka <span aria-label=\"ia\">i&#699;a<\/span> h&#257;mau leo,&rdquo; which, according to <span aria-label=\"Piikea\">Pi&#699;ikea<\/span> Hardy-Kahaleoumi, Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> Native Hawaiian counselor, means &ldquo;oyster.&rdquo; However, there is also a deeper meaning.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;<span aria-label=\"Ia\">I&#699;a<\/span>&rsquo; is the term for aquatic animals, &lsquo;h&#257;mau&rsquo; means to be silent, and &lsquo;leo&rsquo; means voice,&rdquo; said Hardy-Kahaleoumi. &ldquo;It informs us how we should approach these oysters, and it teaches about how we should be silent and have reverence when we enter these sacred spaces.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While oysters have specific significance to the <span aria-label=\"Puuloa\">Pu&#699;uloa<\/span> region, where Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> is located, and there are visual references to the <span aria-label=\"moolelo\">mo&#699;olelo<\/span> (stories) of <span aria-label=\"Puuloa\">Pu&#699;uloa<\/span> in the mural, the core is the word, &ldquo;Aloha,&rdquo; which is one of the foundations of Hawaiian culture. It is clearly visible in bold lettering and it provides the background for greetings in more than 20 languages.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Aloha,&rsquo; each time we say it, is acknowledging our commitment to each other, to extend kindness and care and compassion. It is not transactional, but definitely must be reciprocated,&rdquo; said Hardy-Kahaleoumi. &ldquo;It does my <span aria-label=\"naau\">na&#699;au<\/span> (gut or heart) so proud to have aloha as the cornerstone of this mural, and all the different ways (languages) we extend this kindness and care to others.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Building community<!-- through diversity --><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_187838\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187838\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"group of people posing in front of an ALOHA mural\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-187838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-187838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pearl City High School <abbr>ESL<\/abbr> students and teachers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Besides Aloha, greetings such as &ldquo;Hola,&rdquo; &ldquo;Kumusta,&rdquo; &ldquo;Konnichiwa,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Talofa&rdquo; are on full display.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When my students who have English as a second, third, or fourth language see their languages represented in the mural, I see their faces light up&#8212;there\u2019s a sense of belonging, community and recognition of what brings us together, and that\u2019s a deeper meaning of aloha,&rdquo; said Kennedy.<\/p>\n<p>The mural is also full of handprints made by several groups of people: Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> students, faculty and staff, students from Pearl City High School (<abbr>PCHS<\/abbr>), and keiki from the Leeward Children\u2019s Center.<\/p>\n<p>A class of multilingual learners from <abbr>PCHS<\/abbr> had a memorable experience laying down the first coat of paint on the mural. The majority of them had never been to Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> before.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I\u2019m hoping that the students see that Leeward is an option for them, that it&#8217;s viable and realistic,&rdquo; said Kalika Ayin, a <abbr>PCHS<\/abbr> English teacher and English learning coordinator. &ldquo;They&#8217;ve been on campus already so they know a little bit, but now (with the mural) they have a piece that they own.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Funding for this project was provided through the <a href=\"https:\/\/intranet.leeward.hawaii.edu\/ictl\/\">Innovation Center for Teaching and Learning<\/a>\u2019s Innovation in Action Award.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy added, &ldquo;I hope that everyone who participated in this project treasures the memory of creating this mural together, and I hope that future generations of students and community members will see it and feel at home.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; <em>By Tad Saiki<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_187840\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187840\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-4.jpg\" alt=\"nine people standing in front of a mural\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-187840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-4.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/leeward-multicultural-mural-4-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-187840\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Multilingual mural coordinators. (Photo courtesy of Dave Miyamoto Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many hands and languages contributed to bringing the wall to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[105,65,71,56],"class_list":["post-187833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-art","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187833"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210123,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187833\/revisions\/210123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}