Presenter: Dr. Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele
Like her ancestors, Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele epitomizes cultural brilliance, beauty, and power.
She is the beneficiary of a rich, matrilineal legacy. A renowned scholar and author, who is steeped in the hula tradition, she currently leads a team of researchers in reestablishing an ancient Hawaiian system of cultural intelligence. Her vast memoir of knowledge ranges from ethnoastronomy to volcanism.
At age 69, Dr. Kanahele received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa.
Devoted to ancestors and descendants alike, Pualani is President of the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation, a family foundation that promotes and elevates Hawaiian knowledge and intelligence. She is also a hula master and Director of Hawaiian Traditional Knowledge Research with Hawaiʻi Community College.
About ʻAha Wahine
On February 4, 2012, more than 300 Native Hawaiian women gathered to inspire, inquire, invest, and invigorate each other with ʻike, aloha, and kuleana. Presentations by highly regarded experts covered topics that concerned our ancestral gods, our modern day leaders, health issues that are unique to us, and economic issues that affect us. This gathering was an opportunity to garner ideas for the larger ʻAha Wahine that will happen in August 2011.
More information about the upcoming August conference can be found at www.ahawahine.org.