Dr. Kali D. Fermantez, Geography Department, UHH
Re-Placing Hawaiians: Empowering Sense of Place and Identity in Waianae
KONA: Keauhou Beach Resort, Ballroom II
Date/Time: February 20, 2009 5:30-7:00 p.m.
HILO: UH Hilo, University Classroom Building #127
Date/Time: February 23, 2009 Noon-1:30 p.m.
Abstract
In postcolonial Hawaiʻi, we as Native Hawaiians often find ourselves literally and/or figuratively on the margins. This paper examines the way some Kanaka Maoli are overcoming this displacement by reclaiming an indigenous sense of place. Based on participatory field work conducted in the marginalized community of Waianae, O‘ahu, this research is informed by Hawaiian ways of knowing which are rooted in place. Reconnecting to the place that is the ʻāiina empowers cultural identities and enables us to overcome marginalization in our homeland. Key to re-placing ourselves is reconnecting to a Hawaiian epistemology derived from the past but lived in the present.
Biography
Dr. Kali Fermantez is an Assistant Professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. He is part of a small and growing cohort of Hawaiian geographers. His research has focused on how the geographical concept of place resonates with indigenous ways of knowing and informs cultural identities. Born and raised in Hau‘ula, O‘ahu, he has a keen research interest in the intersections of “local” and Hawaiian culture in Hawai‘i. With a regional focus on the Pacific Islands, Dr. Fermantez is also interested in how Oceanic ways of knowing are mobilized in the postcolonial context in this era of globalization. Dr. Fermantez lives in the Puna District of Hawai‘i Island with his wife, four children, three (too often unused) surfboards, and two dogs.