[intro music] HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

I’m Kekoa Dung, a junior at Island Pacific Academy on O‘ahu.

We’re so glad you joined us for the latest show produced by Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

In this episode, I get to share a special collection of stories from the first round of shows this season.

We’ll witness ancient wisdom in action, whether it’s through mapping our surroundings or finding our way across the ocean.

We’ll learn how to prepare for emergencies, and we’ll meet students who escape their comfort zone to perform on stage and others who spend time off campus to gain professional experience for their future careers.

The first stand-out story we’ll revisit was produced by Izzy Rodriguez, a student at Campbell High School on O‘ahu.

Rodriguez followed a young performer finding her way to the spotlight of the school musical production.

Let’s watch.

To me, new beginnings means kind of like, just getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things and embracing new parts about yourself that you never knew about.

most of her time in high school theater, Ayana Blazier worked behind the curtain.

She joined James Campbell High School's drama club in her junior year as stage manager for their production of Frozen.

But this year, Ayana took a leap.

watching the actors, and I just felt like I wanted to be a part of that.

She auditioned for this year's production of Shrek the Musical and landed the role of Pinocchio.

It was a bold move and a brand-new beginning.

When I found out I got this role, I was really excited, but also nervous, because I didn't really know what I was doing, and I had no idea how theater worked in front of the stage.

Being on stage is a lot different than being behind the stage, because I feel like there's an added pressure because everyone's watching you now and you're not backstage watching them.

Being a performer is nothing like managing a show from behind the scenes.

As a stage manager, Ayana handled most of the technical aspects that come with putting on a musical production.

Now, she has to memorize lines, sing in character, and dance on stage in front of a live audience.

Being a stage crew manager helped me gain a better understanding of my surroundings, of the set and the people and just like, the whole environment, which helped me definitely prepare to be an actor here, since I already knew where everything would be.

So, I think that I have a stronger relationship with the cast now, sadly, but I still feel like I have connections with crew, because I understand what it's like.

I feel like I helped develop a relationship between stage crew and the cast to have more respect for each other.

I never really imagined myself on stage, but taking this first step changed everything for me.

I've grown so much, not just as a performer, but as a person.

I feel really nervous, but I'm mostly proud.

I'm proud that I took this risk, and I'm excited to finally share it with everyone.

and everything everyone has done today.

It was a really good show.

For Ayana, this was more than just a school production.

It was a personal milestone, a chance to grow, to lead and to transform herself.

She serves as a reminder of what can happen when we take a chance on ourselves and try something new.

Okay, well, okay, see you guys on the stage.

Rodriguez from James Campbell High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

[ocean wave] This next story comes from students at Waiākea High School on Hawai‘i Island.

They focus on Ka Leo Wai, a student-led club that perpetuates Hawaiian mele and hula, or song and dance.

Here in Hawai‘i, hula, mele, and ‘ohana are the cornerstones of our culture.

At Waiākea High School, there is a club with a purpose to promote all three.

since the year about like, 2010.

It started with the purpose of having an opportunity for our keiki to play Hawaiian music.

Ka Leo, which is the voice, and wai, water.

In Hawaiian culture, water is so very important, and you need it to sustain everything.

So, it's like the powerful voices.

We have to organize events.

We have to run practices with the girls, make sure that they look good before performances, just communicate with all of our hula dancers and other officers.

But I think what makes Ka Leo Wai special is the activities that we do, especially because it involves our Hawaiian culture.

Things that we do is like Lucky We Live in Hawai‘i Day or even May Day, which is a very big event in our school.

I joined Ka Leo Wai honestly, because I never really grew up in like a Hawaiian household, I would say.

So, I didn't really know much about the culture.

So, when I seen Ka Leo Wai, I just wanted to dance hula and learn more about it.

Honestly, it's the people that drew me in actually, like at first, but like, after bonding with all of them and then getting to perform with them.

I like performing with the girls.

I joined Ka Leo Wai because I love hula.

I have very big passion for hula.

So, hearing that Ka Leo Wai had hula and mele, I wanted to pursue and just grow in that subject.

The amount of activities that we did really expanded.

