Featured Alumni in Applied Archaeology

Malia and her five children; Namahana, Kaleolani, Kawena, Micah and Melehila'i

Malia Kapuaonālani Evans was born in Hilo, Hawai’i and raised both in Hilo and at Kailua, Oahu.  Malia is a non-traditional student and a single parent of five children. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from UH Manoa in 2007 and completed an M.A. degree, focused on Applied Archaeology and a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation in May 2011.  One of Malia’s favorite ‘ōlelo no‘eau (Hawaiian proverbs) states, “I ulu no ka lālā i ke kumu.  The branches grow because of the trunk”.   This ‘ōlelo no‘eau refers to ones ancestors as the foundation (trunk) of life who provide their descendants (branches) a strong and meaningful connection to place and identity.
Malia’s family mo’okū‘auhau (genealogy) extend across ka pae ‘āina o Hawai’i (the archipelago of Hawai’i) and Ireland and includes several ancestors (Samuel Kalama, Jonathan Nakila, Solomon Hanohano) who extensively documented the ‘āina and preserved Hawaiian oral history, cultural traditions and practices during and after the transformative Mahele period, from the mid to late 1800’s.  Their seminal work;  through Hawaiian Kingdom land surveys, government service, research and the publication of the Hawaiian language newspaper; Nupepa Ku’o Ko’a, contributed to the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge of people, places and events.  Malia is honored to continue her family kuleana (responsibility, privilege) to assist in the identification, documentation and preservation of Hawaiian cultural landscapes, seascapes and customary practices for the benefit of future generations.

Malia focused her graduate research on a community based project that provides descendant communities a central role in the recovery and reconstruction of their history, thus advancing community interest and empowerment.  The collaborative project she initiated was framed by development pressures on a significant cultural land and seascape in her community.  Malia applied her graduate training to organize community support to advocate for and protect Kapukapuakea, a place of great significance to Hawaiians and the broader Polynesian community, from development.  Her three pronged research project includes a comprehensive ethno-historical inventory of traditional land use activities on the property; utilizing Hawaiian mo’olelo (oral traditions), archival documents, archaeological data and linguistics.  The second phase of research is a proposal to develop community generated, culturally appropriate management strategies for Kapukapuakea.  The proposal incorporates an ethnographic interview project with community kūpuna and cultural practitioners conducted by Waialua students to identify and document contemporary Hawaiian practices. Besides learning oral history techniques, the students will be taught to identify and document archaeological, botanical and natural resources on the project site that will be inputted into a community accessed database.  The final component of Malia’s research project is the completion of a National Register nomination for Kapukapuakea, affording another level of protection for this significant cultural property.

During her time in graduate school, Malia continued her monthly commitment to volunteer with UH Manoa’s Kua’ana Student Services and associated community organizations in their efforts to restore, maintain and preserve Hawaiian cultural landscapes across the island of Oahu.  The work sites included loko i‘a (fishponds) along the coastline and lo‘i kalo (taro ponds), dry-land agricultural fields and heiau complexes in the kula and mauka regions.  Malia’s engagement with learning continued outside the university walls as she sought instruction in Hawaiian carving, weapons making and traditional stone and house construction under Kahu Helemano of Ka ‘Aha Hui Na‘auao.   Malia considers both native and western approaches to the acquisition and sharing of knowledge as equally significant facets in her growth as a scholar and cultural practitioner.

Malia participated in an intensive Historic Preservation Field School at the Volcano National Park.  She has worked as an archaeologist at the Kahuku Military Training Area and participated in numerous archaeological inventory surveys on Oahu, including the Oahu Rail Transit Project.   Malia has conducted ethno-historical research and oral history interviews in Hawai’i for over 12 years, including three years writing for a local community paper about Hawaiian cultural landscapes and history.  She is a founding member of Na Lei Nani O Waialua, a community based non-profit committed to nurturing children and families through the practice of Hawaiian traditions, and has served in numerous capacities, including President and Cultural Historian, since 1997. 

She is a certified producer, director and camera operator with ‘Ōlelo Community Media and has produced, filmed and edited several documentaries on Hawaiian wahi pana (storied places).  Malia is presently working on an oral history project with the State Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s Rare Plant Program.  The project includes ethnographic research, interviewing, filming and producing a series of documentary films on the Hawaiian conservation movement, focusing on botanical experts helping to protect endangered and threatened native Hawaiian flora.   In this capacity, Malia has continued her family kuleana to document and protect not only the cultural features and traditions of the 'aina, but also the plant species and ecosystems which sustain human life. 

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Archaeology Field Crew, photo courtesy of the National Park Service

Summer Roper is an Archaeologist for the National Park Service and graduated from the University of Hawai‛i at Mānoa Applied Archaeology Master’s Degree program in August of 2011. In conjunction to the Master’s Degree she also earned a Historic Preservation Graduate Certificate from the American Studies Department at UH in May of 2010. Her area of focus is Hawaiian Archaeology, and she completed her Master’s Paper on the archaeology of traditional Hawaiian salt extraction entitled: Pa‛akai: The Kaena Point Salt Drying Area: An Archaeological Perspective on the Traditional and Post-contact Hawaiian Salt Economy.

In addition to her graduate studies, Summer has also been employed at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Island of Hawai‛I in the Cultural Resource Management Division since 2003. She acquired this job after graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo in December of 2002. Her work for the Park Service entails assisting in the research, management and preservation of the abundance of cultural resources and archaeological sites found within the Park’s boundary on the sacred mountains of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. After many years of gaining practical experience working for the Park, the Applied Archaeology Graduate Program was a perfect fit to enable her to further her studies and increase her contribution to the Cultural Resource Management program of the Park Service. The classroom knowledge gained during her graduate studies coupled with her practical experience helped her develop and expand the skills needed to assist in effectively managing and protecting all of the irreplaceable cultural resources that are entrusted to the National Park.

