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Piʻo Summit 2024

Hulihia: Fire and Rain

Community Leadership Through Crisis

Register for the Conference

Thursday, November 21, 2024
9:00am - 5:30pm
Imin Conference Center, UH Mānoa

“Hulihia” refers to an overturning or complete change - a word that aptly describes the transformative power of community leadership in times of crisis. This year’s Piʻo Summit will bring together community organizers, scholars, activists, and survivors in conversations on how communities rise up in the wake of devastating events to demonstrate extraordinary resilience, care, and leadership.

This gathering focuses on two recent catastrophic events that have reshaped landscapes and people across the pae ʻāina — the devastating wildfires that swept through the town of Lāhaina, Maui in August 2023, and the record-breaking rainfall event — dubbed the "rainbomb" — that caused destructive flooding in Kauaʻi in April 2018. These events, while tragic, have revealed the extraordinary resilience, innovation, and leadership born from within affected communities.

Join us to engage in crucial discussion on how our indigenous knowledge, practices and values guide us through crisis and healing. Throughout the summit, key conversations will include:

  • Disaster Capitalism and Community Resilience: Examining the economic and social impacts of natural disasters, and how communities can protect themselves from exploitative practices.
  • Indigenous Knowledge in Crisis Recovery: Exploring ancestral Hawaiian and other indigenous approaches to strengthen community bonds, healing, land management, and community support in times of crisis.
  • Sustainable Rebuilding: Discussing culturally appropriate and eco-friendly and methods for rebuilding affected areas, with a focus on long-term sustainability and community needs. Innovative solutions for rebuilding and recovery
  • Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness: Looking at the intersection of climate change and natural disasters, and how indigenous knowledge can inform better preparedness and response strategies.

Through these conversations, attendees will gain insights into:

  • The power of ʻohana (family) and community bonds in crisis response
  • Effective communication strategies during and after disasters
  • Balancing immediate relief with long-term recovery planning
  • Preserving cultural heritage and community identity amidst rebuilding efforts
  • Addressing equity and social justice issues that often surface in disaster aftermath
  • Harnessing technology and social media for community organizing and support
  • Building partnerships between communities, government entities, and aid organizations

Through this gathering, we aim to harness our cultural values, environmental stewardship, and collective resilience toward a better future. Join us as we learn, heal, and grow together, turning tragedy into a catalyst for positive change and renewed commitment to our land and each other.

Featured Keynote

Lyla June is an Indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. She recently finished her PhD on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

Featured Mele

Raiatea Helm is recognized as the premier Hawaiian female vocalist of her generation, renowned for her mastery of Hawaiian falsetto singing. With over twenty years in the music industry, she has earned numerous accolades, including multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards and two Grammy nominations. Raiatea holds a music degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is committed to nurturing Hawaiʻi's youth through her work at the Liliʻuokalani Trust, where she designs and leads innovative music programs. As both an artist and scholar, she continues to make profound contributions to Hawaiian music and culture worldwide.

Summit Schedule

November 21, 2024
Imin Conference Center, UH Mānoa

Registration & Coffee

8:30 am
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9:25 am

Registration services provided by PAʻA LAB & NHSS

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Plenary Panel One: How Community Healed Hāʻena after the Rainbomb

9:55 am
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11:30 am

In April of 2018, the island of Kauaʻi experienced a catastrophic rainfall event that would later be dubbed a "rainbomb." The resulting flooding, landslides, and damage to roads and bridges left communities from Hanalei to Hāʻena inaccessible except by boat for weeks. Plenary Panel One brings together three respected community leaders of Hāʻena—Chipper Wichman, Lei Wann, and Billy Kinney. They will share personal stories about the storm’s immediate aftermath and longer-term impacts, the way ‘ohana and community showed up for each other in new and known ways, and six years on, the lessons that were learned from this natural disaster. Key topics of this panel include the unprecedented severity of the rainbomb and its impacts to ʻāina and people, the application of traditional Hawaiian knowledge and practices in response and recovery efforts, and the crucial leadership and organizing roles communities organizations play in disaster relief and long-term rebuilding. Additionally, this panel will highlight innovative, homegrown solutions that emerged out of crisis. This powerful discussion will showcase the resilience of rural communities in the face of extraordinary challenges, offering valuable insights and inspiration.

Moderator: Dr. Beamer

Panelists: Chipper Wichman, Lei Wann, Billy Kinney

Plenary Panel Two: Beyond the Fires - Lāhaina One Year On

11:45 am
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1:15 pm

Residents of Lāhaina have faced unparalleled challenges since fires decimated the historic town in August of last year, leaving widespread destruction and profound loss in their wake. Plenary Panel Two brings together three esteemed experts to discuss the impact, response, and path forward in the aftermath of this catastrophic event. Kekai Keahi, Kapua Sproat, and Clay Trauernicht will delve into crucial topics including the impacts of the fires on Lāhaina's community and cultural heritage, the role of ancestral knowledge in the ways we respond, recover, and heal from trauma, and the intersection of climate change, land management practices, and increased wildfire risk in Hawaiʻi. This panel will also address the challenges and opportunities as Lāhaina rebuilds, focusing on regenerative and culturally appropriate approaches that honor the area's rich history while enhancing its resilience against future disasters. This discussion aims to not only shed light on a community's journey of recovery and regrowth, but also to explore valuable lessons that can inform disaster preparedness, response, and community resilience across Ka Pae ʻĀina Hawaiʻi and beyond. Join us as we explore how tragedy can become a catalyst for positive change, stronger communities, and a more hopeful future for our keiki.

Moderator: Dr. Beamer

Panelists: Kekai Keahi, Kapua Sproat, Clay Trauernicht

Audience Q&A

3:30 pm
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3:45 pm

with Dr. Lyla June and Dr. Kamana Beamer

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Summit Highlights

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Our Partners

This summit would not be possible without the kōkua of our valued partners. They are stalwart supporters of environmental justice and ʻōiwi agency, and we would like to express our deep mahalo to these organizations for their contributions:

About our Piʻo Summit

A centerpiece of the Pōʻai ke Aloha ʻĀina project is the Piʻo Summit, a gathering of individuals dedicated to sharing their work to cultivate circular economic thinking in their local communities, and around the world. Our goal is to bring leaders together from at home and abroad to celebrate and share innovative projects that support our communities.

The summit will be held anually, with each event embodying one of the following themes:

- Highlighting Aloha ʻĀina Innovation at Home, to advance local policy issues and uplift the work of a community collaborator, sharing our (kākou) efforts with an international audience.
- Learning from Sustainability Leaders Abroad
, to increase international collaborations and networks as related to manifesting aloha ʻāina. Let's learn from each other.

Our esteemed guests are leaders in imagining a sustainable future. Whether from far across the globe or from within our own island communities, they bring with them insights that show us a vision of the world, where the operation of our societies, rooted in the concept of aloha ʻāina, draws on the resources of our one and only home in a restorative and rejuvenative fashion, and allows us all to thrive.