Polynesia (which means "many islands") is one of the three major categories created by Westerners to refer to the islands of the South Pacific.
c. 1200 B.C.E. - present
videos + essays
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Ahilapalapa Rands, Lift Off
In an imaginative 3-minute film, Rands envisions the sacred Hawaiian summit Maunakea free of telescopes.
Pōhaku kuʻi ʻai, otherwise known as the poi pounder
The pōhaku kuʻi ʻai has become an important symbol of Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) life and culture.
Ola Ka Wai, Ola Ka Honua: sovereign flows on and off the wall
In its call to collective engagement, the mural opens space for the viewing public to be transformed in profound and lasting ways.
Fatu Feuʻu, Faʻaola Mo Taeao Conserve for Tomorrow
Feuʻu's work embodies the values of Faʻa Sāmoa (the Samoan way): reverence, compassion, and service.
Kapulani Landgraf, ʻAuʻa
Landgraf's works urge viewers to open their hearts to the histories of Hawaiian struggles and the efforts of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
ʻIolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
King Kalākaua built ʻIolani Palace both as an authentically modern and traditional Hawaiian symbol of the prospering Hawaiian Kingdom.
William F. Cogswell, Queen Liliʻuokalani, and Maria Kealaulaokalani Lane Ena, ʻAhu ʻula (The Kalākaua Cape)
This royal portrait and cape convey the power of the Hawaiian monarchy and the tensions around the momentous historical events of 1898.
Bark cloth from Wallis and Futuna
Hand-drawn patterns fill the surface of these textiles made from bark from the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna.
Queen Liliʻuokalani’s accession photograph
This photograph of Liliʻuokalani was tied to Hawaiʻi’s international relations, representing the monarchy’s sovereign right to rule for local and global audiences.
Temple figure of war god Ku-ka’ili-moku
Ku-ka’ili-moko, one of the manifestations of Ku, is the Hawaiian god of war, and this one was made for and erected by King Kamehameha I at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
