Center for Oral History at UH Mānoa

Lahainaluna High School on Maui is the country's oldest high school. Among its storied achievements is its boarding program that continues today as the only one of its kind in the state. The UH Mānoa Center for Oral History has collected stories from 19 Native Hawaiian students who were part of that program.

University of Hawaiʻi ethnic studies and anthropology students recently wrapped up oral history interviews with kūpuna from Waialeʻe as part of a field class.

The University of Hawaiʻi Center for Oral History just launched a collection of interviews tapping seaweed cultural expertise across the state. The oral histories with limu experts like Wally Ito build on the work of seaweed scientist Isabella Abbott.

Sea level rise is a global concern that also hits home here in Hawaiʻi. But it's not just a story about the ocean. It's also about sand and sea walls. With our partners at the UH Mānoa Center for Oral History, we're sharing perspectives from those who remember sand dunes in Waiʻanae and wide beaches in Kailua.

Limu is not just seaweed, it's the foundation of the marine life food chain. Our partners at the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa introduce limu gatherers Wally Ito, Vivian Lehua Ainoa and Alyson Napua Barrows.

Food security continues to be an issue around the islands, but traditional methods like fishponds are helping to build resilience. Researchers say ponds produced nearly 2 million pounds of fish a year before Western contact. With the Center for Oral History, we're sharing voices of experience when it comes to managing fishponds.

The Waikīkī and Ala Moana areas are especially vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding linked to sea level rise. They used to be wetlands, ponds and waterways before they were drained for the Ala Wai Canal. Our partners at the Center for Oral History shared some firsthand memories of marine life from the early 1900s.

May 1 is Lei Day here in Hawaiʻi — a tradition that goes back to the 1920s. Our partners at the Center for Oral History shared the voices of a couple of longtime lei sellers who started out helping their parents and went on to run their own Honolulu airport stands.

As part of our series with the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, we heard from Rose Freitas Cambra, Walter Pu and Rhonda Loh about protecting Hawaiʻi's natural world at our national parks.

To mark Earth Month and Native Hawaiian Plant Month, we're focusing on Hawaiʻi's natural world and rare habitats — and some of the people who have cared for them at Haleakalā National Park. Through our partnership with the Center for Oral History, two retired park rangers shared their experience protecting the park’s native plants.