We really grew confidently into expressing ourselves and doing many different activities around school.

Wai has even traveled outside of Hawai‘i to share the Hawaiian culture with the world.

And then this year we're going to Iāpana, or Japan.

So, in the past, Ka Leo Wai has kind of collaborated with other groups, and we have gone to Tahiti.

We've also have done other excursions around the island too, which is super cool.

It's really just a home for students to feel comfortable learning more about our culture, keeping it alive, practicing and all of those things.

High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

On Hawai‘i Island, students at Kua O Ka Lā Miloli‘i Hīpu‘u Virtual Academy have the privilege of learning traditional Hawaiian methods of mapping historical sites.

They produced this next story about the man teaching this practice to the next generation.

before GPS, Hawaiians used plain table mapping to document historic sites and make detailed maps of heiau.

Keone Kalawe is a cultural practitioner and archeologist.

He teaches students how to apply traditional mapping techniques pioneered by Henry Kekahuna, a renowned mid 20th century surveyor, historian and researcher.

For decades, he has taught plane table mapping to the next generation as a means of teaching them about their history.

My objective is that they learn how to map, and they know what they have in their district, and to mālama and preserve their sites.

method that involves making the map directly in the field, with plotting and observation happening simultaneously.

It uses a plane table, a drawing board mounted on a tripod, and a sighting instrument to draw a map, citing flags and drawing points on a sheet of paper.

For 15 years, Keone has worked with Miloli‘i students to map culturally significant sites on Hawai‘i Island.

Working with Uncle Keoni has been such an amazing experience.

I've learned so much about our cultural sites around Hawai‘i Island.

Today, we are mapping Omaka‘a Bay, where we have been working with Uncle Keoni for the past two years.

Keoni has mapped historical sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

where you live on this world.

You know, you can, you know, live anywhere, but people need to emphasize the importance of, you know, maintaining and stabilizing their sites.

Doesn't matter you live in Egypt, or you live in Canada, or you live in Thailand.

When you destroy a site, it destroys the legacy, you know, destroy the culture.

So, we need to hang on to whatever we have left.

Yes.

This next story dives deep into the origin story of Mauloa, a historical canoe built on Hawai‘i Island.

Students at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy interview several members about their vessel and their mentor.

chanting] Celestial navigation has probably gone at least 600 years.

That's almost 21 generations.

So, that's a long time to forget a part of your culture.

the art of celestial navigation lay dormant in Hawaiian culture; not lost, but sleeping.

The awakening began with the building of Mauloa, a canoe that would become more than just a vessel.

Mauloa canoe was actually started from an idea of wanting to build a traditional voyaging canoe using our materials, using the resources that our ancestors have on these islands.

was to regain that knowledge and that practice and document it for the next generations.

whose knowledge become invaluable to the Hawaiian people, he carried with him the living wisdom of Pacific traditions.

He was a farmer, he grew lā‘au lapa‘au and medicines.

The journey began in the forest, where builders sought not just a tree, but permission from the land itself.

Then eventually, when that tree was found, the men that would become the builders of the canoe had to make their own tools, their hand tools, because Mauloa was completely built by hand.

We were asked to bring out our stones, or our ko‘i, that belonged to our families from generations past, to reawaken them, not just to practice, but really reawaken our ko‘i from our ancestors.

to three weeks to cut the tree down with the ko‘i, traditionally.

So, the first step of that was taking the bark off the outside where the cutting point was going to be, and then they started to cut the tree.

And to them, the tree started talking to them.

With each stroke of the ko‘i, the connection between the builders and the tree grew stronger.

The ancient practice of listening to the tree's voice, its creaks and movements guided their hands, just as it had guided their ancestors.

I think she's really helped our community to really feel like it is possible to do these things, whether it be language, whether it be hula, or any practices that we look at that.

Those things culturally that we are able to do, that it is possible that we can still do those things now.

our navigator taught us that the canoe, or the stick, he called it, is what connects all our different islands throughout the whole Pacific.

He changed Polynesia's world, and pretty much the whole world, and he gave us back a part of our culture that we lost.

what began as one canoe has grown into a fleet of 28 voyage vessels across the Pacific.

