Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina 2025
Kukui pio ʻole i ka makani Kauaʻula (The light of knowledge is unextinguished by the strong Kauaʻula wind)
Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina is a community storytelling and public art program of Maui Public Art Corps in partnership with the County of Maui, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, and members of the 2024 Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina cohort. Rooted in connection and cultural care, the initiative pairs community members with intergenerational partners to record meaningful talk-stories that capture the spirit, memories, and identity of Lahaina. These audio recordings - rich with voice, emotion, and nuance often lost in written accounts, form the foundation for public art experiences across the County, preserving a deep sense of place for future generations.
Now entering its seventh cohort, Hui Mo‘olelo continues to grow beyond a storytelling and public art program into a trusted resource for preserving local knowledge and guiding community-informed decisions as Lahaina rebuilds. Participants gather to learn programmatic history, story collection skills, and practical tools for recording clear, respectful interviews that honor those who share their memories. The stories collected become part of a living archive that helps shape meaningful public artwork experiences, supports healing, and ensures that Lāhainā's story is told by the people who know it best.
Guided by long-standing cultural practitioners, historians, and community leaders, Hui Mo‘olelo honors the foundational work of Kepā and Onaona Maly, whose archival contributions continue to guide us, as well as past Hui Mo‘olelo facilitators Leilehua Yuen, Kalapana Kollars, Anuhea Yagi and Sissy Lake-Farm. This collaborative effort invites the community to carry stories forward.
Now entering its seventh cohort, Hui Mo‘olelo continues to grow beyond a storytelling and public art program into a trusted resource for preserving local knowledge and guiding community-informed decisions as Lahaina rebuilds. Participants gather to learn programmatic history, story collection skills, and practical tools for recording clear, respectful interviews that honor those who share their memories. The stories collected become part of a living archive that helps shape meaningful public artwork experiences, supports healing, and ensures that Lāhainā's story is told by the people who know it best.
Guided by long-standing cultural practitioners, historians, and community leaders, Hui Mo‘olelo honors the foundational work of Kepā and Onaona Maly, whose archival contributions continue to guide us, as well as past Hui Mo‘olelo facilitators Leilehua Yuen, Kalapana Kollars, Anuhea Yagi and Sissy Lake-Farm. This collaborative effort invites the community to carry stories forward.
A) About
Welcome to Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina 2025: Mahalo for stepping forward to join this next chapter of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, a collective effort rooted in the spirit of connection, trust, and deep respect for the stories that hold this community together. As a member of this cohort, you will help record intergenerational talk-stories that capture authentic moments of connection and ensure that local voices, memories, and values continue to guide Lāhainā's recovery and renewal.
What’s Ahead
Why It Matters
Your recordings will help:
We are grateful for your time, care, and dedication. This is a shared responsibility. We are not here to speak over anyone, but to open the microphone wider. Together, we manifest a living record that honors what has been fought for, lost, remembered, and rebuilt. The people who tell the stories hold the power to guide the narrative, and we hold that kuleana together.
What’s Ahead
- Preparation: You will join three Zoom sessions in November 2025 led by partners Kaliko Storer (Mayor’s Lahaina Advisory Team) and Kelly White (Maui Public Art Corps). These sessions will provide context, cultural grounding, practical tools, and supportive space to prepare you for this important work.
- Your Role: Each cohort member will collect at least three intergenerational recordings per month (Dec-Mar), aiming for a total of 12 by March 30, 2026. You decide who to invite and where to record — our team will support you with equipment, tech training, translation, transcription, and anything else you need.
- Ongoing Support: We will gather regularly to share updates, answer questions, and process the work together.
Why It Matters
Your recordings will help:
- Preserve voices, memories, and language that written records alone cannot hold.
- Provide meaningful community-informed guidance for memorial work and other recovery efforts.
- Ensure families and elders feel seen, heard, and respected.
- Strengthen our collective sense of identity and place for future generations.
We are grateful for your time, care, and dedication. This is a shared responsibility. We are not here to speak over anyone, but to open the microphone wider. Together, we manifest a living record that honors what has been fought for, lost, remembered, and rebuilt. The people who tell the stories hold the power to guide the narrative, and we hold that kuleana together.
We know this invitation may feel daunting. Many of you have carried so much already - heavy memories, hard questions, endless requests to speak, share, or repeat what you have already given. Please know: Hui Mo‘olelo does not ask you to start over or to relive what cannot be undone. Instead, we ask you to help carry forward what has already been shared; to gather, protect, and preserve the stories that help us remember who we are and guide where we go next.
