HistoricHawaii

Editor's note: In March of 2023, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation shared a blog post by Waimea Valley staff introducing their new program, Kaʻapuni o Waimea, just after its debut. The program offers visitors cultural learning opportunities at three of the valley’s cultural sites. The objective of the program design, to allow the visitor to ground their experience in cultural values and engage directly with the valley’s mission: to preserve and perpetuate the human, cultural and natural resources of Waimea for generations through education and stewardship. HHF circled back for an update a year later (see article below). Read the original post describing the program and theme of the Kaʻapuni o Waimea, the Hawaiian cultural value of hoʻokipa, HERE.  Celebrating one year of program growth at Waimea Valley By guest contributor Waimea Valley staff Photos courtesy Waimea Valley  Waimea Valley leadership is proud to share that the Cultural Programs team has established the Kaʻapuni o Waimea initiative as a foundational component of daily programming in the Valley. Beginning with a daily average of 14 pin recipients (visitors completing the program) in the early months after its launch in March of 2023, the daily average of pin recipients is now holding strong at 130. In fact, from January through March of 2024, the pace of the program participation has grown dramatically in popularity, counting over 9,800 visitors earning their pins in the three months – already surpassing the annual total of 9,500 pin recipients in 2023! The takeaway for the Cultural Programs team is that visitors to Waimea Valley are eager to actively and respectfully engage in cultural discourse, if given the opportunity. The frontline staff of Waimea Valley receives special training to be experts in a personal [...]

By Kuʻupuamaeʻole Kiyuna, J.D., Legal Specialist/Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective Coordinator, Huliauapaʻa In November 2023, Mauna Kea was accepted for inclusion on the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places (HRHP) as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) and district. On behalf of co-nominators KAHEA and Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Huliauapaʻa researched, drafted, and presented the nomination to the Hawaiʻi Historic Places Review Board. The Board approved Mauna Kea’s listing as a TCP and District on the State register and also recommended the nomination move forward for consideration for National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listing. TCPs are places associated with the cultural practices or beliefs of a living community that are both rooted in a community’s history and important in maintaining its continued cultural identity. TCP designation benefits state and county agencies because it provides more information at the forefront of regulatory compliance processes. For planning purposes, agencies won’t have to perform historic preservation eligibility and significance assessments at the state or federal levels because the property’s eligibility and significance have already been established through the TCP designation process. This benefit also extends to cultural impact assessments required under Hawaiʻi state law and environmental review because Mauna Kea’s cultural significance as a TCP is established. To be eligible for an HRHP or NRHP listing, a historic property must meet at least one criteria of significance. In the Mauna Kea nomination, Huliauapaʻa provided an in-depth analysis of how Mauna Kea exceeds all eligibility criteria (association with a historical event, a significant person, an example of notable architecture, or provides information important to understanding history and prehistory). Significance is inherent from the role Mauna Kea plays in Hawaiian cosmology and the community’s historically rooted beliefs, customs and practices; Mauna Kea’s association [...]