Mauloa's legacy proves that ancient wisdom isn't just about preserving the past, it's about navigating toward the future.

This is Manase Larrua from Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

Time for some fun.

This upcoming story produced by students at Wai‘anae High School on O‘ahu explores the educational card game all about native trees and what it takes to help them grow.

I got nutrients, my nutrients card.

In June 2025, the nonprofit Trees for Honolulu's Future came to Wai‘anae to share their educational card game with the youth.

Our goal is to provide a fun and educational way to learn about trees specific to Hawai‘i, but also to learn about the benefits of trees and how they help build healthy communities.

So, Kumulāʻau is an all-ages card game all about Hawai‘i's trees.

Kumulāʻau, which translates to tree in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, was developed by the organization to educate the public about the importance of urban tree canopy on O‘ahu.

The basic concept is that you're trying to collect resources, soil, water, sun and nutrients to grow your tree.

So, you need a certain amount of each of those things to successfully grow your tree.

But then as you're collecting those you are also encountering climate hazards like flood or drought.

So, you just keep going along, but you're trying to collect your resources, but also avoid or deal with these challenges that come up.

So, then you get a new one.

Yes, then your recipe changes.

My favorite part of the game was actually learning and trading resources.

So, I didn't know certain trees needed certain resources for it to grow.

I thought they just needed the like, sun, water, and soil.

But like, knowing that they need nutrients, and also like, knowing that when we choose a card,  we get, like, double the card, so we need to trade it.

And it was pretty fun, trading it.

Sorting it out, it was just the same color every time.

So, this game was inspired by another card game called Treemendous.

We were really inspired by that game and wanted to redevelop it to make it even more educational and weave in elements of Hawaiian culture and language and good and bad tree care practices.

So, kids have fun trying to figure out how they're going to collect everything they need, and there's an element of chance to it.

So, sometimes you just get a bad hand.

That's realistic, like in life and in trying to keep a garden or trees alive.

And then it's educational, because all the information on the cards is true, and it's reflecting actual situations in Hawai‘i related to environmental hazards and the types of trees we have here and the cultural uses of them, all that.

There's lots of information on the cards on the text.

of Kumulāʻau fun with their friends, while also learning about the importance of protecting Hawai‘i's trees.

I actually really had a good time learning about what the game was about and also learning how it's important to take care of like, the trees here on our island.

I would definitely recommend this game to my friends, knowing that they're actually pretty competitive with board games, but card games in general, it's definitely been a pretty fun time.

the names of native trees.

They start to learn what trees need to thrive, the different nutrients they need, but also the different tree care practices that we as humans can do to help them grow, and I hope that they learn more about the different hazards we face and how we can build resilience as a community, and what the role the trees play in that.

High School for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

Ever heard of shrink art?

Let's get crafty with this next how-to video produced by young students at Alvah Scott Elementary School on O‘ahu.

Have you ever wanted to boost your creativity to the next level and make something beautiful and useful?

Well, then this activity is for you.

We're talking about shrink art with five easy steps.

You can create your own key chain, ornament, or magnet.

Let me show you some of the creative key chains our class made this school year.

to send inspirational messages to your family and friends.

It's a nice way to cheer someone up or to say thank you.

Here's a quick look at the supplies you will need to get started.

Printable shrink sheets for drawing or printing.

Colored pencils.

puncher.

A portable oven.

And lastly, key chains.

Once you've gathered your supplies from the craft store or online, decide what message and artwork to draw on your key chain.

and color your artwork on the rough side of the paper, not the smooth side.

Use colored pencils or crayons.

Don't use markers because they will smudge.

Use a hole puncher.

Find the top of the design and punch a hole before placing it in the oven.

But wait, because you'll be using an oven, this is where an adult can help.

Set the oven to about 330 degrees and put your shrink art in for about 30 seconds.

When your shrink art starts to curl up, wait a few more seconds, and then take it out of the oven.

chain and clamp it on with your pliers.

a shrink art key chain made by you.

Don't forget to share them with your family and friends and have fun.

got another tutorial to share with you from students at Campbell High School.

It's a practical guide on how to put together a go bag in case of emergencies.

Check it out.

