Bishop Museum Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Bishop Museum
Moananuiākea: One Ocean, One People, One Canoe.
with Nāʻālehu Anthony of ʻŌiwi TV
Recorded Thursday, October 17, 2019 in Atherton Hālau
Moananuiākea is a documentary film telling the story of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage of legendary canoe Hōkūleʻa.
The three-year voyage connected countless individuals and communities from around the globe. It was also the fulfillment of the vision of pwo navigator Nainoa Thompson and his contemporaries, to pass the mantle of celestial navigation to the next generation of kānaka maoli who will retain the skills of their ancestors and perpetuate this tradition for generations to come.
The film is presented by the Polynesian Voyaging Society and ʻŌiwi TV and produced by Nāʻālehu Anthony, Bryson Hoe, and Maui Tauotaha, all of whom served as crew members on Hōkūleʻa.
Traditions of the Pacific is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Association Council, the supporting council for Bishop Museum members, to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Nerd Nite Honolulu Presents Bishop Museum Takeover!
Recorded Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at Anna O’Brien’s
Nerd Nite HNL and Bishop Museum join forces for a special evening.
Going Back to the Future with Bishop Museum’s Archaeology Collections
with Jillian A. Swift, Bishop Museum Archaeologist
Bishop Museum Collections Trivia – Vertebrate or Invertebrate?
with Molly Hagemann and Holly Bolick, Bishop Museum Vertebrate and Invertebrate collections managers
Weird and Wonderful: Highlights of the Personal Collection of a Hawai’i Historian
with DeSoto Brown, Bishop Museum Historian
Traditions of the Pacific
Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai
With friends of Rell Sunn:
Dalani Tanahy, Kapa Hawaiʻi, Westside Wahine surfer; Jeannie Chesser, pro-surfer and artist; Sonya Evenson, surf report DJ and champion windsurfer; Laura Blears, pro-surfer; Laola Lake Aeʻa, one of the founding organizers of Women's Pro Surfing Association, and water safety instructor; Brooke Holt-Pennel, surfer; and Toni Hambaro, surfer.
Panel of speakers' discussion recorded on Thursday, February 20, 2020 after film showing in Atherton Hālau.
Heart of the Sea is a documentary film about surf legend and “Queen of Mākaha,” Rell Kapoliokaʻehukai Sunn. Sunn was a founding member of the Women’s Professional Surfing Association and a beloved breast cancer activist. With exhilarating water scenes and captivating archival footage of surf culture, Heart of the Sea is an important look at Hawaiʻi’s integral part in America’s rich cultural heritage, and a stirring portrait of a courageous legend.
Traditions of the Pacific is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Association Council, the supporting council for Bishop Museum members, to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Watch Heart of the Sea online https://vimeo.com/ondemand/rellsunndoc
The Hawaiian Temple System in Ancient Kahikinui and Kaupō, Maui
with Dr. Patrick V. Kirch
Thursday, October 3, 2019 in the Atherton Halau
The book Heiau, ‘Āina, Lani, meaning “Temples, Land, and Sky,” is a collaborative study by Dr. Patrick V. Kirch and Clive Ruggles, using an approach that combines archaeology and archaeoastronomy. The remarkably well-preserved archaeological landscape of Kahikinui and Kaupō in southeastern Maui includes some 78 heiau, or temple sites, ranging from small coastal fishing shrines, through agricultural fertility temples, to the imposing war temples of Loʻaloʻa and Pōpōiwi, where Maui’s King Kekaulike offered up human sacrifices.
Building on detailed mapping and study of these temple foundations, Kirch and Ruggles generated new insights into how heiau served not only as places of sacrifice and prayer, but also as locations where kāhuna observed the heavens. Observing the rising of the Pleiades (Makaliʻi), and probably also the solstices, allowed the kāhuna to calibrate the Hawaiian lunar calendar, keeping it in sync with the solar year.
