Ua lehulehu a manomano ka ʻikena a ka Hawaiʻi

Nānā i ke Kumu Series
Ua lehulehu a manomano ka ʻikena a ka Hawaiʻi
Saturday, June 28, 2025  
10:00 am – 12:00 noon 
Location: Atherton Hālau

$15 for Kamaʻāina and Military, includes Museum Admission
Included in regular Museum Admission rate for all others
Free for Bishop Museum Members

In partnership with the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, Bishop Museum invites you to celebrate the life, work and legacy of our hero of cultural preservation, Mary Kawena Pukui. Join us for a panel discussion featuring distinguished scholars and caretakers of Mrs. Pukui’s ethnographic collections, Dr. Larry Kimura, Kepā Maly and DeSoto Brown, with moderator Pelehonuamea Harman, Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Our esteemed panel will share insights into moʻolelo sharing as ethnographic research from a Hawaiian perspective and discuss the lasting impact of Mrs. Pukui’s work. Each panelist had the privilege of knowing and working closely with Mrs. Pukui and her daughter Patience Nāmaka Bacon, offering a rare and personal perspective on her legacy.

Dr. Larry Kimura is a Professor of Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and a pioneering leader in the revitalization of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Often referred to as the “father of the Hawaiian language movement,” Dr. Kimura co-founded ʻAha Pūnana Leo, the Hawaiian language immersion preschool program that helped spark a major resurgence of Hawaiian language learning across the islands. In the 1970s, he helped establish Ka Leo Hawaiʻi, a Hawaiian language radio program that provided a vital space for native speakers—many of whom were kūpuna—to converse publicly in Hawaiian. This work not only preserved authentic speech patterns and vocabulary but also inspired new generations of speakers and listeners.

Dr. Kimura was deeply influenced by Mary Kawena Pukui and he accompanied her on a field study to Hawaiʻi island. A native of Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island, Dr. Kimura continues to mentor, teach, and advocate for Native Hawaiian language and identity with unwavering dedication and aloha.

Kepā Maly is a respected cultural historian, ethnographer, and resource specialist known for his lifelong dedication to the preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian language, cultural traditions, and wahi kūpuna (ancestral places). As Executive Director of the Lāna‘i Culture & Heritage Center, he has played a key role in documenting oral histories, protecting cultural landscapes, and fostering a deep understanding of the intergenerational relationships between people and place in Hawaiʻi.

Kepā has conducted extensive archival and field research across the islands, always grounded in respectful engagement with kūpuna and community knowledge holders. His work bridges academic scholarship and community practice, and he is widely recognized for his contributions to cultural stewardship and historic preservation.

Through his marriage to Onaona Maly, who is the grandniece of Kaloli Pukui—husband of Mary Kawena Pukui—Kepā maintains a familial connection to one of Hawaiʻi’s most revered cultural lineages. This relationship further informs and enriches his commitment to honoring and continuing the legacy of Hawaiʻi’s cultural and linguistic traditions.

DeSoto Brown is a respected Hawaiian historian, archivist, and author who serves as the Historian and Archivist at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. With decades of experience, he has become one of the leading voices in the preservation and interpretation of Hawaiʻi’s visual, print, and material culture. His work highlights the importance of ephemera—such as photographs, advertisements, and newspapers—in documenting the lived experiences of people in the islands. A graduate of Punahou School, Brown’s lifelong passion for Hawaiʻi’s history has shaped his career and contributions to public scholarship. He is also a prolific writer and sought-after public speaker, known for making Hawaiʻi’s history accessible and engaging to diverse audiences. His thoughtful approach to archives and storytelling continues to shape contemporary understandings of Hawaiʻi’s past and present.

Brown worked closely for many years with Patience Nāmaka Bacon, the daughter of noted Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, gaining insight into Hawaiian language, culture, and history through that deeply influential relationship.

For information on the full series of events dedicated to Mrs. Pukui, please click this link:

2025 Nānā i ke Kumu Series | Honoring and Perpetuating the Legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui

The Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society’s purpose is to be a unique and invaluable educational resource based on the life’s work of Mary Kawena Pukui, who dedicated her life to the preservation of the Hawaiian culture and language, authoring over 50 scholarly publications, composing over 150 songs and chants. Pukui was widely recognized as a historian, translator, author, teacher, lecturer, composer, researcher, genealogist, hula expert. lexicographer and more.