Oral Histories of Waialeʻe
We’re learning about oral histories and what they do for communities. We talk with professors, students, and participants about what oral histories have taught them, and how oral histories benefit communities and individuals across Hawaiʻi. We visit Waialeʻe, on the north shore of Oʻahu, where oral histories are informing the revitalization of this rich community resource. We also visit the Center for Oral History at UH Mānoa to learn about cataloging Hawaiʻi’s past, talk to students about their experiences documenting oral histories, and explore some of their resources.
Watch the related episode: Waialeʻe Lako Pono
K5 TV Premiere: Sun Apr 6 & Sat Apr 12 @ 6pm
YouTube Premiere: Thurs April 24 @ 12pm HST

Curriculum Connections:
- UHM Center for Oral History’s 5th edition
- Windward Community College
- Oral History Association: All ages lesson plans
- Pacific Worlds: Memories Lesson
- NPS Lesson Plan: Telling the Stories of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau
- Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: K-12 Lesson Plans
- Guampedia Lesson Plan: Oral History 1
- C-span Lesson Plan: Oral Histories – A How-To
- Library of Congress Lesson Plan: Oral History and Social History
- US House of Representatives Lesson Plans: Conduct Your Own Oral History
Additional Resources:
Department of Ethnic Studies (Homepage)
- Department of Anthropology (Homepage)
- Center for Oral History (COH: Homepage)
- COH North Shore Field School (Homepage)
- COH In the News:
- UH News: UH students preserve Waialeʻe’s cultural legacy through oral history project
- Hawaiʻi Public Radio (HPR): UH students preserve oral histories from Waialeʻe residents on Oʻahu’s North Shore
- Watch KITV: Sharing Moʻolelo of Waialeʻe (UH Ethnic Studies & Anthropology students present)
- UH News: Ethnic studies professor Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor honored
- UH News: 2 UH Mānoa professors named Living Treasures
- HPR: Walking Tour Uses Voices of Kakaako to Rediscover Past
- 808 Block Walks: Early 20th century life in Kaka’ako
- Waialeʻe Lako Pono (Homepage)
- North Shore Community Land Trust
- Mālama Waialeʻe Community Vision
- Watch on Pacific Pulse: Mālama Waialeʻe
- Sign up for a work day
- Waialeʻe Background
- Kawela Farrant: I Paʻa Hou i Kalou: A Natural and Cultural Resource Asssessment for Waialeʻe, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
- Waialeʻe Industrial School for Boys: Nā Lei Poina ʻOle Resources
- HPR: Researchers begin to uncover what really happened at the Waialeʻe Boys School
- UHM School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (Homepage)
- Department of Oceanography
- Hawaiʻi Sea Grant: Ulana ʻIke Center of Excellence
- Koʻa Fishing Shrines
- Lahaina News: Ko‘a were key fishing grounds for ancient Hawaiians
- DLNR: Kapaeleele Koa Brochure
- NOAA: Koʻa in Papahānaumokuākea
- Squid (common name for heʻe, octopus, tako)
- NOAA/Sea Grant: Hawaiʻi In Harmony With the Sea
- Susan Scott: It’s a fact: A squid’s a squid and an octopus is an octopus
- Waikīkī Aquarium: Octopus
- Kala (Unicorn Fish)
- Waikīkī Aquarium: Unicorn Tang (aka kala, Naso unicornis)
- NOAA: How are Coral Reef Fish Doing in Hawaiʻi?
IN THIS SECTION
Select a season of Voice of the Sea
Contact information:
Kanesa Seraphin, Ph.D.
kanesa@hawaii.edu
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