Science through Art: Birds of a Feather Working Together
with Molly Hagemann, Invertebrate Zoology collections manager and Laurie Sumiye, artist
Recorded on Thursday, September 19, 2019 in Atherton Halau
The Natural History collections at #BishopMuseum are an invaluable resource for artists who interpret scientific specimens differently than scientists do. Hear from the Museum’s Molly Hagemann and artist Laurie Sumiye about how a mutual love of birds developed into a friendship and a professional collaboration involving the Museum’s Avian Collection. Laurie created molds from the albatross eggs in the Museum collections and then fashioned resin eggs filled with marine debris to illustrate the impact of plastic on North Pacific albatross populations. This art installation, Laysan 1902, is now on display in the Science Adventure Center. The next collaborative project is a documentary film on the palila, a critically endangered honeycreeper. These stories increase public awareness and help preserve Hawaiʻi’s dwindling biodiversity.
This program is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Education Department to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
The Archive of Te Rangihiroa
with Wānanga | Wānana Research Residency recipients:
Ngahina Hohaia (Taranaki, Ngāti Moeahu, Ngāti Haupoto) Visual artist; and Julian Arahanga (Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi), Film and television writer, director, producer, and researcher
Recorded on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 in Atherton Halau
Hear the findings and insights of the two Wānanga | Wānana Research Residency recipients on their explorations into the archival materials of Taranaki-born Māori scholar Te Rangihiroa from Ngāti Mutunga—also known as Sir Peter Buck (ca. 1880–1951). Buck was a physician, statesman, and scholar, and the first indigenous director of Bishop Museum, from 1936 until his passing in 1951. He documented the rich cultures of Polynesia and brought worldwide awareness of their skills and accomplishments. One of the world’s leading Polynesian scholars, Buck’s work and leadership continue to have a lasting impact on the Pacific and on the relationship between Māori and Kānaka Maoli.
The Wānanga | Wānana Research Residency is a partnership between Creative New Zealand and Bishop Museum Library & Archives.
Traditions of the Pacific Presents
Fire in the Sea: Learning from the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption
with Dr. Scott Rowland, volcanologist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Recorded on Thursday, August 15, 2019 in the Atherton Hālau
The spring-summer 2018 Kīlauea eruption was unprecedented in post-contact times, in terms of the nature and scale of the activity and the destruction of homes and infrastructure. Was this eruption associated with the fiery forces of Pele or could it signify an older deity, ʻAilāʻau, the Forest Eater? This scientific talk by Dr. Scott Rowland, a specialist in Volcanology in Hawaiʻi, will highlight some of the unusual aspects of the 2018 eruption, its effects, and what is yet to be learned and even un-learned from of this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Traditions of the Pacific is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Association Council, the supporting council for Bishop Museum members, to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Links:
Strange Tides After the 6.9 Earthquake in Hawaii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSqGC6jDfB0
USGS Kilauea Videos
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_videos.html
Overview of Kīlauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-224/OVERVIEW_Kil2018_LERZ-Summit_June%202019.pdf
With Dr. Julian Hume, paleontologist at the Natural History Museum, London
Recorded on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 in the Atherton Hālau.
Island birds have been subject to spectacular evolutionary events and it is only now that science is beginning to understand the processes involved. The importance of paleontology and ancient DNA have been paramount in research, which has resulted in some extraordinary discoveries. Julian Hume is a self-taught artist specializing in reconstructing extinct species, who completed an undergraduate degree in paleontology at the University of Portsmouth, followed by a PhD on the extinct birds of the Mascarenes at the Natural History Museum (NHM), London. Using a combination of art and science, Dr. Hume presents some of his works on island bird evolution, and the recreation of some of the lost worlds of the past.
This program is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Natural Sciences Department to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
Matthew and Roxanne Ortiz are a husband and wife art duo who collaborate under the name Wooden Wave. Their work has a hand-drawn aesthetic that reflects a playful sensibility and appreciation for draftsmanship. Frequently using treehouses as their subject matter, the art of Wooden Wave presents a whimsical take on the notion of the sustainably integrated community.
Through the internet and modern-day technology, the world was able to track and engage with Hōkūle‘a, a traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoe, that used no modern technology to sail around the world. Hōkūle‘a traveled 42,000 nautical miles in three years and visited 150 ports in over 20 countries and kept in contact with the world the whole time. The Mālama Honua online map showed the canoe’s location in real time. Video chat from the canoe to classrooms allowed children to hear from the crew directly about details of the voyage. Come hear how all that was made possible.
This six-part Traditions of the Pacific lecture series is made possible through the generous support from Hawai’i Tourism Authority and the Tommy Holmes Foundation and in partnership with Polynesian Voyaging Society.
