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Our Team Kīpuka Kuleana was founded in 2018 by four mothers living and raising their children on the island of Kauaʻi. These women include an associate professor, a lawyer, a GIS specialist and an archival researcher, and a non-profit director with expertise in conservation easements - all dedicated to perpetuating kuleana and connection to ʻāina across generations. Board of Directors Mehana Blaich Vaughan Mehana Blaich Vaughan grew up in Namahana and Kalihiwai, Kauaʻi, on the border of the moku of Haleleʻa and Koʻolau. A graduate of Kīlauea Elementary School, Mehana went to high school on Oʻahu, then studied sociology and secondary education at Harvard University. After a decade of teaching middle school in Hawaiian charter schools, developing ʻāina-based education programs on Kauaʻi, and training teachers in culturally grounded education, Mehana returned to school herself to pursue a doctorate in environmental studies at Stanford University. Mehana is an associate professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management and U.H. Sea Grant College program. Her research, teaching and outreach focus on understanding and nurturing community care and governance of land and waters in Hawaiʻi. She loves to dance, make lei in the wili style of her grandmother, Amelia Ana Kaʻōpua Bailey, and share moʻolelo shared with her by beloved kūpuna. Mehana's first book Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides was published in 2018. She lives in Kīlauea with her husband Kilipaki, mother Beryl, and three children - Pikomanawa, Piʻinaʻemalina, and Anauleikupuna - who, along with her father, Gary Blaich, inspire this work. More Christina Aiu Christina ("Tina") Aiu is the Co-Founder and Business Director of Modesta Media, a Kauaʻi-based video production company offering media services to Hawaiʻi’s environmental sector, communities working to preserve land, and perpetuate cultural practices and businesses who value community and promote a shared responsibility for our earth. Tina has served as Program Manager for Livable Hawai’i Kai Hui and O‘ahu Island Director for Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. In addition to her service as a Board Director for Kīpuka Kuleana, Tina currently sits on the Board of the Kauaʻi Historical Society. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law with certificates in Environmental Law and Ocean Policy. Tina resides in Wailua Homesteads with her husband and business partner Franz, and daughter Makaʻalohi. Her favorite things to do include making "mermaid tails" in the sand with her toddler, skateboarding, and photographing Kauaʻi’s wahi pana (storied places). More Jennifer Luck Jennifer Luck is the Chief Operating Officer for Common Ground Kauaʻi. She previously served as Executive Director of the Kauaʻi Public Land Trust, Kauaʻi Island Director of the Hawaiʻi Land Trust, and Managing Director of the Porter Trust and Wai Koa Plantation, where she oversaw the perpetual conservation of a 4-mile walking trail, multi-stakeholder negotiations for a dam remediation project, tenancy contracts and master plan renovations of 500+ acres of agricultural land. In addition to Kīpuka Kuleana, Jennifer sits on the boards of the Hawaiʻi Land Trust and Namahana Charter School. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Jennifer lives on the north shore of Kauaʻi with her husband Jason and daughters Midge and Frankie. She is happiest when she is spending time with them and her extended ʻohana, surfing, running and making lei. More Elif C. Beall Elif Beall is a licensed attorney, community advocate, and budding writer. Elif was founding Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA), and has served in many non-profit positions including executive leadership, development, and communications. Elif lives on the north shore of Kauaʻi with her husband, where she has resided since 2004. In addition to Kīpuka Kuleana, Elif also serves on the Kauaʻi Island Council for the Hawaiʻi Land Trust. She's happiest when in nature, or when practicing hula or lei-making, or discussing good questions and hopeful futures with family and friends. Program Staff Dominique Leu Cordy Dominique Leu Cordy grew up all over Oʻahu and now lives and farms kalo with her kāne and their two keiki in Haleleʻa and Koʻolau, Kauaʻi. She does freelance research across the pae ʻāina. Focusing on land in Hawaiʻi, she specializes in archival research and GIS mapping. She has a BA in Cultural Anthropology from University of California at Davis and an MA in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has over 17 years of experience in the field of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) in Hawaiʻi, archaeology, EA and EIS review, community ethnography, historic land and historical research, and GIS research. She has guest lectured for six years for the Wahi Kūpuna Internship Program (WKIP) as well as the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu. Ms. Cordy has managed and developed cultural and historical GIS databases for government agencies, including the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE-POH), the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. She engages actively in community organizations that seek to protect, preserve, and educate about Hawaiʻi's precious wahi kūpuna (cultural resources) and is a participating member of the Kaliʻuokapaʻakai Collective, the Waioli Taro Valley Hui. She is a co-founder of Kīpuka Kuleana. More Sarah Barger Sarah Barger is a grant writing, research, and strategic communications consultant for organizations at the intersection of environmentalism, social justice and community health. She has a BA in Psychology, a BA in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, and a minor in Medical Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sarah has over a decade of experience in conducting stakeholder engagement in research, developing grant proposals and managing community-based research projects. She is grateful to learn from and work alongside indigenous leaders and elders in communities across North America, Aotearoa, Chilean Patagonia and Hawaiʻi. Her connection to local communities on Kauaʻi is rooted in organic farming, working at local markets with farmers and entrepreneurs, and participating in ʻāina restoration and climate resilience projects. As Director of Programs, Sarah leads Kīpuka Kuleana's operations. She is happiest on the water and in the mountains - especially when paddling, running, hiking, biking and climbing with friends.