Having a go bag could be the difference between devastation and perseverance.

Go bags are crucial in the event of an emergency and evacuation.

What's important is to first make sure you have a bag, like a backpack.

A first aid kit and medical supplies might be the first thing you want to pack.

When you're packing your go bag, make sure to include some nonperishable foods.

This can be trail mix, granola bars, canned goods, but don't forget your can opener, and if you want to go full Rambo mode, I suggest you add in an MRE and get yourself plenty of water.

Let's not forget personal care and hygiene essentials.

A toothbrush and toothpaste can work wonders.

It's always a good idea to have a flashlight and some spare batteries.

Throw in a radio to stay informed on the latest news, and a good whistle, because you may never know when you might need to signal for help.

You don't have to leave your tech behind.

Pack a power bank, cell phone, and charger, because staying informed and connected is key.

Let's pack smart.

Bring a change of clothes, a raincoat, and some good, sturdy shoes.

If you wear glasses, bring a spare pair.

Consider bringing a sleeping bag or a warm blanket in case someone ever needs one.

I can't stress it enough, pack some cash.

Having access to funds like small bills or a backup card can be a lifesaver in unexpected situations.

If there are any documents you think you can't live without, consider backing them on a USB drive and stashing them in your bag.

If you only had five minutes to evacuate, getting yourself a go bag could give you a little peace of mind.

let's meet several students who work hard, not only in their classrooms but also at local businesses to gain practical job experience.

This story was produced by students at Roosevelt High School on O‘ahu.

Mānoa McDonald's.

I work at Walgreens in Beretania.

students are participants that gain jobs through the Ready to Work program.

Darleen Bumanglag, a teacher of the program, helps guide these students.

The Ready to Work program is devised or developed to help students with exceptionalities to transition from high school to the workforce.

And it all starts in the classroom, where they start with simple lesson plans.

plans are driven through this book, and what we do is we take it, and we try and make sure that the students understand what the lessons are all about.

And so, what happens is the soft skills from this book is to help the students with transitioning into the workforce, and to use the soft skills that are applied whenever they have to work.

They teach me how to like, talk to people like, what are like, good like, good things to talk about, and what are things that aren't really good to talk about for customers.

The kids in the classroom setting, they learn hands-on skills.

They learn to look at the visuals on the slideshows, and from the classroom setting all the way to their interview session, we have supported them all the way, even until their job.

They gave us questions on what to do, like in front of a mirror.

So, we would practice, and we would get ready, and then when that time came, we did it.

you have a job, it's such a wonderful feeling for them.

After that, they partner directly with establishments and begin their journey to the workforce.

We give him all the same training and opportunities, resources that we do provide for anybody else that we employ.

that are searching or go to the aisle and then look at the barcode, look for the last four digits, and I would have to match it.

Here in Mānoa Valley, we have our Mānoa McDonald's, and Elijah is one of our participants.

I order their food, collect cash from them and serve drinks and people.

positive energy and great attitude.

He was pretty timid at first, not wanting to ask questions.

And I understand and I've seen it at home.

I've seen growth in him.

We had an opportunity to go on a vacation during the last break, and he said, “I can't do that.” I says, “Why not?” He says, “Because I already committed to work.”   When he comes into work, he's greeting everybody.

He's saying good morning to everybody, and he quickly is, you know, ready to figure out, okay, well, where am I today?

What am I going to be doing?

And that's really what it's all about, is just kind of seeing that growth and that confidence.

like Elijah and Cyress are not only able to gain real-world experience and job opportunities, but they also get paid through this program.

and their families with the income that they're making.

We have students who are even helping with utility bills.

The students have grown amazingly.

When I first visited them, I had goose bumps, because here I saw them from a classroom setting, and then they went into the job force.

They have self-confidence, they have motivation, they have set goals for themselves.

I just wish everybody would have the chance like these students have had to go out there in the workforce to be with non-disabled peers and to be successful.

This is Kevin Mo at Roosevelt High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

Thank you for watching the work of Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

Don't forget to follow PBS Hawai‘i on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

You can find this HIKI NŌ episode and more at pbshawaii.org.

Tune in next week for more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.

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