Ho`okumu (Build grounding and foundation)

• To foster a sense of esteem, stewardship, and kuleana to the ‘aina, our communities and ourselves, through grounding in the ancestral knowledges and practices of Hawai‘i and the academic skills necessary to excel in the 21st century

• To explore and inquire in ways that build upon our ancestral wisdom and bridge to other communities and cultures in a harmonious manner

• To provide sustenance and empowerment for ourselves and our communities by striving for high academic, cultural, social, environmental, and economic standards, thus nourishing all piko – mental, emotional, spiritual and physical.

In the year 2000, Mana Maoli began the process of becoming a formal 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In the years 2000 and 2001, a number of notable achievements occurred: a significant, 3 year federal grant was secured for developing and implementing culture-based curriculum, and our status as both a non-profit and public charter school was approved. The Mana Maoli ‘ohana’s priority and focus from that point on was to plan, start up, and grow this public charter school. Conceptually, Mana Maoli is the people, and Halau Ku Mana the place, of our learning ‘ohana. Mana Maoli also became the official name of the supporting non-profit, and Halau Ku Mana became the name of the public charter school, which opened its doors in August of 2001.

MANA – nvs. Supernatural or divine power, miraculous power; a powerful nation, authorization, privilege; miraculous, divinely powerful, spiritual.
MAOLI – vs. Native, indigenous, genuine, true, real, actual; very, really, truly. Hawaiian native

MANA MAOLI'S PROGRAMS
We provide human, land and financial assets to the following three programs as our way of continually striving toward our vision:

1) Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School – Community, culture, and kaina (land/ocean)-based education for middle and high school students. With expectations of both academic and cultural rigor, students are more responsive to hands-on, inter-disciplinary learning that has relevance to the host culture, environment, history, and contemporary issues and opportunities.

This is evident through students' massive turnarounds in attendance, academics, and behavior, while demonstrating a strong sense of cultural grounding and leadership abilities. For example, rather than separate classes for each 'subject', held primarily indoors, students spend over 20 hours each week in a year-long project. Whether they are in the Waʻa (sailing canoe), Loko Iʻa (traditional fishpond), or Loʻi (traditional agriculture) projects, they do the related reading, writing, discussion and research to meet language arts standards. They do the types of science and social studies related to the theme of their project (botany and earth science for Loʻi project, chemistry for Loko Iʻa project, physics and astronomy for Waʻa project), and so on. By blending traditional methods of land management with the relevant western sciences we are able to nurture students who are grounded in their culture, yet able to navigate in this ever-changing global society.

Visit HKM's website: http://www.halaukumana.org

2) Kānehunamoku – Guided by the heavens our ancestors populated every corner of the Pacific. Through keen observations of the environment they were able to glide over the vast ocean with confidence and intent. Today the canoe remains an integral part of our existence, spurring cultural revitalization and reawakening ancient knowledge. Based on the legacy of Pius Mau Piailug, the Kānehūnāmoku program perpetuates the tradition of the canoe to help guide our people towards their destinations, in an out of the canoe, with the same confidence and intent of our ancestors.

Program Components:

• professional development opportunities for business and organizations looking for a unique experience to bring strategic focus and teamwork to the work place.
• ohana-based education.
• One time or ongoing educational experiences for schools.
• sailing and navigational skills training for youth and adults