A Hua He Inoa: He Inoa Hou! Introducing Our New Project Staff Member
He makamua loa ʻo A Hua He Inoa e hoʻoneʻeneʻe nei i ka ʻike kuʻuna a ʻōlelo ʻōiwi o Hawaiʻi nei a puni ka honua. He noiʻi nowelo e ʻāwili pū ana i ka ʻike kuʻuna me ka ʻike ʻepekema hou ma o ke kapa inoa ʻana i nā kaunānā kilohōkū e ʻimi ʻia nei ma Hawaiʻi. ʻOiai ua piha he 35 a ʻoi makahiki o ke aukahi hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaʻi, he mea nui ka hōʻoia i kona mana a me ka hiki ke hoʻohana laulaha ʻia ma nā ʻano pōʻaiapili like ʻole o kēia au nei. ʻO A Hua He Inoa kekahi o kēia mau pōʻaiapili waiwai maoli nō ʻoiai he hōʻoia i ke ola o ka ʻōlelo me kona kuanaʻike i loko o nā hana ʻepekema o kēia au nei me ka hoʻolaha hou ʻana aku i ka waiwai o ka ʻike kuʻuna a ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i nā hanauna hou. I mea e hoʻokele ai i kēia pāhana i wae ʻia kahi kūpono e paepae a hoʻomohala hou i nā polokalamu A Hua He Inoa me nā pāhana ʻImiloa ʻē aʻe e pili pū ana. I kēia kau Hāʻulelau i hai ʻia ai ʻo Kuʻulei Bezilla nāna e ʻauamo i nā kuleana A Hua He Inoa, ʻo ia hoʻi ka hōʻoia ʻana i ke ola o ka ʻōlelo a kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi ma ʻImiloa nei me kona mau hana ʻepekema e neʻe nei.
A Hua He Inoa - a collaborative effort led by ʻImiloa - is shifting global paradigms, positioning Hawaiʻi as the first place in the world to weave traditional indigenous practice into the process of officially naming new astronomical discoveries. As Hawaiʻi celebrates 35 years of revitalizing ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian language, ‘Imiloa salutes the capacity and relevance of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to continue informing worldviews in modern contexts. A Hua He Inoa creates pathways to align language and culture with modern scientific practice, helping us share traditional knowledge, values and practices through generations. This fall, ʻImiloa added Kuʻulei Bezilla as the new Project Planner for A Hua He Inoa and tasked her with fulfilling the potential of A Hua He Inoa and related ʻImiloa-mission programs.
ʻŌiwi TV
“Nui koʻu hoihoi e kākoʻo i ka hoʻokuluma ʻōlelo a ʻike Hawaiʻi”, wahi a Kuʻulei. “He kuleana koʻikoʻi kēia ʻo ka hōʻoia ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, ʻo ia ka ʻīkoi e paʻa ai nā papahana e like me A Hua He Inoa.” He kamalani ʻo Kuʻulei i hānai ʻia na ka Uluau o Keaukaha. He haumāna kaiapuni ʻo ia ma ke kula kaiapuni o Keaukaha i puka me nā kēkelē laepua Haʻawina Hawaiʻi a Kālaiʻāina ma ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo, a me ke kēkelē laeoʻo ma ke Kālaiʻāina ʻŌiwi ma ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa. ʻĀnō, he haumāna laeʻula ʻo ia ma ka papahana laeʻula Hoʻōla ʻŌlelo a Moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi a ʻŌiwi ma Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani ma ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo.
“I’m very excited to help with the ongoing normalization of our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi - our Hawaiian language,” says Kuʻulei. “I truly believe that refocusing ʻōlelo at the center of mind in endeavors like A Hua He Inoa is critical to furthering Hawaiian language use, global awareness and renormalization.” Kuʻulei is a Hilo-Keaukaha native who is an alumna of UH-Hilo's Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language B.A. program and UH-Mānoa’s Indigenous Political Science M.A. program. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization program at Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani at UH Hilo.
Ma mua o kona komo ʻana ma ʻImiloa nei, he mea kākau a luna hoʻopuka ʻo Kuʻulei ma ʻŌiwiTV, he ʻoihana pāpaho ma Oʻahu e hoʻopuka ana i nā moʻolelo ʻōlelo a moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi e hoʻolaha ana i nā holomua nui o nā kaiaulu i ō ka paeʻāina. ʻO ka nīnūnē Maunakea, ka huakaʻi Holopuni Honua o Hōkūleʻa, me ka wikiō pailaka no A Hua He Inoa kekahi o nā kumuhana moʻolelo a Kuʻulei i kōkua ai ma ka hoʻopuka ʻana; he mau kumuhana i pili loa iā ʻImiloa. “He waiwai nui kā Kuʻulei ma kāna mākau ʻike, pilina, a hoʻolaukaʻi papahana,” wahi a Kaʻiu Kimua, ka Luna Hoʻokele o ʻImiloa. “He mau mākau kūpono kāna e kākoʻo a e hoʻokino ai i ko ʻImiloa ala nuʻukia a e hoʻomohala hou aku ai i nā polokalamu e pili pū ana kekahi.”
Prior to joining the ʻImiloa ʻohana, Kuʻulei worked for nearly a decade as writer and producer with ʻŌiwi Television Network (ʻŌiwiTV), an Oʻahu-based media production company that has reported on a variety of local interest stories, ranging from the ongoing Maunakea controversy to global stories from the WorldWide Voyage of Hōkūleʻa. While at ʻŌiwiTV, Kuʻulei also produced our pilot A Hua He Inoa program video as well as other media products that promoted ʻImiloa's mission and events for a variety of outlets. “Kuʻulei brings a wealth of knowledge, networks, and experience in project management; skills much needed for new program generation to support ʻImiloaʻs mission and expanded reach through A Hua He Inoa,” says Kaʻiu Kimura, Executive Director of ʻImiloa. “Among her initial responsibilities will be the creation of new multimedia programs to promote our unique mission during these unprecedented times.”
He leo aloha kēia iā Kuʻulei me kona komo piha ʻana ma nā hana ʻimi loa o kēia hale! Ua hoʻomaka ʻē ʻo Kuʻulei ma ka hoʻolaukaʻi ʻana i kekahi polokalamu no ko ʻImiloa mau lālā, ʻo “Kāhune Paʻakai: A Dash of Salt” ia. Ua mālama ʻia ka hanana mua ma ka hoʻomaka ʻana o ka mahina ʻo Nowemapa, a ke hoʻolālā ʻia nei kekahi no ka Wā Hoʻomaikaʻi i ka hopena o kēia mahina. E makaʻala aku nō i ko ʻImiloa kahuapaʻa, me kēia nūleka Kilolani, no nā pololakamu hou aku!
We’re so happy to welcome Kuʻulei into ʻImiloa! She has already begun programming a new member-only virtual program series, “Kāhune Paʻakai: A Dash of Salt,” which launched earlier this November, and is slated to continue through to next year. Be sure to check out our website and Kilolani newsletter for these and other new upcoming programs!