As Hōkūle‘a sailed around the world, one of its educational goals was to learn more about the Earth and her natural wonders. Hear from crew members as they share lessons learned from visiting areas such as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, the Galápagos National Park, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and one of the oldest and most diverse fossil reefs in the world, in Lake Champlain, Vermont. Learn about some of the science projects conducted while on the wa‘a (canoe) and how updates, weather, and navigation reports from aboard Hōkūle‘a and sister canoe Hikianalia were used to support classroom instruction related to navigation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
This six-part Traditions of the Pacific lecture series is made possible through the generous support from Hawai’i Tourism Authority and the Tommy Holmes Foundation and in partnership with Polynesian Voyaging Society.
A generation ago, ʿuniki hula (a hula graduation ceremony) was a rare and seldom-discussed event; now ʿuniki are televised, included in university classes, and regularly conducted throughout Hawaiʿi. What are the elements and requirements of this revived ʿuniki ceremony?
The Hula: Mind, Body and Spirit lecture and film series was made possible through the generous support from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, JABSOM, UH Mānoa and Ka 'Aha Hula 'O Hālauaola.
The parallels between hula and the Hawaiian martial art ku‘ialua, also called lua, are not apparent to most observers, but are noted by experts skilled in both cultural practices. Parallels and differences will be demonstrated and discussed.
The Hula: Mind, Body and Spirit lecture and film series was made possible through the generous support from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, JABSOM, UH Mānoa and Ka 'Aha Hula 'O Hālauaola.
Traditional procreation chants and dances celebrate and encourage the continuation of ali‘i family lines. Hula ma‘i are often misunderstood and misinterpreted in modern Western contexts. (Parental discretion advised).
The Hula: Mind, Body and Spirit lecture and film series was made possible through the generous support from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, JABSOM, UH Mānoa and Ka 'Aha Hula 'O Hālauaola.
Hawaiian Science: Biocultural Restoration of an Ahupua‘a
with Dr. Kawika Winter, reserve manager at the He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve
Recorded Thursday, March 21, 2019 in the Hawaiian Hall Atrium
Explore large-scale biocultural restoration and traditional resource management in the largest sheltered body of water in the Hawaiian Islands. The reserve protects unique ecosystems including the He‘eia Stream, coral reefs, sand flats, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond, as well as traditional agricultural and heritage lands. It is home to the endangered Hawaiian stilt, moorhen, coot, duck and hoary bat. Winter speaks about the effect of a typically Western scientific approach compared with Native Hawaiian management practices.
With Holly Bolick, Bishop Museum Invertebrate Zoology Collections Manager and Pratisha Budhiraja, Scientific Artist
Recorded Thursday, May 16, 2019 in Atherton Hālau
Bishop Museum scientists and the Honolulu Printmakers are working together on a Science-Art project that will showcase current research and collections. A series of talks will highlight the research and artistic process of these collaborations. The first talk is inspired by the intricate structural forms, patterns, and strange “colors” (metallic and translucent) of deep-sea invertebrates. Come and hear about the deep-sea research being done in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands, new specimens being added to the Invertebrate Zoology Collection, and how all this translates into an artistic presentation of science.
The art pieces created through this collaboration will be exhibited at Bishop Museum in the spring of 2020.
This program is coordinated by the Bishop Museum Education Department to celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
The Statues Walked: Recent Research on Moai Transport on Rapa Nui
With Dr. Terry Hunt, Dean, Honors College, University of Arizona
Recorded February 19, 2019 in the Hawaiian Hall Atrium
Since the arrival of Europeans to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in 1722, it has been a mystery how the monumental moai were carved from the inland quarry and moved to the coast. How could the natives of Rapa Nui move the multi-ton monoliths such a distance? Hear from Dr. Terry Hunt reveal how the moai walked to where they are today.
Bishop Museum's Traditions of the Pacific Program Presents: Navigating the World
Hear from Nainoa Thompson, Lehua Kamalu, Miki Tomita, David Lassner and Dr. Ben Tamura and moderated by Ann Botticelli
Wednesday October 18, 2017
at Marine Education Training Center
This talk centers on the planning of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage: the idea, the reason, the commitment, all the details and logistics, the challenges, and risks of sailing Hōkūleʻa around the world. Come and experience the “hub” or “central command” of the endeavor.
