By Ululani Brigitte Russo Oana, Ph.D.
HOʻOLAUNA
For the past decade, I’ve dedicated myself to teaching and developing an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum at Waiʻanae Intermediate. It is my mother, Natalie Oana, who taught science through a Hawaiian lens at Hālau kū mana who inspired me to become a teacher. In my first year of teaching, when I found myself at Waiʻanae Intermediate with no curriculum, I thought back on what she taught me. I took a lot of professional development classes and began to include moʻolelo in my lessons, and began to see a considerable difference in student engagement. Eventually, I became the department head and worked alongside our school’s curriculum coach to take what I learned and develop a curriculum that is based on ʻike kūpuna. Throughout the following years, we found the curriculum to be extremely successful, but our high teacher turnover rate continued to be a challenge as we worked to integrate the curriculum throughout the school. After losing many teachers, I am now the only teacher remaining from my first year working at the school. I have continued to modify and develop the curriculum every year since. I also continue to engage students through moʻolelo and mālama ʻāina practices across various sites in the Waiʻanae moku. I aim to foster deep, personal connections between students and their environment by creating opportunities for students to strengthen their pilina with ʻāina and connect with their ancestors.
I believe the Aloha ʻĀina work we do at Waiʻanae Intermediate embodies the essence of progressive education. The progressive education movement has long strived for experiential learning, social justice, and a profound relationship with the world around us. These principles have never been more critical in an era of escalating climate crises and environmental injustices. This blog explores how progressive pedagogy rooted in ʻike kūpuna can empower students to become active stewards of their ʻāina and agents of change.
HA‘I MO‘OLELO AND THE POWER OF STORYTELLING
In 2024, I completed a Doctorate in Education focusing on Curriculum Studies & Instruction from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. My research inquired into the impacts of an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum on students at Wai‘anae Intermediate. As a teacher, I found myself watching my students feeling marginalized in both the confinements of their education system and their community. I heard their voices loud and clear. I found myself pursuing a way to raise my hand so their voices did not go unheard. I found myself advocating for the injustice they felt and wanting to share their truth.
Within educational settings, the significance of cultural identity is often neglected, particularly among marginalized Native populations. My research closely examined how implementing an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum at Waiʻanae Intermediate influenced students’ sense of Native Hawaiian identity (Oana, 2024). Using qualitative interviews, thematic analysis, and a critical review of relevant literature, the research sheds light on the cultural marginalization Native Hawaiian youth endure, emphasizing the important need for innovative changes in educational approaches. It highlights the transformative power of storytelling as an educational tool that strengthens students’ Hawaiian identity and connections to ʻāina. I learned that by engaging in traditional oral narratives, students deepen their understanding of the land, develop critical thinking skills, and cultivate a sense of kuleana toward Waiʻanae. This practice aligns with progressive education’s emphasis on student-centered learning and social justice.
Implementing this curriculum felt like I tapped into some magic. Students were suddenly engaged, not skipping class, interested in the subject, thinking critically, and begging for more. It also fostered a new kind of relationship-building and connection. I spent many of my lunches and recess times listening to my students' life stories. I quickly learned how resilient and amazing they truly were. I also understood why school work did not seem like a priority, and I agreed with them. However, I tried my best to find ways to make learning more fun and engaging. Once I began to bring Hawaiian culture into my classroom, students lit up. My one student said it best, “My favorite part is the Hawaiian stuff! You know me, Iʻm one proud Hawaiian; I go hunting, and I make Hawaiian food, but I never knew much about Hawaiian culture. You made me want to learn! Oh, the mālama ʻāina stuff was majah! I loved taking down the invasive trees; I felt like one hammah! I hated science before this, but now I see how our ancestors were scientists!” Quotes like these are the reason I teach.
