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E Onipaʻa Kākou

E ʻOnipaʻa Kākou

A Monthly Column in Ka Wai Ola

To highlight the work of Lili'uokalani Trust and to share the continuity of the Queen's legacy, LT teammates write monthly articles for Ka Wai Ola, a newspaper published by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).

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July 1, 2024

LT is Woven into the Close-Knit Community of Molokaʻi

Submitted by Kīpuka Molokaʻi

This summer, a hui of ʻōpio kāne (young men) from Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) participated in the Hoʻokanaka ʻAha Kāne program at Kiowea Pavilion & Park on Molokaʻi.

For three nights, they camped under the stars, participated in warrior training, honed their speech and debate skills, deepened their connection to Hawaiian culture, and explored culinary arts, fishing, and agriculture.

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June 1, 2024

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By Cathy Cruz-George

Kamaliʻi of Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) recently embarked on a musical journey, creating lap steel guitars from timber sourced from invasive trees cleared during the restoration of historic loʻi kalo terraces in Maunawili and Puʻuhonua o Waimānalo.

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May 1, 2024

Hope and Empowerment: Lydia House Opens ‘Huliau’ to Support Vulnerable Youth

By Cathy Cruz-George

Every Tuesday through Friday, ʻōpio between the ages of 16 and 26 can drop in at Lydia House in downtown Honolulu for food, warm showers, laundry facilities, and internet access. Trained staff members stand ready to support them in trauma-informed care. Lydia House is a puʻuhonua, a safe space, for the youth. Many have ties to foster care or the juvenile justice system. Some lack stable housing options.

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March 1, 2024

Seeking Wholeness and Balance

By Pālama Lee

Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) is collaborating with Kamehameha Schools (KS), Papa Ola Lōkahi, and the Queen’s Health System to develop a more complete picture of wellbeing through educational briefs and reports that highlight Native Hawaiian wellbeing. Sourced from the annual ʻImi Pono household survey, our organizations use these data to inform our strategic progress and assist with programming.

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February 1, 2024

ʻĀwili ʻia ka ʻIke Hawaiʻi me na Hana Pāʻani Wikiō

By Justin Santos

I ka makahiki aku nei, ua hakulau ʻekolu ʻōpio i kekahi pāʻani wikiō e ʻaʻa ana i ke ʻalo ʻana o nā ʻuhane o nā Kānaka Maoli o Hawaiʻi nei. Ua kapa ʻia ka inoa o ia pāʻani wikiō ʻo The Night March.

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February 1, 2024

Bringing Culture to Video Gaming

By Cathy Cruz-George

Last year, ʻōpio designed a video game that challenges players to evade the spirits of ancient Native Hawaiian warriors. The name of the game: The Night March.

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December 1, 2023

Healing Through Performing Arts

By Kaʻohinani Daniels

All kamaliʻi are destined for greatness. Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) has been hard at work on its 2045 strategic plan, spanning early childhood (ages 0-5), youth programs (ages 6-18), and opportunity youth services (ages 16-26).

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October 1, 2023

A Home-like Space for Kamaliʻi in Waimānalo

By Amy Gilbert

Liliʻuokalani Trust’s “Tūtū’s Hale” program is held in a space that makes you feel as if you are walking into the home of a treasured kupuna.

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September 1, 2023

LT Will Uplift ʻŌpio Voices through New Council

By Amy Gilbert

The Queen’s beneficiaries are leading the way forward during a time of major programmatic and facility growth at Liliʻuokalani Trust.

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July 1, 2023

Rites of Passage for Adolescent Boys

By David Onoue

“Hā, hē, hū!” grunted the audience. “Hā, hē, hū, (courage) koa!”

These were the sounds of a breathing exercise echoing through the room and down the hallway at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center during the 2023 IVAT Hawaiʻi Summit held in April.

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June 1, 2023,

Helping a Grandmother Rebuild Her ʻOhana

By David Onoue

Reuniting kamaliʻi with their birth parents or a family member from foster care can be long and arduous. For Tūtū Jackery, the process of uniting her twin grandsons with their ʻohana started before their birth. “The language, cultural barriers, and the prejudice, all of that was being fired at me,” Tūtū said. “I thought I was crazy.”

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March 1, 2023

Lydia House: A Safe Place in Downtown Honolulu

By Chiemi Davis

After years in development, an interim opening during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a complete renovation, Lydia House opened its doors to ʻōpio ages 16-26 at 205 S. Vineyard Street in downtown Honolulu on Feb. 21, 2023.

