The past, present and future of Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) research was highlighted at the inaugural Lāhui Hawaiʻi Research Center (LHRC) student conference held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. On September 22 and 23, LHRC —part of the federal Title III Kekaulike Grant administered by Native Hawaiian Student Services at UH Mānoa and Hawaiian studies faculty at UH Maui College—hosted more than 40 Kanaka ʻŌiwi undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and community presenters who shared the latest research on a broad variety of topics that ranged across more than a dozen disciplines.

Sessions included: Huli ka Lima i Lalo Mai Uka i Kai: Reconnecting and Restoring ʻIke Through ʻĀina, Mana Wahine: Avenues for Empowerment, E Hoʻi i ka Piko: Healing Through Indigenous Knowledge, Nana i ke kumu: ʻIke Hawaiʻi in libraries and archives and much more. An authors panel that included three recently published Kanaka ʻŌiwi scholars Noenoe Silva (political science), Brandy Nālani McDougall (English) and Renee Pualani Louis (geography) inspired students to think of how their research and writing can make a difference in the community.

The primary constituency of LHRC is undergraduate haumāna kanaka ʻōiwi (Native Hawaiian students) and a central goal of the conference was to provide them guidance, training and mentorship so that they are better equipped, more confident and better prepared for careers in research and their respective disciplines.