All of this motivated me to pursue my Ph.D. to advocate for my students' needs and wants. The goal of my study was to learn from former students who experienced an Aloha ʻĀina Education curriculum rooted in ʻike kūpuna, mālama ʻāina, and pilina at Waiʻanae Intermediate. I conducted three focus group interviews to recreate the pilina we built in the classroom and to better understand how this curriculum shaped their experiences and Hawaiian identity. Ultimately, my work and research aims to amplify student voices and advocate for Hawaiian youth navigating a Western-centric education system that often overlooks their cultural foundation. My research question was: How do Kānaka students experience an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum at Waiʻanae Intermediate?
The study found that the curriculum’s three pillars: pilina, ʻike kūpuna, and mālama ʻāina, emerged as central themes in student interviews. Students emphasized the significance of pilina in fostering a safe, nurturing environment that enhanced their engagement and overall well-being, suggesting that meaningful relationships are foundational to learning. Through ʻike kūpuna, students experienced a renewed sense of pride in their Hawaiian identity, particularly through moʻolelo, which inspired a sense of kuleana to carry forward ancestral narratives. Mālama ʻāina encouraged active participation in land restoration projects, such as our Keawaʻula restoration site, shifting students’ roles from passive learners to engaged stewards of ʻāina and affirming their leadership within the lāhui.
Overall, my study showed a significant increase in Hawaiian identity and lāhui identity. The curriculum also increased an overall sense of kuleana towards ʻāina (Oana, 2024). The research findings additionally advocates towards providing more opportunities for ʻōpio to connect to our kūpuna.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH PROGRESSIVE PEDAGOGY
Progressive education, deeply rooted in experiential learning and social transformation, has long been intertwined with environmental justice. In Hawai‘i, these connections are particularly significant, as historical and contemporary efforts to integrate Aloha ʻĀina education into curricula showcase the power of place-based learning to cultivate critical consciousness and ecological stewardship (Blaich, 2003; Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, 2013; Kahakalau, 2020, Ledward, 2013; Nāone, 2008; Oliveira & Wright, 2016). In Waiʻanae, this takes shape through programs that integrate science, history, and activism, encouraging students to investigate environmental issues affecting their communities.
For example, in our Environmental Justice Showcase, we guide students in selecting an environmental justice issue within the Waiʻanae moku and developing potential solutions to present to community members. Students pick an environmental justice issue within the themes of: Native vs. Invasives, Land Management, Ocean Debris & Acidification, and Renewable Energy. Students have the freedom to pick an issue from those themes and come up with possible solutions. Some solutions involve making new laws, some are physical solutions, and some have models and prototypes of possible physical solutions. Here are some titles from this year’s 2024-2025 cohort of students: Demilitarizing Parts of Lualualei and creating an ʻUlu Agroforest, Coconut Rhinocerous Beetle DIY Traps, Reducing Rat Populations with Contraceptives, Bringin Back our Waiʻanae ʻIliahi, and Saving Coral Reefs from Sedimentation and Sewage Spills. Students get incredibly invested learning about environmental justice issues in our Waiʻanae moku. They take immense pride and get passionately invested in the issue they pick. This is seen at the public facing part of the showcase, especially when we present to faculty, parents, peers, community members, and local politicians.
IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATORS
By embedding ʻike kūpuna perspectives and ecological knowledge into curricula, educators can empower students to advocate for sustainable and just futures. To advance environmental justice through progressive education, teachers must prioritize culturally sustaining pedagogies that honor Indigenous knowledge and student agency. Indigenous peoples have been fighting to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge within the school system since 1928 (Meriam & Work, 1928). During the Civil Rights movement, Indigenous peoples raised awareness on the inequity of education, which led to the implementation of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995) in schools across the nation. As the movement continued, education has evolved to be culturally responsive to different marginalized groups (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008). Eventually, Hawaiian Culture-Based Education was brought to the stage by Kanaʻiaupuni and Kawaiʻaeʻa (2008). It became evident that integrating ʻike kūpuna in curriculum had multiple benefits to the well-being of students. Through my study, I found that integrating environmental justice in education and interdisciplinary inquiry fosters a learning environment where students understand environmental issues and are equipped to take meaningful action.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Hawaiʻi’s contributions to the progressive education movement offer invaluable insights for educators aiming to center environmental justice in their practice. Unlike many educational contexts shaped by settler-colonial systems, Hawaiʻi holds a living legacy of Indigenous knowledge systems, where education has long been rooted in reciprocal relationships with ʻāina and community. These foundations provide a powerful counter-narrative to Western-centric models that often separate learning from place, culture, and ecological responsibility.