Your role is not to promote an individual perspective, but to serve as a vessel for collective remembrance. Together, we will create a living archive that holds not just the facts of our history, but the warmth in an elder’s laugh, the subtle cadence of speech, the pauses, sighs, and small truths that transcripts alone can never fully capture. These recordings - clear, respectful, and held with care, will remain for generations to hear and feel.
Your role is not to promote an individual perspective, but to serve as a vessel for collective remembrance. Together, we will create a living archive that holds not just the facts of our history, but the warmth in an elder’s laugh, the subtle cadence of speech, the pauses, sighs, and small truths that transcripts alone can never fully capture. These recordings - clear, respectful, and held with care, will remain for generations to hear and feel.
B) 2025 Cohort
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Session 1 recording: Nov 11, 2025
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Session 2 recording, Nov 18, 2025
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Session 3 recording: Nov 25, 2025
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Kaliko Storer, Mayor’s Lahaina Advisory Team
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Shannon I'i, Kaiāulu Initiatives & Our Kupuna
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ʻIhilani Garcia, Hui O Waʻa Kaulua, Moananuiākea Voyage Crew
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Namea Hoshino, Na 'Aikane o Maui
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Kaponoʻai Molitau, County Department of ʻŌiwi Resources
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Michaellyn “Mikey” Burke, Lahaina Community Land Trust + West Maui Community Liaison for Hawaiian Electric
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Laurie DeGama, owner of Lahaina business No Ka Oi Deli and president of the Lahainaluna PTSA
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Kim Thayer, SR Partners + Maui Planning Commission
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Eric Arquero, Executive Director of Kaibigan ng Lahaina (KnL)
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Gracie Delos Reyes, Kaiāulu Initiatives
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Kaho'opi'ihula Noelle (Tasi) Storer, UH Hilo Student
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Emma Patao, Lahaina Intermediate School Student
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C) Talk-Story Recordings
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Visit our 2024 project page to meet the previous cohort, and enjoy the resulting projects below.
D) Format
Our process was designed with the help of StoryCorps DIY best practices and further guided by long-standing cultural practitioners, historians, and community leaders including oral historians Kepā and Onaona Maly, artist Leilehua Yuen, and past Hui Mo‘olelo facilitators Kalapana Kollars, Anuhea Yagi and Sissy Lake-Farm.
TIPS
SAMPLE QUESTIONS + PROMPTS
Royal Complex Questions
- Complete Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina workshop series, through which participants create their own micro-storytelling presentation.
- Coordinate the best date & time to meet an intergenerational partner to talk story at a quiet, comfortable space. Each cohort member will be lent DIY equipment with instructions.
- Select 5-10 of the "Sample Questions & Prompts" below, or create your own prior to your scheduled recording. Feel free to go “off-script” and ask follow-up questions. Our goal is to collect rich, intergenerational audio narratives that illuminate what Lahaina has been and what it can become; providing planners, artists, and decision-makers with trusted, community-rooted guidance for rebuilding, memorializing, and restoring this storied place.
- Once settled into the recording space, note your starting time. In consideration of "bio breaks" and continuity, we have learned that 40-minutes is an ideal length of time to aim for. Now you'll click record. Start by stating your name, age, the date, and the place where you are - and let your match do the same. Then begin with your list of prompts.
- When pau, sign the consent forms & be sure to capture a photo of the two of you together to send to us with your recording.
TIPS
- Let silence work—give time for reflection.
- Ask follow-up questions when something sparks curiosity.
- Keep focus on place + person + cultural context.
- Thank your partner sincerely at the end, and share how their story will be preserved.
- Engaging participants with respect (READ)
- The interview day (READ)
SAMPLE QUESTIONS + PROMPTS
- When you think of Lahaina in your younger days, what are some of the first sounds, smells, or images that come to mind?
- What did a perfect day in Lahaina feel like for you? Where would you go, and who would you see?
- Are there places in Lahaina that hold a special meaning for you or your family? Can you tell me a story about one of them?
- What were some traditions—big or small—that made your time in Lahaina unique or unforgettable?
- Can you describe how people in the community took care of one another? What did aloha look like in action?
- Who are the people you think of when you think of Lahaina’s heart and soul? What made them special?
- What made Lahaina different from any other place in the world?
- What did you learn about life by growing up or living in Lahaina?
- If future generations never get to experience Lahaina as you did, what would you want them to understand or feel?
