Hawaiian Airlines Flights to Show Native Hawaiian Education Series

PC: Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaiian Airlines has announced a new series of exclusive in-flight videos showcasing inspiring stories based in native Hawaiian education. The series will show how educators are turning streams, fishponds and the voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a into classrooms for local youth through traditional Hawaiian practices.

The video series was produced by Kanaeokana, a network of more than 50 local schools and organizations focused on strengthening Hawaiian education efforts.

“We are excited to partner with Kanaeokana to present stories that demonstrate the importance and depth of our culture and its powerful impact on native Hawaiian youth,” said Evan Nomura, in-flight entertainment manager at Hawaiian Airlines. “It’s a privilege to be able to showcase the authenticity of Hawai‘i and its people to guests visiting from around the world.”

Kanaeokana’s videos will be shown all Hawaiian Airlines international flights operated by its Airbus A330 aircraft through the month of June. The content of the films will highlight three experiences from schools statewide:

• He Moku He Wa‘a, He Wa‘a He Moku
  Our Canoe is an Island; Our Island is a Canoe: 1,200 students from Kamehameha Schools Maui are inspired by Hōkūleʻa’s decades of voyaging and message of caring for the Earth and plant 5,000 native plants above Maui’s famous Honolua Bay.
• Ho‘okahe Wai: Let the Streams Flow
  Eighth-grade students from Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School embark on a year-long journey to learn about the uplands and water issues facing Hawai‘i. At the end of
  their classes, students are challenged to organize a large-scale stream cleanup
  to raise awareness about the importance of water to the Hawaiian Islands.
• Changing Tides: Ka ‘Umeke Kā‘eo’s Education Movement
  Explores a fishpond with a student from Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Charter School on the Island of Hawai‘i and reveals how students are returning to nature and leveraging their ancestral skills to discover innovative solutions to pressing issues.

“Expanding our reach helps us bring our message to different audiences,” said Ekela Kaniaupio-Crozier, a member of Kanaeokanaʻs Kōmike Ho’okele (Steering Committee) and Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Hawaiian protocol facilitator. “The experiences nurturing our students are valuable not just for Native Hawaiians but have relevance to everyone. We all should be sharing in the kuleana (responsibilities) to Mālama Honua and each other.”