Settler Colonialism in Hawai ʻi breakout session
ʻAha Kūkalahale Indigenous Education Conference, August 13, 2025
ʻAha Kūkalahale
Hawai’i Student Success Institute, March 7, 2025
Annemarie Paikai, Kaleikūkamkani Ruiz, Wayde Oshiro
Session Description
The UH System in general, and the UH community colleges in particular, have made a commitment to become a “model indigenous-serving institution” and a “Native Hawaiian Place of Learning.” To help realize this goal, a collaborative group of Kanaka Maoli and settler faculty and staff at Leeward Community College implemented the Difficult Knowledge Learning Community. The community is a grassroots effort focused on learning about the history of domination and the continued impacts of settler colonialism in Hawai’i and the UH System.
In this session, panelists will share their insights and experiences of facilitating a learning community to examine critically the impediments posed by settler colonialism and take meaningful steps toward a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning in the UH System.
