Unlocking the Metaphor in Native and Indigenous Hawaiian (Kānaka ōiwi) Women's Storytelling

• In Event: 18.058 - MTCC Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: 18.058-10 - Setting the Record Straight in the Post-Truth Era: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis I

Abstract

Human beings live and tell stories for many reasons, and it is a way to understand one another and to give a time and place to events and experiences. Therefore, a narrational approach within the context of this research offers a frame of reference and a way to reflect during the entire process of gathering data and writing. This empirical study examines the importance of storytelling among Native and Indigenous (kānaka ōiwi) women of Hawai ̒ i and their interconnectedness to land and spirituality through accessing (k)new knowledge. Findings indicate that despite forced cultural and political changes generationally, these women’s innate beliefs and interconnectedness to land and spirituality has begun to reshape as enduring patterns over time and space.

Authors

• Renuka Mahari de Silva, University of North Dakota

• Joshua Hunter, Indiana University - Bloomington