Kua'aina Associates

Kua`aina Associates is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization founded in 2005 by a Native Hawaiian and Māori person each recognizing their kuleana (responsibility) to bring together their collective years and experience as cultural stewards.

Throughout time, Indigenous people have maintained a deep respect and love for their environment, honoring each plant and stone as living beings like themselves. Indigenous peoples’ understanding of the intrinsic connection between the earth and their existence upon it results in a naturally sustainable way of living, rooted in concepts of non-wasteful consumption; nurturing the environment, as they in turn are nurtured.

This connection also manifested in art forms that reflected the importance of natural surrounding—from cave paintings and petroglyphs—to the use of materials such as clay, wood, and fiber for the creation of utilitarian art. These ancient practices tell the stories of peoples and cultures in historical terms of how they lived, as well as on a deeper level of what they believed and what they valued.

Kua`aina acknowledges the timeless wisdom of Indigenous knowledge and the value of the cultural bearers of today. We believe that artists and cultural workers play a vital role in maintaining the storehouse of cultural knowledge. We celebrate a new generation of indigenous artists—modern-day storytellers who will carry the work onto the next generation.

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