Sharing is caring at revered Hawaiian bookstore
By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Maile Meyer grew up during the 1960s and 1970s — a time, as she puts it, when “a good Hawaiian was someone who wanted to be American. It was very difficult to find opportunities to study Hawaiian culture and history in school. Kupuna (elders) had the knowledge, but for many of them it was not the time to share their Hawaiian-ness.”
Na Mea offers several classes: students at work in a printmaking class. (Photo courtesy of Marissa Abadir)
That said, being a voracious reader and coming from a Hawaiian family that was actively involved with important issues of the day such as the resurgence of hula and the reclamation of Kahoolawe, Meyer kept in touch with her roots.
In October 1990 she attended a Hawaiian leadership development conference in Hilo and brought a sample set of books to sell, including Bishop Museum Press releases and works by respected Hawaiian scholars such as David Malo, Samuel Kamakau and Mary Kawena Pukui.
“Few of the people at the conference had Hawaiian books; many didn’t even know books by Hawaiian authors existed,” Meyer said. “One person asked, ‘Why are you selling Hawaiian books? Hawaiians don’t read.’ Wow. … That inspired me to start Native Books! Hawaii was one of the most literate countries at the turn of the last century. Our people were fascinated by the written word; there are close to a million Hawaiian newspaper pages in the State Archives.”
Meyer returned home with more than 100 book orders. Today, Native Books’ inventory includes thousands of CD, DVD and in-print and out-of-print book titles about Hawaii and the people of Hawaii and the Pacific. Content runs the gamut from plants, poetry and fiction to history, navigation and social commentaries.
“Our people needed to tell our own stories,” Meyer said. “Reclaiming our place as the tellers of our stories and our history has been happening over the last 20 years, and Native Books has been a witness to that process.”
An ipu gourd. (Photo courtesy of Marissa Abadir)
Introduced in 1995, Na Mea Hawaii (“things Hawaiian”) is, as Meyer puts it, “an extension of and support to local sources of knowledge.” It added locally made items (including clothing, jewelry and bath and body products) and Hawaiian cultural merchandise (such as feather lei, kapa beaters and stone poi pounders) to the retail mix at her Ward Warehouse store.
She renamed the store Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii and, over time, shifted its focus from selling to sharing.
“We aspire to be a native knowledge center, a gathering space for readings, music, films, classes, meetings, activities — anything that brings people together,” Meyer said. “Our emphasis is on learning, making, connecting and building a sense of community. We encourage our guests to ask questions, make something, meet someone new, spend time with us. There is no hands-off area; we are all hands-on.”
A display of merchandise, including feather hatbands and lau hala hats, boxes and baskets. (Photo courtesy of Marissa Abadir)
About 1,000 square feet in the center of the store has been set aside for weekly classes and workshops on topics such as Hawaiian language, lei-making and hula implements. Even first-time students who come from afar and don’t know much about Hawaii are embraced like ohana.
On Friday evenings, when Uncle Matt Love plays old-time local songs on his slack-key guitar, people in the audience sing along with him and spontaneously get up to dance. At Nakeu Awai’s Tea and Talk Story gathering on Sunday mornings, there are always plenty of reminiscences and laughter in addition to tea and scones. The lau hala weaving hui that meets from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Fridays loves potlucks and always brings ono home-cooked food for everyone in the store to enjoy.
“The Hawaiian culture is about reciprocal sharing; aloha is a two-way experience,” Meyer said. “Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii is a place of ‘exchange’ in all definitions of the word — stories, facts, products. We are a community resource. Everyone is welcome; we are here to share.”
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards
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