Indigenous for Our Survival Series: Looking to ʻIke Kūpuna to Support Native Species

By Sharde Mersberg Freitas, Chapter Organizer | Reading time: 2.25 minutes

Coming off the heels of Merrie Monarch, May continues the celebration of culture and identity while also highlighting critical environmental issues—including invasive species awareness and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. This past session, the Hawaiʻi State legislature adopted a resolution calling for integration of Indigenous knowledge in advancing a just climate future. In that spirit,this month’s article takes a deeper dive into the different terminology used when referring to native species, looking to ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as a source of ʻike kūpuna, and an example with lehua to reflect on how we might meaningfully integrate indigenous knowledge for our just climate future.

We often hear terms like native, non-native, endemic, or invasive to describe plants and animals. Similarly, ancestral knowledge systems are described in many ways—such as ʻike kūpuna, traditional ecological knowledge, Indigenous innovation, or cultural practices. In Hawaiʻi, invasive species are officially defined as: “(1) harmful to the environment, economy, and/or human health, and (2) not native to Hawaii (i.e., species that were introduced by human assistance rather than by their own means of introduction)” (Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources).

Notably, native languages are positively associated with native species and biodiversity. In ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the words used to describe native peoples—ʻōiwi, kanaka maoli, or kamaʻāina—reflect a deeper understanding of belonging to and being rooted in place. This distinguishing characteristic, of what makes one – person, plant, or species – native is shared across many different Indigenous cultures. One mele, ʻŌiwi E, celebrates these distinct yet shared identities as natives of Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa.

ʻŌiwi E lyrics

Eia mai la Behold
Eia mai la nā kupa ʻāina o Hawaiʻi nei Behold the natives of Hawaiʻi
Kākoʻo mai nei Support
Kākoʻo mai nei kūpaʻa lōkahi e Support and be loyal faithfully

Source: Huapala

Preserving native species is essential to our collective sustainability and climate resilience. That means turning to ancestral knowledge of this place that has sustained generations since time immemorial. To further unpack an example of how one might meaningfully integrate ʻike kūpuna, let’s talk about lehua. You may have seen lots of discussion around lehua during the Merrie Monarch festival. Since the recent devastating impacts of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), a fungal disease spread by an invasive pathogen that threatens our decades-old ʻōhiʻa forests, there has been a community call to not pick lehua as it may further expose vulnerabilities of healthy ʻōhiʻa to ROD. ʻIke kūpuna—expressed through mele or oli—also reminds us of the sacredness of lehua and our kuleana to protect it.

As we honor our heritage and look toward a just climate future, I invite everyone this month to join in removing invasive species, plant or support native ones, and engage with ʻike kūpuna to reflect and apply how wisdom of our kūpuna can be applied today.