We are proud of the 6th grade haumāna (students) of the Naʻauao Program at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School as they were chosen in this project to be the alaka‘i (junior leaders) to teach the 600+ students what the mo‘olelo of their mural and how to paint their mural. They were also inspired by the fact that a sacred hei‘au was built near their campus. For many, it was the first time for them to discover the Hawaiian history of the land their school was built on and to learn more about the Kewalo ahupua‘a subdivision that aligns with their school.

The huaka’i (fieldtrip) on this Mele Mural project took us in the loʻi at Papakōlea. Anakala Eddie Kekauoha and the Papakōlea Community Association hosted us to teach about the history at Papakōlea.

In the mural, we honor the ali‘i, leaders, and spirit ikaika (warriors) of the Hawaiian monarchy. We celebrate the special relationships between King Kalākaua, Robert Louis Stevenson and Princess Kaʻiulani. In addition, the spirits of our ancestors ascending are also portrayed by the rainbow raising up to the heavens in the mural.

Lastly, there was great support from past Mele Murals projects of core hui alaka‘i haumāna from Pacific Buddhist Academy and Kaimukī High School. It was another great project for relationship building between our schools.

‘ŌiwiTV video: https://vimeo.com/194911120