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March 1, 2023

A Hawaiian Approach to Social Work

By Cheri Tarutani

In her majesty’s Deed of Trust, Queen Liliʻuokalani stated, “all the property of the Trust Estate … shall be used by the Trustees for the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, the preference given to Native Hawaiian (NH) children of pure or part-aboriginal blood.”

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February 1, 2023

Meet Liliʻuokalani Trust's Newest Trustee: Mahina E. Hugo

English by Ellise Fujii, 'Ōlelo Hawaiʻi by Justin Santos

All kamaliʻi are destined for great things. For one young ʻŌiwi girl who was raised in Kailua, Oʻahu, her future would include serving the lāhui in ways she could never have imagined.

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August 1, 2022

LT Releases Kupukupu Wellbeing App for Kamaliʻi!

By Trenton Manson


Learning the skills we need as adults – such as managing our time, setting goals, and understanding our own emotions – can be difficult.

Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) has developed an exciting new phone app called Kupukupu to help kamaliʻi do this.

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September 1, 2022

Hauʻoli Lā Hānau e Queen Liliʻuokalani: Reflections of an LT Kamaliʻi

By Kinohi Malani

Queen Liliʻuokalani was born Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha to high Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea. On Sept. 2, 2022, we celebrate the queen’s 184th lā hānau.

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July 1, 2022

E Mau ana ka Hoʻoilina o Liliʻu

By Andrew Frias


“Mālama ʻia nā pono o ka ʻāina e nā ʻōpio;
The traditions of the land are perpetuated by its young people.”


Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) has been hard at work on its 2045 Strategic Plan, spanning Early Childhood (ages 0-5), Youth Development (ages 6-18), and Opportunity Youth Services (ages 16-26).

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June 1, 2022

Puʻu Lei o Liliʻu: Aunties’ Hui

By Sonny Ferreira


“Through the collective, kamaliʻi and ʻohana will thrive.” – Richard Likeke Paglinawan

Native Hawaiian (NH) kamaliʻi are disproportionately represented in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems. They are also overrepresented in terms of chronic absenteeism from public schools. However, we know that our kamaliʻi have the inherent mana and potential to thrive – they just need support from caring community members.

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May 1, 2022

Waiwai Economics: Solid Investments for Lifetimes of Change

By Chris Molina


“Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua; Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers.”

Thriving kamaliʻi emerge from the aloha and mālama provided by their ʻohana and kaiāulu.

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April 1, 2022

Hoʻāmana: Igniting the Mana of our Kamaliʻi

By Leialoha Benson and Nikki Roimata Mozo


Hoʻāmana means to turn on, to ignite mana. Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) has created the Hoʻāmana program to help kamaliʻi realize, ignite, and grow their mana.

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March 1, 2022

Mom Power: Building Stronger Keiki and Mākuahine Bonds

By Staci Hanashiro


“I ulu no ka lālā i ke kumu; The branches grow because of the trunk.”
Without our ancestors, we would not be here.
– ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #1261

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February 1, 2022

Cultural Practice is our Strength

By Makalauna Feliciano


Greetings with love distinguished descendants of Hawaiʻi.

Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT)’s Strategic Vision 2045 and LT’s Cultural Practice Framework provides a foundation for LT services that are Hawaiian culture-based. Our services are firmly grounded in the cultural context of our Queen’s legacy, our history as a people, and the values and traditions of our ancestors.

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February 1, 2022

Nohona Hawaiʻi kō Kākou Waiwai

Na Makalauna Feliciano


Ano ʻai me ke aloha e nā pua kaulana aʻo Hawaiʻi.

E hoʻolako ʻo kō LT Nuʻukia Hoʻolālā 2045 a me kō LT Kumuhana Hoʻomaʻamaʻa Moʻomeheu he kumu kēia i nā hana i meheu Hawaiʻi. Paʻa nō kēia i ka pōʻaiapili meheu o ka hoʻoilina o kō mākou Mōʻī Liliʻuokalani, i nā moʻolelo, i nā waiwai, a i nā hana a ko kākou kūpuna.

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January 1, 2022

Data: A Tool to Promote Thriving Native Hawaiian Kamaliʻi

By Trenton Manson


Over the past few years, we have increased the use of data in our decision-making and planning. Data on key indicators allow us to deepen our understanding of the conditons of kamaliʻi across the pae ʻāina.

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In this photo, Lynette and Richard Paglinawan, the author’s parents, learn from Tutu Mary Kawena Pukui, who served as kumu of the Hawaiian Culture Committee at the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center. – Photo: Courtesy
December 1, 2021

Hawaiian Solutions to Hawaiian Problems

By Joan Kaʻaiʻai Paglinawan


Historically, ʻike kūpuna (ancestral wisdom) was passed down generationally to share and practice for community wellbeing. With assimilation to western ways, systemic losses were experienced by Hawaiians as they were stripped of their language, self-identity, practices, and beliefs.

