E 'imi i na Kumuwaiwai o ka 'aina : Seeking the sources of knowledge of the land

Abstract

In the 1990s Dr. George Kanahele successfully instituted "A Hawaiian sense of place," in visitor destinations i.e. Waikīkī which has been adopted throughout the state. Today, place-based learning is embraced in multiple disciplines and can be applied to all libraries serving diverse patrons. This presentation will provide you the tools and repositories, some of them obscure, to effectively discover the myriad of place-based knowledge about our islands. The various approaches to implement this and how this knowledge has influenced decision-making in Hawai'i nei will be shared. Former HLA and Association of Hawai’i Archivists President Helen Wong Smith will share these resources and examples based on 35+ years of working with and in Hawaiian collections authoring over 50 land-based reports including Cultural Impact Assessments for government review.