Video Replay available: Emma Nakuina & the Preservation of Hawaiian Culture
More than 140 people from the Hawaiian Islands and Mainland joined us on May 21st for Historic Hawaii's first virtual event. View the full replay of Uluwehi Hopkins' fascinating talk on the groundbreaking life of Emma Nakuina. Q: How important is her voice today to Hawaiian women? I cannot answer that for all women. I can only answer for myself. Personally, whatever discrimination I have in my life wasn’t because of my gender, so her gender is not what inspired me. Rather, it was her intelligence, her confidence, and her willingness to do whatever it took to keep going. Did she always make the right decision? No, but at least she kept going in the face of adversity. I was first introduced to her through her knowledge of Hawaiian moʻolelo, and what has always mattered to me most is finding out who I am. I was not raised in a household that thought of itself as Hawaiian, and no one else in my family cares that we have that bloodline. Emma Nakuina was someone that I could finally relate to. Her voice helped induct me into the Hawaiian world that was previously hidden from me. I imagine that every person, female or male, Hawaiian or not, will find something about her that is important to them. After all, isn’t that why we study the people of our past? Genealogy & Personal life Q: Where exactly was she born in Mānoa? And where did she live in Mānoa? Her obituary says that she was born in Kauaʻala in Mānoa and lived there until adulthood. I included this in my thesis. However, I have done a great deal of [...]