The Hawai'i Community College Marine Education Training Center is also the control room, the classroom and mooring site for Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia.
Artist Spotlight
Kana: Invigorating Cord Wear in 21st Century Ceremony
Dr. Taupōuri Tangarō
Thursday, June 29, 2017
*Some of the audio was not spoken into the mic and so it can only be heard faintly. But it was only for brief moments - an oli (chant) at the beginning and a few moments to display some of the cord pieces.
Honoring Kana, Hiloʻs Deity of Cord, Tangarō shares his personal journey toward the innovative manifestation of the corded wear. He weaves and knots mythology, history, and the culture of knowledge acquisition in this presentation, sharing how he uses the processes of "Hawaiian art” to build indigenous leadership capacity in the University of Hawaiʻi System. The intersection of dreams, tradition, innovation, and indigenous wellbeing are driving forces behind his works.
Dr. Taupōuri Tangarō has a few cordage garments displayed in the Hulia ‘Ano: Inspired Patterns exhibit in the J. M. Long Gallery on exhibit through October 16, 2017.
What are museums good for today? What purposes do they serve, and how are they relevant for the millions of visitors, practitioners, researchers, and artists who walk through their doors every year?
Bishop Museum is delighted and honored to welcome Professor Nicholas Thomas for a presentation inspired by his latest book The Return of Curiosity: What Museums are Good For in the Twenty-first Century.
In this recent work, Thomas explores the present role of museums and positions museum collections at the core of debates on their relevance. In his book, such collections are depicted not only as invaluable resources that allow reflections on past practices, but also as creative technologies that can be used to reinvent such practices and to generate new things. As they spark the curiosity of their audience and stimulate encounters in a time of insecurity and increasing conflict, museums and their collections play an essential role. For Thomas, they help us to better understand and engage with the world we inhabit, and can thus sustain and enrich society.
Join us for another exciting Traditions of the Pacific lecture!
John F. G. Stokes was a pioneer in the field of Hawaiian archaeology. In 1909, he traveled to Moloka‘i where he documented known heiau through photography and detailed mapping. With the generous support of the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, Bishop Museum’s Anthropology and Library & Archives departments have built a new database that includes Stokes’ unpublished maps of the heiau of Moloka‘i. At this special presentation, Dr. Mara Mulrooney, Director of Cultural Resources will share information about Stokes’ work and legacy, and the museum will celebrate the launch of the new online resource.
Science Educator Hadley Andersen shared news of our upcoming #FallInLoveWithScience event with Burt Lum and Ryan Ozawa of Bytemarks Cafe! You can listen to the original podcast on (entitled Episode 439: 2017 Tech Policy – aired Jan 25, 2017) here: http://www.bytemarkscafe.org/2017/01/25/episode-439-2017-tech-policy-jan-25-2017/.
Join us for another fascinating Traditions of the Pacific lecture series and special documentary, recorded in Hawaiian Hall on November 10, 2016!
The ancient Hawaiian New Year festival, Makahiki, is a unique cultural event celebrated with new awareness, ceremony, peace, and games. Held for approximately four months each year, the celebration honors Lono, the god of fertility, believed to bring prosperity to the islands. Throughout this period, native Hawaiians would participate in sports, games, feasts, and religious ceremonies. War, however, was strictly forbidden.
Combining over 35 years of experience and knowledge in the practice of lua, Umi Kai, Kamilo Lara, and Kaha Toledo, nā olohe of Pā Ku‘i A Lua highlights the powerful imagery and ancient protocol associated with the makahiki season. Listeners will gain a greater understanding of the significance of the makahiki season itself and how it continues to play and important role in Hawai‘i today.
Bishop Museum's historian, DeSoto Brown discusses life in the Territory of Hawai‘i in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This audio is provided courtesy of radio station KCBX.
Join Bishop Museum’s revered historian, Desoto Brown as he talks-story about the museum’s past, present, and future with correspondent Tom Wilmer. Audio courtesy of KXCB.
Originally aired on October 18, 2016 through All Things Marine (http://www.cosee-ie.net/programs/allthingsmarineradioshow/) as "Ocean Publications Shallow to Deep".
Join Bishop Museum's Rich Pyle as he discusses deep reefs in Hawaii with Randy Kosaki of NOAA and Robin Baird from Cascadia Research.
