Re“story”ing Our Relationships in Science for a Healthy and Abundant Future
- Noelani Puniwai (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Abstract
I became a scientist because I love Hawaiʻi. I want to discover and share her stories, her histories and genealogies, and her future through a pono science. The love and respect that is achieved between humans and ʻāina (place that feeds you) when all is in balance is pono. I propose that we adapt this pono framework when we talk about science and believe that the search for a just, ethical science process must be cultivated in our research proposals, our methodology, our classrooms, and in how we create solutions for a healthy planet. I believe that only through re“story”ation, learning the moʻolelo (stories), chants, relationships, and genealogies of our sacred (all) spaces, can health and abundance of both landscapes and interconnected human communities be returned. This moʻolelo will focus on efforts in Hawaiʻi to re-indigenize our STEM curriculum and attract more students from diverse backgrounds to restore landscapes and communities.