Summer’s career has also taken her to do archaeological work in numerous places including: the National Park of American Samoa, the War in the Pacific National Park in Guam, Kalaupapa National Monument in Moloka‛i, Pu‛ukohola National Historic Site, Pu‛uhonua O Hōnauna National Historical Park, and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on the Island of Hawai‛i. After graduation, she plans to continue her work for the Park Service, assisting in the protection and preservation of the unique cultural resources found there to help ensure that they will be there for the future generations.

Kelley (third from left) with participants in the University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Internship Program (UHHIP).

Kelley Lehuakeaopuna Uyeoka was born and raised in the ahupua'a of Kailua, and traces her 'ohana lineage to the 'āina of Puna and Kohala, Hawai'i Island and Kīpahulu and Haneo'o, Maui. She graduated from Kamehameha Schools, Kapālama, in 2000, and four years later she received her B.A. in cultural anthropology and Pacific Island Studies from UH Hilo. After gaining a few years of practical experience in cultural resource management (CRM) in Hawai'i, Kelley entered graduate school at UH Mānoa. In 2009, she completed a M.A. degree, with a focus in Applied Archaeology, and a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation.

During her studies, Kelley explored her interests in Hawaiian archaeology and CRM, focusing her research on timely topics that provide valuable information for her community and positively influence the practice of CRM in Hawai'i. Her three Plan B graduate papers included

• The Cultural Impact Assessment Process in Hawai'i: What's Next?
  
• Collaborative Stewardship of Hawaiian Archaeological Collections: A Feasibility Study
  
• Preserving our Special Places: Traditional Cultural Properties

During graduate school Kelley continued to develop the skills she was learning in the classroom through conducting cultural impact studies and archaeological projects for Cultural Survey's Hawai'i and completing a professional internship at Kamehameha Schools, Cultural Assets department, under the direction of Kekuewa Kikiloi. Kelley also practically applied her teaching by creating her own private consultant group, Hui 'Imi 'Ike, to conduct a traditional cultural properties study for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Additionally, Kelley maintained close connections with her community by participating in Kamehameha Schools First Nations Future's Fellowship program, and volunteering with Dr. Ross Cordy to teach a field course in Hawaiian archaeological techniques for Wai'anae High Schools Hawaiian Studies students in Wai'anae Valley.

Kelley's passion and commitment to the long-term stewardship of Hawai'i's 'āina and wahi kupuna has been strengthened greatly with the skills she attained during graduate school. She is firmly committed to mentoring the next generation of Native Hawaiian and kama'āina archaeologists so that they can mālama Hawai'i's cultural resources in a culturally-appropriate fashion. In the summer of 2010 Kelley worked with the University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Internship Program (UHHIP) to develop and implement the first cultural resource management internship program for Native Hawaiian undergraduate students on Hawai'i Island. Along with coordinating the program, Kelley assisted in mentoring and training the interns in both academic and archaeological field and lab techniques; provided them networking opportunities with professionals and practitioners in CRM; and taught them ways to bridge western science with cultural values, practices and mo'olelo.

Currently, Kelley is continuing to develop a sustainable internship model within Hawai'i's CRM field so that Native Hawaiians and kama'āina have access to more opportunities to learn about CRM in Hawai'i and pursue professional careers in this field. Kelley is also a member of Naki'i Ke Aho, and on the Board of Directors of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology (SHA) as the co-chair (with Sean Naleimaile) of the Hawai'i Cultural Stewardship Award Committee.

Tanya Malia Souza, Manager, Queen Lili῾uokalani Trust

In May of 2010, Tanya received a Master's of Arts degree in Anthropology—with a specialization in applied archaeology—from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. As a part of her graduate training, Tanya conducted a critical analysis of current methods of recording ki'i pōhaku (stone images) in Hawai'i, so that their documentation and stewardship by CRM archaeologists and others in the local community can be improved. Tanya is also a graduate of the University of Hawai'i at Hilo where she received a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Anthropology, specializing in Hawaiian Archaeology.

Since the completion of her MA degree, Tanya was recruited and is currently employed as an endowment manager for the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust. Her duties are centered on the Keahuolū Interpretive Center and Historic Preserve Area (based in Kona) and the day-to-day management of the Trusts' Kona properties and rich cultural resources. Prior to her recruitment by the Trust, Tanya was employed as an archaeologist with Pacific Legacy, Inc., a private archaeological firm in Hawai'i. She has worked on various archaeological projects on Hawai'i, Maui, and Rapa Nui, Chile. Her particular archaeological interests include ki'i pōhaku studies, lithic analysis, and adze geochemical characterization.

During her time in graduate school, Tanya founded the Hawai'i Junior Archaeology Outreach Program and she has conducted archaeological activities and presentations for Native Hawaiian grade school students around O'ahu Island. This program was the outcome of a partnership between the Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) at UH-Mānoa and the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology. School visits conducted by Tanya include Ka Waihona o ka Na῾auao Public Charter School in Nānākuli, Kamehameha Preschool in Wai‛anae, Waimānalo Elementary and Intermediate School, and Rainbow Preschool in Wahiawa. Tanya is tireless in her efforts to educate keiki within the Hawai'i public and charter school systems about archaeology, and she currently co-chairs the Education Committee of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology. Tanya and her colleagues are working to develop a culturally-informed curriculum so that native Hawaiian children and kama῾āina can learn about archaeology and appreciate their cultural heritage in new ways.

page last updated September 26, 2011