If you don’t know who Haunani-Kay Trask is, or what the Hawaiian sovereignty movement is about, this episode is for you! Hōkū sits down with longtime friend Noelani Goodyear-Ka’ōpua to learn about Haunani-Kay Trask’s work and life, and everything Noelani and colleagues are doing to honour Kumu Haunani-Kay’s legacy as speaker, activist, thinker, and writer. As Noelani tells us, Haunani-Kay Trask was a steadfast advocate for Hawaiian sovereignty within a larger critique of imperialism and colonialism, globally. Her work was influenced by political movements in the sixties and seventies such as the Black Power movement, the radical feminist movement, the anti-war movement, and the Native American movement.  



Haunani-Kay Trask is more than her iconic speech at the ‘Iolani Palace in 1993. In this episode, we hear from Noelani about her political activism through her work with Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana, a grassroots organization dedicated to the island of Kaho‘olawe and the principles of Aloha ‘Āina throughout Hawai‘i, as well as her scholarly experiences and contributions, and Noelani’s connection to her. Holding memories and storytelling of fearless leaders like Kumu Haunani-Kay are of upmost importance in today’s political climate.  



Dr. Noelani Goodyear-Ka’ōpua is a professor at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in political science. Her work champions Hawaiian culture-based education, and she uses her role as a scholar to amplify women who have been the backbone of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement in the book Nā Wāhine Koa. She has also published, A Nation Rising, with co-editors, Ikaika Hussey and Erin Kahuawaikaʻala Wright.  



This podcast is created by the Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria, with production support from Cited Media. We receive additional support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research You can find ...