Evidence of the cultural and scientific significance of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument comes to life in this riveting special edition of the Traditions of the Pacific lecture series entitled Expanding the Journey.
Bishop Museum invites you to join three of our very own experts as they share their stories and experiences of research in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands:
Dr. Mara Mulrooney, Director of Cultural Resources will share about her recent expedition to Nihoa in the Monument and about the relevancy of her work the Museum’s cultural collections.
Dr. Norine Yeung, Malacology Researcher and IUCN WCC 2016 Speaker will speak about the role of the Museum in connecting people to nature through cultural heritage and research.
Dr. Richard Pyle, Associate Zoologist will speak about current breakthrough research and discoveries in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and reveal a new species of fish. Dr. Pyle will also touch on the recent headline news of President Obama’s expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Hear exciting shark encounters from three amazing ocean conservationists who share the water with these amazing creatures. Moderated by Dr. Rich Pyle, Bishop Museum associate zoologist and researcher with special guests:
– Kaiwi Berry, founder of Island View Hawaiʻi, a pelagic dive tour company
– Jennifer Cole, conservation coordinator at White Shark Africa, white shark research, conservation, education and sightseeing tour programs
The final installment of our three-part Traditions of the Pacific Lecture series on sharks.
Dr. Carl Meyer's research focuses on the ecology and management of sharks. He studies the movement patterns, habitat use and trophic ecology of sharks, and their navigational abilities. His research addresses a variety of issues of management concern including impacts of shark ecotourism, shark predation on critically endangered species, effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and impacts of human recreational activities.
For more than half a century, Hawai'i-born and raised archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch has explored the Pacific, on expeditions that took him to a score of islands from the Bismarck Archipelago to Easter Island. As a Punahou student, Kirch apprenticed with famed Bishop Museum archaeologist Kenneth Emory at digs on Hawai'i and Maui. In 1971, Kirch joined a Bishop Museum expedition to remote Anuta Island, where a traditional Polynesian culture still flourished. Joining the Bishop Museum staff in 1975, Kirch led expeditions to the famed Polynesian Outlier of Tikopia, and to Niuatoputapu, a former outpost of the Tongan maritime empire. In Hawai‘i, Kirch traced the islands’ history in the Anahulu valley and across the ancient district of Kahikinui, Maui. In this retrospective talk, Kirch looks back over a half-century of Polynesian archaeology, reflecting on how the questions we ask about the past have changed over the decades, how archaeological methods have advanced, and how our knowledge of the Polynesian past has greatly expanded.
Traditions & Insights in Native Hawaiian Child-Rearing Practices
Dr. Carol Titcomb, MD
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Building on scholarship and knowledge of many sources including writings of Mary Kawena Pukui and discussions with Hawaiian elders, Dr. Carol Titcomb shares findings from her descriptive study about culturally-based child-rearing practices. Dr. Titcomb is a pediatrician who has practiced medicine in Wai‘anae, Waimānalo and Papakōlea. She conducted this study as part of a research fellowship at the University of Hawai‘i, School of Medicine’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health.
Traditional Hawaiian Practices of Hāpai and Hānau
Kai‘ulani Odom and Emerson Kihei Nahale, Kōkua Kalihi Valley
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The progression from pre-gestation to birth encompasses an array of physical and metaphysical responsibilities to ensure a pathway of health for child, mother and family. Knowledgeable Native Hawaiian cultural and clinical practitioners will provide insightful perspectives about traditional approaches to pregnancy and child birth and how families can be empowered to incorporate cultural practices into the birthing experience.
Bishop Museum Cultural Research Specialist and master lau hala weaver Marques Hanalei Marzan talks with Diane Ako about the new exhibit, Nani I Ka Hala, open from March 28 to July 27, 2015 in the Bishop Museum's Long Gallery. The exhibit explores the art, science, and cultural importance of the hala tree and showcases dozens of fine examples of this thriving art form.
Bishop Museum’s Traditions of the Pacific series brings an evening of story, sharing, and aloha that explores the artistic, cultural, and biological expressions of limu and kupe‘e with artists and cultural practitioners, Sig Zane, and his son, Kuha‘o Zane, from Keaukaha, Hilo, Island of Hawai‘i. Mahalo to the Queen’s Health Systems for their generous support.