- What physical spaces or practices do you feel kept the community grounded or connected?
- When you imagine people gathering in Lahaina again, what do you hope that looks and feels like?
- What values or ways of being should always be present in Lahaina, no matter what changes over time?
- If a child were to ask you, “What should I know about Lahaina?”—what would you tell them?
- Were there things about how Lahaina changed over the years that didn’t sit right with you?
- What kinds of changes made it harder to feel that deep sense of community or belonging?
- Are there parts of the past that you feel we could learn from—not to repeat, but to grow from?
- Was there ever a time you felt Lahaina’s story was being told by people who didn’t really know it? What was missing?
- When you reflect on what was lost, what do you feel still lives on in spirit?
- If Lahaina were to whisper something to future generations, what do you think it would say?
- If there were a place built for reflection and remembrance, what would make it feel safe and comforting to you?
- How should we honor the balance between remembering what was lost and celebrating what still lives in spirit?
- Are there stories, songs, or rituals that you feel could be shared in a memorial space to help future generations remember with love instead of only sadness?
- When you imagine gathering as a community again—perhaps at a place of remembrance—what does that look like? What would make that gathering feel pono?
Royal Complex Questions
- What is your personal tie to Lahaina? To the Royal Complex area? What do you feel most connected to?
- Did you know about the Royal Complex when you were growing up? What did you know then?
- What is your absolute “no” about the project?
- What is your absolute “must have” about the project?
- What is your organization’s relationship to this project? How does/could your organization fit into the project?
- Do you have any fears about this project? How can those fears be addressed?
- Do you have any specific questions for the project team?
SUPPORT RESOURCES:
- Lahaina Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic offers Behavioral Health Case Management, Supportive Counseling Services, and Psychiatric Services - 808-662-4078 – Monday – Friday – 8:30am – 4:30pm. Walk ins welcome. Clinical Director - Kamaile Luke
- Maui Healing Hawaii – to schedule – 808-463-4934 - [email protected] - Maui Healing - Ho'oku'ikahi
- Hawaii Center for Children and Families –to schedule - 808-674-6641 or [email protected] - HAWAI'I CENTER FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES -
- Lahaina Filipino Mental Health Initiative- Kaibigan Ng Lahaina - To inquire about services call: (808) 303-8289 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kaibigannglahaina.org (Therapists: Kassel Taeza and Roleen Cosma)
- Maui Behavioral Health Resources have three therapists here weekly and Queens Behavioral Health have two clinicians that come weekly. (Appointments are usually made through me from community requests, and/or clinic waitlist).
E) Project Timeline
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Notes/ Reflections
Stories as a means of healing and processing loss: The act of sharing personal stories serves as a critical step in the recovery process, helping the community to heal and grieve what was lost.
Preservation of core values and identity: Personal accounts reinforce the collective identity and values—such as service, love, and community responsibility—that anchor resilience in the face of disaster.
Informing the future and guiding the rebuild: The personal experiences gathered are not just historical records but are specifically intended to guide decision-making for rebuilding, ensuring that the new physical spaces reflect the community's values
The collective stories of loss and the deep ties to the place and people act as a blueprint for resilience, showing that while the physical town may have burned, the deep history, culture, and love shared by the community remain the enduring foundation upon which the future must be built.
- Personal stories act like the surviving root structure of a burned-down forest: though the visible trunks (physical structures and daily life) are gone, the deep, interconnected web of roots (memories, values, relationships) remains alive beneath the surface, providing the nourishment and blueprint needed to regenerate the entire ecosystem stronger and truer to its original nature.
- The personal stories of loss, recovery, and deep connection to Lahaina gathered through Hui Moʻolelo (and other initiatives that the cohort are already involved with) illuminate community resilience by providing essential emotional healing, preserving core cultural values, affirming a shared identity, and directly informing the vision for a sustainable future
Stories as a means of healing and processing loss: The act of sharing personal stories serves as a critical step in the recovery process, helping the community to heal and grieve what was lost.
- Emotional release and catharsis: Storytelling is described as "very cathartic for our community" and offers a "safe space to stop and heal" after the fire. Even if a person was not physically running from the fire, everyone was impacted, and coming together helps
- Affirmation of place: Narratives capture the deep emotional investment in specific, beloved locations, demonstrating why the losses are felt so profoundly. For instance, the destruction of the Pioneer Hotel felt "like dying twice" to one family who had multi-generational ties to it
- Places like Wahikuli Post Office Beach, Lahaina Pump (the site of freshwater clam harvesting), Baby Beach, and Napili Bay are recalled as foundational to childhood and family history, serving as resting places or gathering spots
- Timeliness of sharing: Conversations about memories are beginning to shift, indicating a move "ahead" from the acute trauma, allowing people to reminisce about "the good days of Lahaina"
- These exchanges provide opportunities for calm, rest, relaxation, and individual healing
Preservation of core values and identity: Personal accounts reinforce the collective identity and values—such as service, love, and community responsibility—that anchor resilience in the face of disaster.
- Sense of community and interconnectedness: The stories highlight the uniquely tight-knit and special nature of the community
- Lahaina is described as a "cultural melting pot" of many different people and ethnic groups (Filipino, Japanese, Portuguese, Hawaiian) who "lived together happy and being a strong community together"
- Values of service and kuleana: A paramount value identified is the heart to serve, often driven by the feeling that Lahaina is geographically cut off, necessitating mutual help
- Stories emphasize the importance of kuleana to one another and to the physical place (ʻāina), a concept learned through life, rather than being explicitly taught
- Restoring shared identity: There is a hope to return to an identity of seeing oneself as "Lahaina" first, rather than identifying by ethnicity (e.g., "the Filipinos, the Haoles, the Chinese")
- This sense of shared belonging is crucial, as demonstrated by youth who left Lahaina after the fire but missed "the Lahaina kids" and wanted to return to their community
- The power of oral tradition: The narratives themselves capture and transmit cultural values across time, acting as "time machines"
- They help future generations understand the "planting, fishing, farming, and surfing" practices that sustained the community
Informing the future and guiding the rebuild: The personal experiences gathered are not just historical records but are specifically intended to guide decision-making for rebuilding, ensuring that the new physical spaces reflect the community's values
- Centering Lahaina voices: The Hui Moʻolelo project is designed to center the voices, experiences, and values of Lahaina people and kūpuna so that they lead the rebuilding efforts
- Preserving sense of place (physical landscape): Narratives stress that Lahaina's strength is shaped by its physical landscape, including the harbor, streams, and beaches
- Stories highlight historical elements, such as the town being the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, a whaling center, and a mill town, emphasizing that all historical eras were significant in Lahaina. These accounts argue for maintaining the historical character and specific uses of places, rather than replacement or erasure
- Ensuring practical community needs: Stories reinforce the importance of having the town remain a functional community space, highlighting the loss of critical services like the school, library, post office, and local favorite businesses
- The conversations emphasize that even though much was commercialized for tourists, the "real things" happening (like surf contests or local events) must be promoted and supported
- Intergenerational vision: The process helps residents envision a future Lahaina by recalling memories of the past, like plantation life or communal gathering spots
- The hope is to create spaces "that our children can can cherish and can and understand why Lahaina is so special". Future generations, it is hoped, will always feel safe and protected in their home
The collective stories of loss and the deep ties to the place and people act as a blueprint for resilience, showing that while the physical town may have burned, the deep history, culture, and love shared by the community remain the enduring foundation upon which the future must be built.
Talk-Story Recordings
Dec 5, 2025: Kim Thayer & Kaliko Storer
This heartfelt interview focuses on Kaliko Storer, a cultural advisor who reflects on the deep ancestral and community ties within Lahaina. Storer describes the evolution of the royal complex at Mokuʻula from its use as a mundane school playground during her youth to its recognition as a sacred historical site through the efforts of her mother and other dedicated cultural practitioners. She emphasizes that the post-fire recovery must move beyond superficial "window dressing" and tourism to prioritize purposeful restoration that honors the multicultural lineage of the area, including Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese influences. Ultimately, the source serves as a vision for a future where intergenerational education and cultural authenticity are woven into the physical landscape, ensuring that the "mana" or spiritual power of Lahaina remains a living reality for future generations.
This heartfelt interview focuses on Kaliko Storer, a cultural advisor who reflects on the deep ancestral and community ties within Lahaina. Storer describes the evolution of the royal complex at Mokuʻula from its use as a mundane school playground during her youth to its recognition as a sacred historical site through the efforts of her mother and other dedicated cultural practitioners. She emphasizes that the post-fire recovery must move beyond superficial "window dressing" and tourism to prioritize purposeful restoration that honors the multicultural lineage of the area, including Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese influences. Ultimately, the source serves as a vision for a future where intergenerational education and cultural authenticity are woven into the physical landscape, ensuring that the "mana" or spiritual power of Lahaina remains a living reality for future generations.