The Value of ʻĀina-Based Education: Ancestral Principles, Pedagogy, and Outcomes

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: The Power and Possibilities for the Indigenous Good: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis 1

Abstract

This conceptual paper explores the agency of Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) community efforts and educational entities to reestablish the importance of reciprocal relations between people and their places through the platform of ʻāina-based pedagogies. ʻĀina-based pedagogies are dynamic and interdisciplinary processes of learning and teaching that hail from the natural landscapes and oceanscapes of Hawaiʻi’s environment. These processes draw upon place-specific knowledge systems, language, and customary practices to frame curricula for learners. Findings reveal the ancestral principles, learning environments, purposes of use in diverse fields, and instructional strategies represented in ʻāina-based education. This research is intended to stimulate discussion around the goals of the larger Indigenous land-based education movement in cultivating abundance for current and future generations.

Author

• Summer Maunakea, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa