Giving voice to Na Kua‘aina

Decades in the making, this volume of accounts from rural Hawaii testifies to an enduring tradition

It took a failed trip to Kahoolawe in 1980 to detour Davianna McGregor to the taro patches of Keanae-Wailuanui on Maui and, subsequently, her life's work as a historian and academician.

Now a professor in the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, McGregor has just seen the culmination of that work published in her first book, "Na Kua'aina: Living Hawaiian Culture," which documents the continuity of the native Hawaiian culture as practiced in isolated areas through subsistence living, both by native residents and those who are not but still call the islands home.

'Na Kua'aina' By Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor » Launch party: 7 to 9 p.m. Friday » Place: Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii, Ward Warehouse

Following in the footsteps of noted Hawaiian historian Mary Kawena Pukui, McGregor, using moolelo (oral traditions) and case studies, writes about the cultural kipuka -- rural communities -- of three areas: the island of Molokai, the moku (district) of Hana, Maui, and the ahupuaa (subdistricts) of Waipio and Puna on the Big Island.

"The book is the culmination of different phases of my work," McGregor said. What started off as her dissertation and subsequent articles in scholarly journals grew into a book that she hopes is "more readable and interesting" to the general public than the well-annotated but usually dry research tome.

"It was important to bring together the voices of several generations of kupuna," she said. "As Mary Kawena Pukui began with her Hawaiian-language interviews in the 1960s, I continued with my work done in English during the '80s and '90s. It's really important to hear these people's voices talking about these places that they love, and the concern they had about preserving them and their way of life.

"I know academicians are regularly accused of taking knowledge from their subjects and not giving back, using them only for career advancement ... but the results of my studies were always intended for the communities to use ... to protect their homelands."

McGregor's dissertation in 1989 was a study of native Hawaiians during the first 32 years of U.S. rule, 1898 to 1930. Her later studies included the contemporary lives of Hawaiians and what would subsequently become "Na Kua'aina."

"After initially publishing my dissertation, my daughter said that I should write two books," McGregor said, "and actually I'm working on the first draft of my next book, which will be more political in tone and cover the territorial years and congressional policy towards native Hawaiians."

NATIVE BOOKS co-owner Maile Meyer easily gets emotional when talking about McGregor's book.

A cousin of McGregor's life partner, Noa Emmett Aluli, Meyer's voice breaks when she remembers reading the first couple of pages of "Na Kua'aina."

"It's an amazing piece of work," Meyer said. "I know Davianna was working on this for a very long time, and now I understand why. ... Speaking as an urban Hawaiian, with no connection to kuaaina herself, I'm glad this book gives me access to these people who have carried on ... and it's wonderful to acknowledge and celebrate what they're doing."

She plans to throw "an incredible party" for McGregor and her book on Friday at the Ward Warehouse store.

To help celebrate, she's ordering the remainder of the first print run in hardcover that was stored in the University of Hawaii Press's East Coast warehouse to sell at the party. Meyer is also happy that there will be a less expensive softcover version of "Na Kua'aina" available by midyear. "It's my hope that UH Press will keep reprinting the book, have them adopted in classrooms and help bring up the community's knowledge base.

"As for the hardcover books, we just wanted them because we love them and wanted to bring them back home."

"NA KUA'AINA" quotes and acknowledges the work of Pukui, who spoke to the kupuna who were around during the first 30 years of the 20th century. It works in combination with McGregor's own work over the past 12 years in the Ethnic Studies oral histories project and as part of the "3-M" team with Jon Matsuoka, dean of the UH School of Social Work, and professor Luciano Minerbi of the Urban and Regional Planning Department.

With the permission of Bishop Museum, McGregor was the first person outside its staff to gather information from the closely kept Pukui archives. "I was astonished over the fabulous collection that Pukui put together. There were not only oral histories, but her main intention was to collect the names of ancestral places and get their correct pronunciations. From there I was able to get a picture of our culture's life and practices."

Now in her 50s, McGregor is of the generation that came of age during the Hawaiian cultural renaissance and the native rights movement that blossomed during the 1970s. The reclamation of the island of Kahoolawe from the U.S. military served as catalyst for both.

The actions of movement leaders George Helm and Uncle Harry Mitchell were an inspiration, McGregor said. "What happened with Kahoolawe gave me a glimpse into the regenerative powers of these communities. Isolated since World War II, the kupuna and elder kamaaina all willingly shared what they knew."

Family ties in Hilo and Puna also helped her gain trust and access into these cultural kipuka.

"It was understandable that some of the kuaaina were protective of their fishing and gathering spots and family burial sites. But with the case of Puna and the planned geothermal development there, we had to show the importance of these sacred places, areas that shouldn't be developed."

Since the publication of "Na Kua'aina," McGregor expresses a concern for the survival and viability of these cultural kipuka, especially in light of new challenges like the insidious influence of debilitating drug use and the lack of economic opportunities for young people.

"More people have to take stock of the urgent importance of these places. Maybe, through legislation, they can be recognized as cultural reserves, with special zoning and tax breaks.

"With its documentation, the book is meant to be a link on how to protect these resources."

And it's an obvious source of pride for McGregor. She remembers receiving her first copy, just before a class lecture. "When I finally saw my book, I was speechless and I cried a bit. And when I showed the book to my class, they clapped for me. I was very touched."