ʻAha Kāne 2012- Hiapokeikikāne Perreira Keynote

Hiapokeikikāne Kichie Perreira was raised in Waiau, Oʻahu and nurtured over the past 37 years by ʻohana, immediate and extended from, Hilo to Kekaha.  “Hiapo” is a 1992 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools and holds a BA degree in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. He became the first post-baccalaureate graduate from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo when he was awarded an MA degree in Hawaiian Language and Literature in 2002. In 2011, Hiapo became a Mellon-Hawaiʻi Doctoral Fellow and a year later was awarded a PhD in Hawaiian and Indigenous Languages and Culture Revitalization.  His dissertation centered on the revitalization of traditional Hawaiian oratory.  Dr. Perreira is currently an Associate Professor of Hawaiian Literature and Oratory at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where he has been lecturing since 1996.  He also been teaching highs school Hawaiian Language Arts at Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻopuʻu since 1997.  He presently lives in Kaʻūmana, Hilo with his Wife Hanakahi and daughters Keanokualani and Keakamaluhiwa.