Kahikinui, on the southeastern slopes of Maui's Haleakalā, remains one of the last places in the Hawaiian Islands where the landscape of an entire moku is preserved intact. Based on seventeen years of archaeological field research, Prof. Patrick Kirch tells the story of this 'āina malo'o, part of the greatest continuous zone of dryland planting in the archipelago. Based on his studies of thousands of house sites, heiau, and other vestiges of ancient life, Kirch traces the history of Kahikinui from the first arrival of Polynesians in the eleventh century A.D. to the final abandonment of the land at the end of the nineteenth century.
Observing the sky phenomena is the realm of the kilolani in the discipline of Papahulilani--clouds, winds, sun, stars and moon are among the prominent foci of this discipline. In the traditional Hawaiian world view, these atmospheric elements embody the pantheon of kino akua Hawai'i, and provide a fundamental function in ancestral memory still essential in the modern Hawaiian consciousness. The behavior of these members of the heavenly realm can be tracked across the cycles of day and night, the waxing and waning of the moon, and the procession of the sun in its seasonal arcs over the year. Learning the roughly 30 day moon cycle and the connection of these to the behavior of everything in the living universe around us is the topic of Kalei Nu'uhiwa's presentation, Kaulana Mahina.
Kukulu Hale Kahiko - the traditional method of building the Hawaiian house. Renowned Kuhikuhipu'uone (Master Architect) Francis "Palani" Sinenci of Hale Kuhikuhi gives an insightful and engaging presentation that details the methods of kukulu hale (building house). In addition, Kumu Palani highlights stories of the revival and reinvigoration of related protocols that contribute important elements to this traditional art.
Listen to Dr. Sam "'Ohu" Gon, senior scientist and cultural advisor at The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i, give a thought-provoking lecture on the "footprint" left by the historical Hawaiian culture and its lasting mark on the Islands' ecosystems. Using archeological modeling and traditional knowledge sources including mo'olelo and oli, he reconstructs the pre-contact Hawaiian world as a series of maps, which unfold the story of the changing island landscapes that culminate in the world today.
HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports on an exhibition of exquisite Ni’ihau shell lei on view now at the Bishop Museum.
Listen to renowned conservation biologist and wildlife photographer, Dr. Robert Shallenberger, give an illuminating talk on our fine feathered friends and voyagers of the Hawaiian skies. Two dozen seabird species call Hawai'i home, while ranging widely across the Pacific Ocean and beyond. These birds are finely adapted to their terrestrial, aquatic and aerial environments. This lecture focuses on their natural history and their complex cultural connection with the people who share their home.
Another Legacy of Hawai'i's Voyaging Chiefs: Models of Successful Leadership
presented by Dr. Kēhaunani Abad
What might today's Hawaiian community leaders share in common with Hawai'i's legendary chiefs? Many aspects of what are considered to be foundational Hawaiian leadership traits stem from the era of voyaging chiefs. Learn how historic circumstances shaped social interactions of leaders past and established successful models of behavior that were emulated in later generations of ali'i. Dr. Abad gives a captivating look into those lessons learned, and how they remain as relevant today as they were long ago.
Master Weapon Maker and Hawaiian Artisan, G. Umi Kai, gives an interesting look into the design, materials, and functions of the kahiko makau (ornamental fish hook). In addition, Umi explores how the Hawaiian ancestors crafted their makau in the past, and what tools were used to create the exquisite, cultural objects. By tracing from the past purposes and methods to the designs of today, the role of makau as a functional tool to wearable art is better understood.
Jack Gray gives a short presentation on the Whare Tapere - Pre-European Pa (Māori village) based houses of entertainment, storytelling and dance. The Whare Tapere fell into disuse during the 19th Century as Māori moved away to larger towns and cities resulting in the loss of these particular forms. Since 2004, an innovative cultural research process by Charles Royal and Orotokare has sought to reimagine these particular arts based on fragments of knowledge that remained, leading to the development and performance of a modern Whare Tapere.
As part of the grand unveiling of Pacific Hall, Dr. Patrick Kirch, University of California, Berkeley, explains the current state of archaeologist's understanding of the settlement of the Pacific and of Hawaiʻi.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is often portrayed as the locale of a dramatic societal collapse triggered by overpopulation and environmental degradation during the late pre-European contact period (before A.D. 1722). Despite the popularity of this collapse narrative, there is very little solid evidence for it. In this presentation, Dr. Mara Mulrooney shares the results of recent archaeological research into settlement and land use on the island.
