KUA–LAKO–MO‘O: a methodology for exploring Indigenous conceptualisations of nature and conservation in Hawai‘i
Samuel M. ‘Ohukani‘ōhi‘a
A E F , Kāwika B. Winter B C E and Michael Demotta D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI, USA.
B Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Kāne’ohe, HI, USA.
C Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
D National Tropical Botanic Gardens, Lāwa‘i, HI, USA.
E Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance, Honolulu, HI, USA.
F Corresponding author. Email: sgon@tnc.org
Pacific Conservation Biology 27(4) 320-326 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20020
Submitted: 17 February 2020 Accepted: 19 January 2021 Published: 2 March 2021
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY-NC
Abstract
Biocultural conservation is an approach to conservation that wields the relationships between a culture and the natural world to strengthen conservation efforts. Hawaiian biocultural frameworks are complex but can be initially explored by a methodological approach that we term KUA–LAKO–MO‘O, which links native species and ecosystems to (1) the pantheon of Oceanian deities, to which all elements of the environment are associated, (2) the rich biocultural applications (i.e. material culture) that emerged from centuries of life in the islands, and (3) the oral histories that weave knowledge of biodiversity and ecosystem function into everyday life, ethics, and sustainable existence. This methodology can be applied to primary kānaka ‘ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) sources held within the world’s largest printed archive of an oceanic Indigenous culture. The results of such an approach can reveal conceptualisations of, and relationships to, nature held within an Indigenous culture. The ongoing revitalisation of the intellectual, philosophical, ethical, and spiritual perspectives of kānaka ‘ōiwi in the course of the contemporary Hawaiian Renaissance can inform biocultural conservation efforts and transform conservation biology in Hawai‘i by embracing a biocultural approach and putting humanity and nature back on a path of coprosperity. This methodology could be applied anywhere people have forged deep, long-standing relationships with their environments for similar results.
Keywords: biodiversity conservation, conservation tools, environmental management, environmental sustainability, ethnobotany, Hawaii, human impact, Indigenous communities.
References
Abbott, I. (1992). Lā‘au Hawai‘i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 176 pp.Arista N. (2019). The Kingdom and the Republic: Sovereign Hawai‘i and the Early United States. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. 312 pp.
Beckwith, M. (1951). Hawaiian Mythology. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu. 608 pp.
Berkes, F. (2018). Sacred ecology. Fourth edition. Routledge: New York, NY, USA.
CMP (Conservation Measures Partnership) (2020). The Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. Version 4.0. Available at https://cmp-openstandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CMP-Open-Standards-for-the-Practice-of-Conservation-v4.0.pdf [Accessed 20 July 2020]
Fornander, A. (1890). An Account of the Polynesian Race, Its Origin and Migrations. Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill, London.
Garnett, S. T., Burgess, N. D., Fa, J. E., Fernández-Llamazares, A., Zsolt Molnár, Z., Robinson, C. J., Watson, J. E. M., et al. (2018). A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation. Nature Sustainability 1, 369–374.
| A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gon, S., and Winter, K. (2019). A Hawaiian renaissance that could save the world. American Scientist 2019, 232–239.
| A Hawaiian renaissance that could save the world.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gon, S., Tom, S., and Woodside, U. (2018). ‘Āina Momona, Honua Au Loli: productive lands, changing world. Sustainability 10, 3420.
| ‘Āina Momona, Honua Au Loli: productive lands, changing world.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Handy, E. S., E. G. Handy & M. K. Pukui. (1972). Native Planters in Old Hawai‘i: Their Life, Lore and Environment. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 676 pp.
Hughes, B. (1982). Hawaiian number systems. The Mathematics Teacher 75, 253–256.
| Hawaiian number systems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kallstrom, R. (2014). Olonā (Touchardia latifolia). Species information document, Moloka‘i Program, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Honolulu.
Kamakau, S. (1964). Ka Po‘e Kahiko (The People of Old). Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu.
Kanepuu, J. J. (1867). Ka Helu Hawaii [Hawaiian counting]. Ke Au Okoa, 21 January 1867.
Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, K., Kurashima, N., Francisco, K. S., Giardina, C. P., Louis, R. P., McMillen, H., Asing, C. K., Asing, K., Block, T. A., Browning, M., and Camara, K. (2018). Ritual+ sustainability science? A portal into the science of aloha. Sustainability 10, 3478.
| Ritual+ sustainability science? A portal into the science of aloha.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Keauokalani, Z. [Kepelino] (2007) [reprint of 1923 original]. Kepelino’s Traditions of Hawai‘i [translated by Martha Beckwith] Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu.
Krauss, B. (1993). Plants in Hawaiian Culture. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu. 345 pp.
Kurashima, N., Fortini, L., and Ticktin, T. (2019). The potential of indigenous agricultural food production under climate change in Hawai‘i. Nature Sustainability 2, 191–199.
| The potential of indigenous agricultural food production under climate change in Hawai‘i.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ladefoged, T., Kirch, P., Gon, S., Chadwick, O., Hartshorn, A., and Vitousek, P. (2009). Opportunities and constraints for intensive agriculture in the Hawaiian archipelago prior to European contact. Journal of Archeological Science 36, 2374–2383.
| Opportunities and constraints for intensive agriculture in the Hawaiian archipelago prior to European contact.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Laurance, W. F., Harko, K., Grooten, M., Anderson, A. B., Zuidema, P. A., Zwick, S., Zagt, R. J., Lynam, A. J., Linkie, M., and Anten, N. P. R. (2012). Making conservation research more relevant for conservation practitioners. Biological Conservation 153, 164–168.
