CROSSING THE ‘A‘Ā: CONNECTING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITY VALUES ALONG THE KULA KAI TRAILS OF HĪLEA, KA‘Ū, HAWAI‘I

Abstract

Western perspectives, as manifest in archaeological practice, have dominated the study of Hawai‘i’s ancestral places for more than a century. In recent years, cultural practitioners and indigenous Hawaiian scholars have begun to employ alternative methodologies for interacting with and interpreting Hawai‘i’s heritage landscapes. Here I examine the intersection of trails, cultural landscapes, and community values within the kula kai (seaward plain) of Hīlea, Ka‘ū, on the Island of Hawai‘i. I attempt to contextualize the trails within the physical setting of the ‘a‘ā landscape, the ethnohistoric past, and the sociopolitical environment of heritage management as it is currently practiced in Hawai‘i. By examining this landscape of movement in its various physical, sociopolitical, and culture historical contexts, I demonstrate how an understanding of movement and connection, both past and present, can create spaces for establishing communication and collaboration between archaeological and Kanaka Maoli communities in the future.