Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele

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Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele, along with her sister Nalani, co-directed Holo Mai Pele and Kamaehameha Pai'ea (a dance/drama about the Warrior Chief Kamehameha), and co-founded both Hika'alani, a Hawaiian Cultural Protocol Group, and Puana, a Native Hawaiian organization established for script writers of stage, film and video. Her many awards include: NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, Award for Preservation of Hawaiian Language, Dance and Chant by State Council of Hawaiian Heritage, The Governor's Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, No Hoku Hanohano Award for Best Hawaiian Language Album of the Year, and Distinguished Ke Ali'I Pauahi Hawaiian of the Year Award. Ms. Kanahele is an instructor of Hawaiian Studies and Chairperson of the Humanities Department at Hawai'i Community College. She is President of the Edith Kanaka'ole Foundation, a Hawaiian and western educational organization. She has co-chaired the World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education, and served as a cultural workshop organizer for the DOE and Bishop Museum, and also has served on the UNESCO Advisory Committee on Native Cultures.