Leoni, G., L. Paterson, L. Carter, M. T. Ratima, M. Reilly, P. Rewi, & S. Duncan (eds.) (2018). Te Kō Parapara: An Introduction to the Māori World. Auckland University Press, Auckland. 474 pp.
MacCaughey, V. (1918). Olonā: Hawai‘i’s unexcelled fiber plant. Science 48, 236–238.
| Olonā: Hawai‘i’s unexcelled fiber plant.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 17756727PubMed |
Malo, D. (1923). Mo‘olelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Antiquities). Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 278 pp.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (2020). Papakilo database. Available at https://www.papakilodatabase.com/
Prance, G. T., Aiona, K., Balick, M. J., Bennett, B. C., Bridges, K., Burney, D. A., Pigott Burney, L., Bye, R. A., Dunn, L., Emshwiller, E., Eubanks, M., Flaster, T., Kauka, S., Lentz, D. L., Linares, E., Lorence, D. H., McClatchey, W., McMillen, H., Merlin, M., Miller, J. S., Moerman, D. E., Prance, A. E., Ragone, D., Rashford, J. H., Raven, P., Raven, P. H., Reedy, D., Stepp, J. R., Tavana, N. G., Thaman, R., Thomas, M. B., Ticktin, T., Urban, T., Van Dyke, P., Wagner, W., Whistler, W. A., Wichman, C. R., Wichman, H., Winter, K., Wiseman, J., Wysong, M., and Yamamoto, B. (2007). Ethnobotany, the science of survival: a declaration from Kaua‘i. Economic Botany 61, 1–2.
| Ethnobotany, the science of survival: a declaration from Kaua‘i.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pukui, M. (1983). ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 351 pp.
Pukui, M. K., and S. H. Elbert. (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian–English, English–Hawaiian. University of Hawaii Press.
Smith, H. D. (1992). The British Isles and the age of exploration – a maritime perspective. Geojournal 26, 483–487.
| The British Isles and the age of exploration – a maritime perspective.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Soh, A. (2019). Weiziran (
) and Aloha ‘Āina: place, identity and ethics of the environment. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Philosophy. 204 pp. Sturtevant, W. C. (1978). Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 3: Environment, origins, and population. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. 1146 pp.
Summers, C. (1988). The Hawaiian grass house in Bishop Museum. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 80. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 55 pp.
Winter, K., Beamer, K., Vaughan, M., Friedlander, A., Kido, M., Whitehead, A., Akutagawa, M., Kurashima, N., Lucas, M., and Nyberg, P. (2018a). The Moku System: managing biocultural resources for abundance within social–ecological regions in Hawai‘i. Sustainability 10, 3554.
| The Moku System: managing biocultural resources for abundance within social–ecological regions in Hawai‘i.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winter, K. B., Lincoln, N. K., and Berkes, F. (2018b). The social–ecological keystone concept: a metaphor for understanding the structure and function of a biocultural system. Sustainability 10, 3294.
| The social–ecological keystone concept: a metaphor for understanding the structure and function of a biocultural system.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winter, K. B., Lincoln, N. K., Berkes, F., Alegado, R. A., Kurashima, N., Frank, K., Pascua, P., Rii, Y. M., Reppun, F., Knapp, I. S. S., McClatchey, W., Ticktin, T., Smith, C., Franklin, E. C., Oleson, K., Price, M. R., McManus, M. A., Donahue, M. J., Rodgers, K., Bowen, B. W., Nelson, C. E., Thomas, B., Leong, J. A., Madin, E., Rivera, M. A. J., Falinski, K. A., Bremer, L. L., Deenik, J. L., Gon, S. M., Neilson, B., Okano, R., Olegario, A., Kawelo, A. H., Kotubetey, K., Kukea-Shultz, J. K., and Toonen, R. J. (2020a). Ecomimicry in Indigenous resource management: optimizing ecosystem services to achieve resource abundance with examples from Hawai‘i. Ecology and Society 25, 26.
| Ecomimicry in Indigenous resource management: optimizing ecosystem services to achieve resource abundance with examples from Hawai‘i.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winter, K. B., Rii, Y. M., Reppun, F. A. W. L., DeLaforgue Hintzen, K., Alegado, R. A., Bowen, B. W., Bremer, L. L., Coffman, M., Deenik, J. L., Donahue, M. J., Falinski, K. A., Frank, K., Franklin, E. C., Kurashima, N., Kekuewa Lincoln, N., Madin, E. M. P., McManus, M. A., Nelson, C. E., Okano, R., Olegario, A., Pascua, P., Oleson, K. L. L., Price, M. R., Rivera, M. J., Rodgers, K. S., Ticktin, T., Sabine, C. L., Smith, C. M., Hewett, A., Kaluhiwa, R., Cypher, M., Thomas, B., Leong, J.-A., Kekuewa, K., Tanimoto, J., Kukea-Shultz, K., Kawelo, A., Kotubetey, K., Neilson, B. J., Lee, T. S., and Toonen, R. J. (2020b). Collaborative research to inform adaptive comanagement: a framework for the He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve. Ecology and Society 25, 15
Winter, K. B., Ticktin, T., and Quazi, S. (2020c). Biocultural restoration in Hawai‘i also achieves core conservation goals. Ecology and Society 25, 26.
| Biocultural restoration in Hawai‘i also achieves core conservation goals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