Dr. Mulrooney is an Assistant Anthropologist at the Bishop Museum. In an interview with Hawaii Public Radio’s Chris Vandercook, Dr. Mulrooney talks about her archaeological work on Rapa Nui that uncovers evidence about what Rapanui society was like before the first Europeans visited the island on Easter Sunday in 1722.
Mahalo to Hawai'i Public Radio for sharing this audio content with us.
Bishop Museum’s Pacific Hall renovation is the topic of Hawaii Public Radio’s Business of the Arts show with Host Judy Neal. Listen to exhibit team members Historian DeSoto Brown, Project Manager Elizabeth Tatar and Exhibit Designer Dave Kemble talk about how they will present a new perspective on the story of Pacific migration through a multiple of avenues that show how cultures of the Pacific are still alive and functioning today. Pacific Hall will re-open on September 21, 2013.
Join noted author and producer, Sam Low, Ph.D., for an evening lecture covering the traditional Polynesian voyaging techniques employed by the Polynesian Voyaging Society's President and legendary captain, Nainoa Thompson. Sam's new book Hawaiki Rising dwells into Nainoa's process of learning an ancient way of navigating by a world of natural signs.
In this episode, Bishop Museum zoologist Dr. Ken Longenecker was interviewed on Hawai‘i Public Radio. He describes his work on the island of Papua New Guinea.
It has been 90 years since Dr. Kenneth Emory of the Bishop Museum did his ground breaking early work on understanding the mysterious ruins located on the islands of Nihoa and Necker, remotely located to the northwest of the ‘main’ Hawaiian Islands. This presentation will cover the outcomes of a recent ten year dissertation research project (2002-2012) that sought to further understand the archaeology of these two islands and the context these settlements played in traditional Hawaiian society. It focuses on a period of the late expansion phase (A.D. 1400-1650), when formidable changes were underway in ritual and social organization that ultimately led to the emergence of Hawai‘i as a powerful complex chiefdom. This research demonstrates that over a four hundred year period these remote islands became the central focus of chiefly elites in establishing this area as a ritual center of power.
Recorded April 6, 2013 | Castle Memorial Building
Panel discussion
In this podcast the panel retraces the little known story of the internment of Japanese-American in Hawai`i during World War II.
Panelists: Ryan Kawamoto, Jane Kuwahara, Brian Niiya, William Kaneko | Moderator: Carole Hayashino
Veterans from Kaua‘i tell of their military service in World War II and after to a visiting group of high school students from Kaua‘i in Honolulu for a choral festival. Vets Yoshinobu Oshiro and George Shiroma share songs, stories, poems, and more with the students. Moderated by Jimmy Kuroiwa and George Arine.
Saturday, April 13, 2013 Castle Memorial Building
Commitment to Education
Panelists: Joan Funamura, Charles Kagawa, May Price, Charlotte Unni.
Moderator: Ann (Miyake) Mahi
The story of the Nisei Veterans through the eyes of their children is a compelling legacy to the heroism of these men and how their values impacted the lives of their children. Educators from the Hawaii State Department of Education shared their stories of what they learned from their fathers and uncles, the influence it had on their philosophy today and how it serves as an inspiration to future generations.
The Polynesian Triangle is generally defined by the apices of Hawai’i, Rapa Nui and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Evidence is accumulating, however, which indicates that Polynesians continued voyaging eastwards and made multiple contacts with the Americas. Dr. Matisoo-Smith's talk focused on the latest archaeological, cultural, and biological and genetic data indicating the likely timing and location of Polynesian contacts in the Americas.
Dr. Matisoo-Smith is a Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her research focuses on the biological evidence for better understanding the prehistory of the Pacific.
True stories of Hawai‘i Nisei experiences during World War II.
Presented April 2, 2013
Castle Memorial Building
Nationally acclaimed storyteller Alton Takiyama-Chung presented true accounts of Nisei soldiers and their families during World War II. Alton's presentation and this recording were underwritten by the Kazuo and Mary Yamane Family Foundation. This presentation was recorded as part of the exhibition American Heroes: WWII Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal.