Kaahele Hawaii

Aloha no! I am a kumu hula (traditional teacher of Hawaiian dance) and Hawaiian cultural arts teacher. I have been a journalist since 1981, and editor since 1992. Today, I specialize in research and fact-checking in Hawaiian and Pacific history and culture. I have provided services to National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Travel Channel, National Geographic Eco-Traveler, the US National Parks Service, and numerous schools and museums. In the late 1990s, I developed curriculum for Waldorf schools, using Hawaiian archetypes instead of Nordic to make the lesson plans relevant to Native Hawaiian students.

In the early 1990s, I performed and taught in the National Parks, and developed a style I call "Edutainment," in which I combined traditional Hawaiian dance and storytelling with other techniques to teach while entertaining. I have taught programs in the National Parks, public and private schools, public library programs, museums, Liliʻuokalani Trust, and University of Hawaiʻi programs.

In 2012, "By Moonlight, by Sunlight," the CD my husband and I produced, won Honors in the World Storytelling competition. The stories and songs in the CD are still being used in teaching. Downloads are available at: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/leimanu The indices also are available on YouTube.

I was trained in a traditional manner by my grandparents and other family members. Later, I joined a hālau (traditional Hawaiian school), and finally opened a hālau of my own.

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