Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 7, 1 July 2002 — Kupuna conference [ARTICLE]

Kupuna conference

Native Hawaiian kupuna from throughout the state met June 16 to create educational curriculum that will enable students to excel in their

studies, "We're here for the children, We are their roots and wings," said Moanike'ala Kamaunu, kupuna and teacher of Hawaiian studies in the public schools in Wailuku, Maui, "As the elders of our eommunities, we must give our children a base, We must strengthen our own roots by passing down our specialized knowledge to them so that when it's time, our children ean fly," the former PTA president remarked, Attendees are kupuna from all the islands who teach Hawaiian Studies in public elementary schools and many private schools throughout the state, Co-sponsors of the conference include the Garden īsland Resource Conservation and Development, īne,, the Native Hawaiian Education Council of Kaua'i, the Kawakami Foundation, and the Koani Foundation, an Anahola based Native Hawaiian rights unity organization, ■