Aloha ʻĀina education, grounded in ʻike kūpuna, pilina, and mālama ʻāina, models how culturally grounded, place-based learning can nurture students’ sense of identity, purpose, and kuleana. This approach doesn’t treat environmental justice as an add-on, but as an inherent part of learning where students come to understand that caring for the land is inseparable from caring for their communities and futures.
Hawaiʻi thus offers a uniquely holistic framework that bridges the spiritual, cultural, and ecological dimensions of justice. In a world increasingly shaped by climate crises and disconnection, Hawaiʻi’s educational practices rooted in Aloha ʻĀina offer a path toward cultivating learners who are not only critically aware but also deeply connected to place and committed to a collective lāhui well-being. These lessons are not only relevant locally, but globally, as communities everywhere seek sustainable and just ways forward.
Works Cited:
Blaich, M. D. B. (2003). Mai uka a i kai: from the mountains to the sea ’aina-based education in the ahupua’a of Waipa. University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Castagno, A. E., & Brayboy, B. M. J. (2008). Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous
Youth: A Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 941–993. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308323036
Goodyear-Ka’opua, N. (2013). The seeds we planted: Portraits of a native Hawaiian charter school (1st ed.). Minnesota Univ. Press.
Kahakalau, K. (2020). Ancient Is Modern—Transforming Public Education for Hawaiians. In N.
Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, C. Howes, J. K. K. Osorio, & A. Yamashiro (Eds.), The Value of Hawaiʻi 3: Hulihia, the Turning (pp. 271–274). University of Hawai’i Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1pncr2m.66
Kanaʻiaupuni, S. M., & Kawaiʻaeʻa, K. E lauhoe mai na waa: toward a Hawaiian indigenous education teaching framework. Hūlili: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-being, 5(1), 67-90. Kamehameha Publishing.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
Ledward, B.C. (2007). On being Hawaiian enough: Contesting American racialization with native hybridity. Hūlili: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-being, 4(1), 107-143. Kamehameha Publishing.
Meriam, L., & Work, H. (1928). The problem of Indian administration: Report of a survey made at the request of honorable Hubert Work, secretary of the interior, and submitted to him, February 21, 1928 (No. 17). Johns Hopkins Press.
Nāone, C. K. (2008). The pilina of kanaka and ʻāina : place, language and community as sites of reclamation for indigenous education : the Hawaiian case. University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Oana, U. K. B. G. R. (2024). Haʻi Moʻolelo: Engaging Aloha ʻĀIna Curriculum to Hoʻoulu ʻŌpio at Waiʻanae Intermediate. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Oliveira, K.-A. R. K. N., & Wright, E. K. (Eds.). (2016). Kanaka ʻōiwi methodologies : moʻolelo and metaphor. University of Hawaiʻi Press.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Ululani Brigitte Russo Oana is a Kanaka ʻŌiwi educator at Waiʻanae Intermediate. She epitomizes an unwavering commitment to fostering culturally responsive pedagogy and environmental stewardship through an Aloha ʻĀina curriculum. She works on fostering Hawaiian identities by advocating for her haumāna and their needs. Her larger objective is to advocate for all Hawaiian children subjected to a Western-centric educational system without an environment to foster ʻike kūpuna. Ululani earned her Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Curriculum Studies & Instruction from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her educational foundation includes a Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in neuroscience and Studio Art with a concentration in drawing and ceramics, and a minor in East Asian studies from Lewis & Clark College.
