Pono Huch Fernandez
Birthplace/Hometown:
Kahaluʻu, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
High School:
ʻIolani School
UHM Degrees:
Kekelē Laepua (BA) ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i - 2008
Kekelē Laepua (BA) English - 2008
Kekelē Laeo‘o (MA) ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i - 2011
Kekelē Lae‘ula (PhD) English - current
Current Occupation(s):
Evaluation Specialist at the Office of Hawaiian Education
(Hawai‘i Department of Education)
What inspires the path for your academic major?
Mai kinohi mai o ko‘u noho mua ‘ana ma ke Kulanui o Hawai‘i ma Mānoa, ‘o ko‘u pahuhopu ka ‘imi ‘ana i ke ala e pili hou ai kēia i nā kūpuna. ‘O ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i ‘oe, ‘o ke a‘o ‘ike kupuna ‘oe, ‘o ka nohona Hawai‘i ho‘i ka‘u e noi‘i nōwelo ana. I kēia manawa, ke noke mau nei au i ka ho‘iho‘i hou ‘ana i ke ea i ko Hawai‘i pono‘ī i mana ho‘i ai ke Kanaka Maoli ma o ka heluhelu a me ka ha‘i mo‘olelo ‘ana.
When I first chose to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, my goal was to learn more about my culture and my people. My classes at UH Mānoa finally allowed me to see my ancestors in the stories I read and gave me my first opportunity to speak the language of my great-grandfather. I am still on this path to ensure that our ancestral ways of knowing are accessible to all Kanaka Maoli, to heal the generational trauma that we have experienced through reclaiming our voices and telling our own stories.
What are your future goals in your work?
I ku‘u wā kamali‘i, ‘ike akula au i ka waiwai o ia mea he kumu, ma muli o ka hana nui o ko‘u māmā ma kona kulana kumu kula. A mai ia wā aku, ua hoihoi au i ka lilo ‘ana i kumu. I kēia manawa, ‘ike au i ka nani o nā ‘ano kumu like ‘ole e kūpa‘a ana no ka pono o ka lāhui, a mākaukau au e ‘auamo o ke kuleana e pono ai ke kaiāulu.
As a child, I understood the importance of a kumu as I watched my mother dedicate her life to teaching. From that time on, I knew that I also had kuleana to teach but also understand that teaching comes in different capacities. In my current role at the Department of Education, I have the opportunity to contribute to ensuring that the learning environment of our keiki is grounded in Hawai‘i. My studies and practices are also preparing me to lend my voice to lāhui in different ways, possibly in ways I cannot yet see, but I am mākaukau to take on those roles when kūpuna reveal them.
How do you see your time at UH shaping the way you aloha ʻāina?
‘A‘ole paha lawa ka‘u ‘ōlelo e hō‘ike aku i ka palena ‘ole o ku‘u aloha iā Hawai‘i kilohana nei, a me nā kūpuna a pau ho‘i o ka ‘āina. Mahalo au i ke ala e waiho ‘ia nei i mua o ko Hawai‘i no ka ‘imi ‘ana a me ka hahai ho‘i i nā kūpuna, a na nā kumu nō o ke Kulanui i mālama i ia ala. A mākaukau nō au e ka‘i ma ia ala e ola pono ai ma ke ‘ano he aloha ‘āina ‘oia‘i‘o.
I don’t have the words to explain how much aloha ‘āina has played a role in my life, and yet I know that my time at the University of Hawai‘i began that path for me. All of my kumu have opened my eyes to what aloha ‘āina can or might look like, and I am prepared to put that into practice.
What does UHM as a Hawaiian place of learning mean to you?
‘O ka nohona Hawai‘i, ‘a‘ole ia he mea e heluhelu ‘ia ai ma ka puke. ‘A‘ole ia he mea e kākau ‘ia ai ma ka pepa, a pa‘i ‘ia ai ma ka mo‘olelo nūpepa. ‘O ko kākou kūpuna, ua mo‘olelo a palapala mai lākou i kā lākou i ‘ike ai, kā lākou i hana ai, i mālama ‘ia ko lākou ‘ike he ho‘oilina na kākou. ‘O ko kākou kuleana i kēia manawa, ‘o ia ka noho ‘ana, Hawai‘i ke ‘ano.
UHM as a Hawaiian place of learning will always be the bridge that started my path of restoring relationships with my ancestors, with ancestral ways. But a Hawaiian way of knowing does not only reside on the pages of books and newspaper articles. That is where our ancestors left their knowledge for us to find. And is our responsibility, whether we continue to be a part of the University and inform its structure, or we move on to other responsibilities to lāhui, to take that knowledge and put it into practice, to live Hawai‘i ke ‘ano in all our realms being so that there will be no need to distinguish between a Hawaiian place of learning and a place of learning in Hawai‘i.