Waimānalo Pono Research: Indigenizing Community-Engaged Research with a Native Hawaiian Community

Abstract

Native Hawaiians, or Kānaka Maoli, the first people to arrive and settle on the Hawaiian Islands, developed an ecologically sustainable food system that sustained the health of up to a million people on the islands. Colonization disrupted this system as well as the healthy lifestyle and cultural practices of the Indigenous people of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Today, Native Hawaiians face pervasive health and social inequities. To build research processes that can meaningfully and sustainabily adrress these inequities, the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui was borne from the vision and priorities of community leaders and members of Waimānalo. Using qualitative data from the annual survey conducted with Waimānalo Pono Research Hui members, the purpose of this study is to illustrate how community engagement and community-based participatory research has been operationalized within a Native Hawaiian community to yield meaningful research. Five themes emerged from the analysis related to the ʻāina (land), pilina (relationships), consent, equitable resources, and data sovereignty. These findings demonstrate the importance of imagining, creating, and implementing research processes that are shaped by community voices.

A Report on the Ke Ola O Ka ‘Āina: ‘Āina Connectedness Scale

“…This study comprised two major phases to develop the ‘Āina Connectedness Scale for health research in Native Hawaiian communities and utilized community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. Permission and support of this research was provided by the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui (WPRH) [ 37 , 38 , 39 ] and other Native Hawaiian communities. Ke Ola O Ka ‘Āina (KOOKA) Research Team and Thought Partners developed throughout the duration of the project and included communities and ‘Āina who contributed deeply to this project.…”

“…To ensure community-based participatory research approaches were employed at every step of the research process, the Ke Ola O Ka ‘Āina research team sought permission to partner with the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui to conduct this research study in Waimānalo and with affiliated partners. In 2018, the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui developed the Pono Research Protocols and Rules of Engagement, which outline principles of engaging in research to ensure ethical and pono research in the Waimānalo community [ 37 , 38 , 39 ]. After receiving permission from the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui, the KOOKA research team obtained proper permission to proceed with the research process with, for, and by other Native Hawaiian communities.…”

Cultural Practice and ‘Āina Connectedness as Tenants of Mauli Ola, Optimal Health and Wellbeing

“…This project utilized a community-based participatory research approach by engaging community partners, specifically from the KOOKA Research Team and Thought Partners, which include partners across the Pae ' Āina of Hawai'i (the Hawaiian archipelago). In alignment with CBPR approaches to research, permission to engage in research and in partnership with the Waimānalo community and partnering communities and agencies was provided by the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui (Chung-Do et al 2019;Chung-Do et al 2022;Keaulana et al 2019). The KOOKA research project was also approved by the university institutional review board (IRB) of the research team.…”

An Integrated Framework for Preservation of Hawaii Indigenous Culture: Learning from Vernacular Knowledge

“…Meanwhile native Hawaiian culture has been wrongfully portrayed as an idyllic paradise to visitors with the tourist industry generating over USD 17 billion each year [7]. The promotion of cultural tourism in Hawaii has long been criticized as contributing to the degradation of native culture and indigenous knowledge as well as the environmental quality in the form of continuous colonization [8,9]…”

“…The State of Hawaii has the highest rate per capita of homeless due to the combination of high-cost living and a shortage of affordable housing. Compared to the State as a whole, Native Hawaiians face worse economic challenges: 50% of homeless individuals identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders [9]. The housing shortage and inequality faced by Native Hawaiians was exacerbated by U.S. military occupation on the island, which accounted for approximately 150,000 acres of the Hawaiian Islands all together.…”