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November 1, 2021

Hekili, Alaula, and Naupaka: Honoring Our Essence

By Sharon Ehia


Na wai ke kama ʻo ʻoe (whose child are you)? No hea mai ʻoe (what place claims you)?

These provocative questions are displayed alongside a powerful mural of trauma and healing by Meleanna Meyer. Due to our history of colonial oppression, Hawaiians may have experienced cultural disconnection. 

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October 1, 2021

Nānā I Ke Kumu, Helu ʻEkolu: Look to the Source

By Pālama Lee, Ph.D.


Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) believes every Hawaiian child has the inherent right to live an abundant and culturally informed life which is poetically captured in our Strategic Plan’s vision, e nā kamalei lupalupa, or thriving Hawaiian children.

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September 1, 2021

E Hoʻohanohano kō Mākou Mōʻī Wahine Liliʻuokalani

By Pālama Lee, Ph.D.


Queen Liliʻuokalani’s 183rd birthday is on Sept. 2, 2021. Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha was born in 1838 as one of six kamaliʻi to high ranking Aliʻi Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea. At birth, Lydia was lawe hānai to high Chiefess Laura Kōnia and Abner Pākī and grew up as the younger sister to Ke Aliʻi Pauahi.

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August 1, 2021

Sex Trafficking of Kamaliʻi in Hawaiʻi

By Pālama Lee, Ph.D.


Child sex trafficking is a very real problem in Hawaiʻi. Hawaiʻi law defines child sex trafficking as the commercial sexual exploitation of anyone under 18 years old for the exchange or promise of anything of value including cash, shelter, and food.

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July 1, 2021

A School Without Walls: A Partnership With Kealakehe High School

By Deann Thornton


This past fall, Kealakehe High School (KHS) and the Hawaiʻi Department of Education partnered with Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) to offer an ʻāina-based Alternative Learning Opportunity (ALO).

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A phone screen showing Mālama Line phone number 808-466-8080.
June 1, 2021

Use LT’s Mālama Line to Access Services

By Lokelani Kalama


Have you ever wondered what services Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) provides and how to access them?

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Foo insecurity in Hawaii diagram
April 30, 2021

Sharing Food is Part of our Culture

By Andreana Dudoit Reyes


“I ola no ke kino, i ka māʻona o ka ʻōpū: The body enjoys health when the stomach is well filled.” – ʻŌlelo Noʻeau

Hui, how you?” “Eh, come inside, go eat!” is the usual exchange of greetings when visiting a home in Hawaiʻi. Sharing food is an important part of our culture, playing a key role in connecting ʻohana and communities.

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April 1, 2021

Promoting the Practices of Hānai and Luhi

Invoking abundance in contemporary times

By Chris Molina


Today, a disproportionate number of Native Hawaiian kamaliʻi are in foster care. Recent data (2014-2018) reveal Native Hawaiian kamaliʻi comprise almost half of all children in care. Sadly, the experience of foster care may cause further damage to kamaliʻi, mākua, and their relationships with each other.

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March 1, 2021

Tipping the System to Benefit Native Hawaiians: Systems Mapping in Action

By Pālama Lee, Ph.D.


The current system reinforces injustices perpetuated against Native Hawaiians, disconnects them from their culture, and limits opportunities for their families to thrive.

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February 1, 2021

Nā Waiwai ʻo Liliʻuokalani me ka Hoʻomohala ʻŌpio

Na Moon Kauakahi


ʻE hoʻolohe i nā leo o nā ʻōpio, no ka mea, ʻo lākou nō nā alakaʻi mua aku o Hawaii nei.”

I kō kākou mau makahiki ʻōpiopio, mau nō ka haʻina o nā mākua, “Paʻa ka waha a hoʻolohe ka pepeiao wale nō,” no ka mea, i kēlā wā aku nei, ʻaʻohe kahi ka manaʻo o nā ʻōpio i ke au o nā mākua.

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Moon photo
February 1, 2021

Liliʻuokalani Trust and Youth Development

By Moon Kauakahi


“Listen to the voices of our youth for they are the future leaders of Hawaiʻi.”

In our adolescent years in Hawaiʻi, we were always told by our parents that we should only listen and not say a word; our thoughts had no place in the adult world.

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Melinda Lloyd photo
January 1, 2021

Ka Pili ʻOhana

By Melinda Lloyd


Unpublished data from Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare Services show that Native Hawaiian (NH) kamaliʻi are over-represented in the child welfare system in Hawaiʻi and spend significantly longer time in foster care compared to non-Hawaiians.

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