LĀLĀKEA FOUNDATION
When, why, and how the organization got started.
Founded in 1997, Lālākea Foundation is a nonprofit 501c(3) Native Hawaiian cultural organization comprised of kumu hula and hula practitioners with statewide representation. Born out of the political struggle to protect Native Hawaiian traditional and customary gathering rights in 1998, Lālākea Foundation continues to be grounded in the practice and perpetuation of ancient Hawaiian cultural practices through Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola and a myriad of stage productions which expand and elevate Hawaiian culture and practices through hula and chant.
The organization’s mission statement, purpose and long-term goals.
This organization’s mission is to perpetuate Native Hawaiian arts and spiritual practices, including hula, chant and attendant art forms. The goals of Lālākea are to: demonstrate oral traditions, teachings and ways of transmitting knowledge through the generations; provide a learning and enrichment platform for hula practitioners and cultural learners from Hawaiʻi and around the world to encourage the preservation of the ancient art forms of Hawaiʻi; and educate practitioners about the need to protect and nurture our fragile environment to ensure continual access to plants and resources that are necessary to maintain the culture.
Prior and current activities relevant to the proposed project.
2001 Ka ʻAha Hula O Hālauaola - Lālākea Foundation was a founding organization of the 2001 Ka ʻAha Hula O Hālauaola, World Conference on Hula which was held in Hilo, Hawaiʻi from July 29 – August 4, 2001. Participants came of all the islands of Hawaiʻi, the U.S, Japan, Mexico and Europe. Along with its partner, the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation, KAHOH 2001 hosted 1,200 participants for one week in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. KAHOH 2001 featured 120 workshops and presentations by 93 kumu hula, ʻalakaʻi, and special presenters, 17 huakaʻi to wahi pana around Hawaiʻi Island, and 5 nights of evening performances. Nā Ponohula classes (the making of implements and accoutrements necessary to dance hula) were offered to 200 participants in 13 different workshops which took place over 3 days. Workshop topics included lei hulu, ʻulili and kalāʻau, lapaiki, kāʻekeʻeke and ʻohe hano ihu in Waipiʻo Valley, ipu heke ʻole, uliʻuli, kapa, ipu heke, ʻulana lauhala, lei pūpū ʻo Niʻihau, pūniu, kīhei and pāʻū dyeing, and lei hula. Honorary Co-Chairs were well-known kumu hula, Dr. Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, Leinaʻala Kalama Heine, and Hokulani Holt. Noe Noe Wong-Wilson was Conference Director.
2001 Kilohi Nā Akua Wahine – The hula drama was performed for the first time at the 2001 Ka ʻAha Hula O Hālauaola. Under the direction of the founding kumu hula of Lālakea Foundation, Kumu Hula Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele, Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla, and Leinaʻala Kalama Heine, this production featured female Hawaiian deities through chant and dance.
2005 Ka ʻAha Hula O Hālauaola – Maui. In 2005, Kauahea, Inc., Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation and Lālākea joined forces to organize the second hula ʻaha in this format. 2005 KAHOH was held in Kahului, Maui from July 21 to July 31, 2005. 1,500 participants from Hawaiʻi, U.S. Continent, Mexico and around the world came to participate in the 100 workshops and presentations provided by 75 kumu hula, ʻalakaʻi and special presenters. Thirteen Ponohula classes were conducted for 260 participants for 3 days prior to the ʻAha.
2005 – Pagan Pride. A highlight of this ʻaha was a chant production, Pagan Pride, produced by Kumu Hula Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele and featuring the members of Lālākea Foundation and other selected chant practitioners.
2009 Ka ʻAha Hula O Hālauaola – Oʻahu. Lālākea Foundation was the lead non-profit organization in organizing the ʻaha on Oʻahu. Hosted at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus, the third event was held July 23-31, 2009 with over 1,900 attendees and participants.
2009 Keaomelemele – Oʻahu. With support from the SFCA, the participants in the 2009 Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola attended a featured hula production of the epic Hawaiian moʻolelo, Keaomelemele, which was produced by Kumu Hula Leinaʻala Kalama Heine of Hālau Nā Pualei o Likolehua.
2014 Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola – Kauaʻi. Lālākea Foundation provided support to the Mālie Foundation on Kauaʻi to host the 2014 conference from July 10 – 18, 2014. Lālākea board member Kumu Hula Kehaulani Kekua served as Conference Coordinator which hosted over 1,500 participants.
2014 Hiʻiakaikanoʻeau – Kauaʻi. Featuring Hawaiian Kapa artists and their designs, this special performance was presented by the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation as the signature hula production during the 2014 Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola.
2016 World Conservation Conference – IUCN – Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Lālākea Foundation designed, created and produced the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the International Union on Conservation and Nature – World Conservation Conference at the Neal Blaisdell Center on September 1st and 10th, 2016. Over 200 dancers from 8 hālau hula representing Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi participated in the performances.
2018 Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola – Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The Fifth Hula Conference was held in Hilo Hawaiʻi from June 14 – 23, 2018. Organized and hosted by Lālākea Foundation, 1,200 participants from Hawaiʻi, the U.S. Continent, Europe, Moana Nui a Kiwa, and Asia participated in the final event. Returning to its roots , the journey of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele was completed. Hula practitioners chanted, danced, shared, learned and immersed themselves in the spiritual, cultural and historic sites around Moku o Keawe which continue to hold the stories and mana of our ancestors.
2018 Kuʻu Lei ʻo Hiʻiaka – Hilo, Hawaiʻi. A signature performance featuring Lālākea Foundation Kumu Hula and hālau was premiered for participants at the Fifth Ka ʻAha Hula o Hālauaola. Narrated by Kumu Hula Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele of Hālau O Kekuhi, the 2-hour, 5-act multi- media stage production is based on the epic saga of Pele and Hiʻiaka and portrays Hiʻiaka’s arduous journey through the islands to Kauaʻi to fetch her sister’s lover, Lohiau and return to Hawaiʻi Island only to end in a battle with Pele.