Social Media: The Modern Indigenous Voice: Recent Episodes
Courtney Quiamzon
In attempt to answering my senior capstone research question, I met with three individuals, all of indigenous backgrounds, who have displayed how the use of social media can play a role in the perpetuation of their culture. From listening to their personal experiences, I've learned of the ways that social media has become a resource to educate, inspire, and spread awareness about their culture. It is evident that they have all recognized the advantages of social media.
In this episode I talk about the conversation I had with Jonah Solatorio, the creator of the Instagram account, E Hoʻopili Mai! With this Instagram account Jonah teaches his followers how to speak in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian). By providing daily lessons on this social media platform, Jonah hopes to not only perpetuate the language of his kupuna but to also normalize the use of the Hawaiian language. I learned of the inspiration and motivation that lead to the creation of E Hoʻopili Mai and the impact that Jonah has been able to make not only in Hawaiʻi but around the globe.
I sat down and spoke with Keola Nakanishi, director of the non-profit organization Mana Maoli. Although first known as a non-profit with a mission of educating Hawaiʻi's youth through culture based learning, Mana Maoli has brought global attention to Hawaiʻi and the issues it's native population have been facing. Through the production of what they call, Collaborative Music Videos, the have been able to spread awareness on important topics such as the protection of Mauna Kea from the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, as well as educate the public by sharing different Hawaiian mele.
On this episode I got the chance to sit down and talk with a Hawaiʻi famous instagramer who is known for sharing Native Hawaiian driven content with her followers. As a Hawaiian it’s really refreshing and awesome to see Hawaiian content coming to the forefront of social media. Hawaiʻi is often just looked at as a vacation destination, but through people like Kuʻulei and my other guests that I got to speak with, a lot of truth and clarity about the history and current issues Hawaiʻi is facing is coming to light, and being shared with the world.