Nā Koʻokoʻo is a Hawaiian leadership program for Kanaka Maoli and other students with strong commitments to Native Hawaiian communities. Its primary goal is to help students clarify their kuleana through their education in the context of uplifting the lāhui Kanaka and ʻāina. The program looks at how social science approaches can help address pressing issues for Hawaiʻi, as well as connect with community leaders who are aloha ʻaina and who are restoring kuleana relationships with specific ʻāina.
Nā Koʻokoʻo provides for students to participate in two courses over the spring and summer sessions, with a one-week immersed community experience to a neighboring island. This year’s cohort is led by Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. The cohort will focus on the moʻolelo (stories) of contemporary politics in Hawaiʻi, how these moʻolelo tell us about social movements, justice, sovereignty, resurgence and aloha ʻāina.
Students will use Hawaiian epistemologies and ontologies to investigate social movements while centering aloha ʻāina, moʻolelo and Indigenous future making. In the summer, students will look deeper into the field of Indigenous politics by studying the role of moʻolelo (histories, literatures and creativities) to ongoing aloha ʻāina and resurgence efforts.
