A surge of new funding is highlighting the critical mission of one of Hawaiʻi’s most significant digital archives. Multiple grants are flowing into the College of Social Sciences’ Center for Oral History (COH) in recognition of its vital work to preserve the history, voices and experiences of Maui communities.
Housed in the Department of Ethnic Studies on the UH Mānoa campus, COH is leveraging these resources to launch a series of Maui-based projects focused on recovery, cultural continuity and environmental history.
“Taken together, these four projects form a complementary portfolio that documents Maui’s people, places, environments and institutions during a critical period of transformation,” said COH Director Mary Kunmi Yu Danico. “They intersect through their shared reliance on oral history, commitment to community collaboration, dedication to cultural preservation and focus on creating accessible and sustainable historical resources. Collectively, they not only preserve the past but also contribute to Maui’s recovery, resilience and future generations’ understanding of their heritage.”
Four major initiatives
Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation – $250,000
Project: “Lāhainā Memories: Preserving Oral Histories Through Intergenerational Storytelling”
Principal Investigator: Mary Kunmi Yu Danico
Faculty Researcher: Kyle Kajihiro
Funding: Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, supported by UH Foundation
“Lāhainā Memories” is a community-centered initiative designed to document and preserve the lived experiences, cultural knowledge and historical memory of Lāhainā residents following the 2023 Maui wildfires. Thousands of homes, businesses and cultural landmarks were destroyed, making oral histories an essential tool for recovery, cultural continuity and intergenerational learning.
The project will produce up to 100 hours of recorded oral history interviews, including 40 hours conducted by COH and 60 hours led by trained educators, youth and community members. By prioritizing community-led storytelling, the project will empower residents to preserve their own histories while strengthening local capacity to document, share and teach Lāhaināʻs cultural heritage.
Implementation will occur over five phases from July 2026 through January 2029, integrating training, fieldwork, mentoring, transcription and archival preservation.
National Endowment for the Humanities Grant – $159,000
Project: “Echoes of Wai (Water): Oral Histories from Maui”
Principal Investigator: Mary Kunmi Yu Danico
Faculty Researcher: Ty Tengan
“Echoes of Wai” seeks to document the voices and experiences of Maui residents through 30 oral history interviews. The interviews will represent a broad range of cultural, generational and environmental perspectives on the history, present realities and future of water on Maui.
The project will conduct 20 interviews in West Maui, with a particular focus on Lāhainā, where many residents were directly affected by the August 2023 wildfires. An additional 10 interviews will be conducted with residents of Central Maui, specifically within Nā Wai ʻEhā (The Four Great Waters), encompassing the districts of Wailuku, Waiehu, Waikapū and Waiheʻe.
American Council of Learned Societies Digital Justice Grant – $100,000
Project: “Nā Moʻolelo o Nā Wāhine: A Digital Justice Oral History Project Preserving Maui’s HerStories”
Principal Investigator: Mary Kunmi Yu Danico
Co-Principal Investigator: Micah Mizukami
COH will expand its digital capacity by foregrounding the voices and experiences of women of color on Maui. Their leadership in education, labor, environmental stewardship and community life has shaped Hawaiʻi in profound yet often underrecognized ways. While COH’s archive contains more than 1,000 digitized oral histories, many stories of Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and other historically marginalized women have not been fully activated or made accessible to the public. This project brings renewed attention to these narratives and deepens COH’s long-standing commitment to inclusive historical preservation.
A central component of the project is development of an accessible digital platform integrating recordings, transcripts, photographs and contextual materials. Built with culturally informed metadata and guided by Indigenous data and algorithmic sovereignty principles, the platform will support community-defined access protocols and relational accountability. This approach extends traditional archival practices by implementing technologies that reflect local epistemologies and honor the authority of narrators and their communities.
The project will also develop educational and technical training modules for students, educators and community partners across Maui and Oʻahu. Modules will introduce oral history digitization workflows, digital humanities methods and community archive practices, helping cultivate shared skills and support future practitioners of culturally grounded digital storytelling.
National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Grant – $29,000
Project: “Lahaina Jodo Mission Oral History Project”
Principal Investigator: Mary Kunmi Yu Danico
Co-Principal Investigator: Micah Mizukami
The objective is to conduct oral histories that systematically capture the history, memories and lived experiences of temple elders and individuals who attended or lived at the Lāhainā Jodo Mission. The resulting interviews will contribute to a deeper understanding of the mission’s history and significance within the Lāhainā community. The project will involve close collaboration with Jodo Mission leaders and elders. Through this partnership, COH will leverage community knowledge and preserve these stories for future generations. The information collected will support ongoing efforts to document the history of the Lāhainā Jodo Mission as it rebuilds following the August 2023 Maui wildfires.