ʻOHANA ʻĀINA WORKSHOP January 21, 2023 About On January 21, 2023, we hosted an ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop at Liliʻuokalani Trust in Līhuʻe that brought 65 community members together to learn from each other and share resources for keeping and protecting ancestral ʻāina. ​ Community experts facilitated small group discussion on a range of topics, including: - Genealogy of Lands & Power of the Affidavit (Keʻeaumoku Kapu, Community Activist & Educator) - Hoʻoponopono in Navigating Family Land Issues (Kamanaʻopono M. Crabbe, Practitioner and Trainer) - Legal Tools for Ancestral Land Protection (Andrew Sprenger, Land Defense Attorney) - Tax Exemptions for Ancestral Land (John Kruse, Real Property Assessment Division, County of Kauaʻi). ​ Below are downloadable resources featured at our workshop, including handouts on hoʻoponopono, legal resources, a worksheet to guide ʻohana members in setting goals and next steps to protect and mālama ʻāina, and more. To read about Keʻeaumoku Kapu's recent court victory to protect ancestral 'āina on Maui, check out this Civil Beat article . ​ Mahalo to everyone who participated and to our wonderful partners at Liliʻuokalani Trust - Kīpuka Kauaʻi, Java Kai and Kapaʻa Ship, Print & Storage for your contributions to our community event! 1/26 Resources KiKu Presentation KiKu Presentation 1/1 Kīpuka Kuleana Presentation Slides from the Kīpuka Kuleana presentation delivered by founder and board president Mehana Vaughan about our nonprofit organization, an overview of workshop, and our workshop goals Download Agenda Agenda 1/1 Workshop Agenda Meeting schedule & s peaker bios ​ Download Legal Resources Legal Resources 1/1 Legal Resources for ʻOhana List of Kauaʻi and state-wide resources for legal assistance in estate and family trust planning, mediation, navigation of quiet title and partition lawsuits, etc. Download Hoʻoponopono Hoʻoponopono 1/1 Hoʻoponopono Broad framework and principles of hoʻoponopono, a traditional Hawaiian healing process ​ ​ Download Tips for Interviewing Tips for Interviewing 1/1 Tips for Interviewing Kūpuna Tips for documenting stories and interviewing kūpuna about ʻāina Download Worksheet Plan Worksheet Plan 1/1 Plan for Mālama of ʻOhana ʻĀina Worksheet to guide ʻohana members in creating a plan to protect and mālama ʻohana ʻāina Download

KīPUKA KULEANA Perpetuating kuleana to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands This place will feed you, if you know how to take care of it. - Young Hāʻena Fisherman, 2009 On Kauaʻi, long-time families are losing connections to ancestral lands due to escalating land values, rising taxes, restricted access, development pressure and other challenges that threaten identity and perpetuation of cultural practice across generations. ​ ​ Established in 2018, Kīpuka Kuleana is a 501(c)(3) Hawaiʻi nonprofit organization that protects ancestral lands under threat and revitalizes relationships between people and ʻāina (lands and waters) on Kauaʻi. ​ We strive to grow kīpuka (places of community caretaking and cultural restoration) grounded in kuleana (responsibility) in every ahupuaʻa (traditional region) on Kauaʻi. Mission ​Perpetuating kuleana, ahupuaʻa-based natural resource management and connection to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands. Vision Long-time families continue to live in, share the practices and history of, and care for every ahupuaʻa on Kauaʻi. WHO WE ARE WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO SUPPORT US

Kākoʻo ʻOhana Support We provide direct, tailored support to families working to keep ancestral lands. ​ ​ We connect families with resources, including legal, hoʻoponopono (counseling/mediation), estate planning, and genealogical services. ​ We help ʻohana to raise funds, establish family land trusts and keep their ʻohana lands in perpetuity wherever possible. ​ Where families have lost lands, we help them to negotiate access and stewardship agreements so they can continue to care for ʻohana ʻāina. ​ We work with ʻohana to craft respectful solutions tailored to particular ʻāina and circumstances, while also connecting area ʻohana to one another. 1/4 How we support ʻohana Projects and Resources QLCC Workshop With support from Native Voices Rising, our founders brought together 20 community members to discuss the protection of kuleana and ʻohana lands in 2016. The manaʻo from this workshop planted the seeds for the formal establishment of Kīpuka Kuleana in 2017. Wawa's Legacy In 2017, we advised and supported an ʻohana that successfully protected their ancestral land through a conservation purchase. ʻĀpana ʻOhana In 2020, we co-hosted an online workshop series with nonprofit Huliauapaʻa and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that reached over 200 community members. This workshop provided resources for families and others seeking to protect kuleana and ʻohana heir properties. Resources ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop In January 2023, we hosted an in-person workshop at Liliʻuokalani Trust for 65 community members that provided resources for protecting ancestral ʻāina. Resources

(W)anini Project Kaiaulu Noho a Kupa Community Outreach Program About The purpose of this project is to gather and document the knowledge of the area known as “Anini” or “Wanini” so that it can be used to teach future generations about the area, protect Hawaiian family practices there, and guide community efforts (between January and August of 2015) and decision-making about the area, particularly in light of proposed development. The project focused on the area from Kalihiwai River to just past (W)anini stream, where the old government road crests the hill, including Hanapai, Kalihikai, and (W)anini. Jump to Resources The goal of this project was to increase understanding of the area's past & present history and its importance. To encourage pono decision-making about the future: Understand how Hawaiian and local families have lived in the area, cared for, and used its natural resources. Understand how the health of these resources, particularly fresh water and marine resources has changed and when, and identify possible causes. Understand laws and policies that affect this place and might help to determine what can or cannot happen there in the future. Protect traditional and customary Hawaiian practices in this area by documenting them. Gather manaʻo from area families regarding how to protect area resources and practices. Find common ground among varied perspectives and informational identify recommendations for the area that best incorporates this manaʻo. Provide information that might help people who care about (W)anini come together to care for the area in keeping with ancestral values and relationships with the place. The team on this (W)anini project included: ​ Kaui Fu and Billy Kinney are grandchildren of Amin Fu both raised in Hanalei, who helped to conduct interviews with community members on Kauaʻi. ​​ UH Mānoa graduate students in Hawaiian studies, political science, marine biology and other fields who gathered studies and archival materials, interviewed community members on Kauaʻi, compiled and presented all findings to participants. (W)anini About Resources 1/6 An Overview of Cultural Resources relating to Anini, Haleleʻa, Kauaʻi: Including the ʻili of Anini, Hanalei, and portions of the Ahupuaʻa of Kalihikai & Kalihiwai ​ Prepared by Emily Cadiz, Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, and Noʻeau Peralto with the assistance of Wahineʻaipōhaku Tong Download 1/6 (W)anini, Kauaʻi: Land Use Changes, Princeville, and the Future This paper fits within a larger Noho a Kupa Community Outreach project that aims to gather and document knowledge of the area known as “Anini” or “Wanini” so that it can be used to teach future generations about the area, protect Hawaiian family practices there, and guide community efforts and decision-making about the area, particularly in light of recently proposed development. ​ One of the goals of this paper is to illustrate the intersections of local lived experience (as described in interviews with Anini community members), with large-scale state level mechanisms (such as laws, policies, regulations, government and private development) in the area. Download Screen Shot 2021-06-22 at 1.00.59 PM Screen Shot 2021-06-22 at 1.00.59 PM 1/6 An Assessment of the Environmental and Natural Resource History of a Coastal Hawaiʿi Community: A Case Study of Anini, Kauaʿi This report is an overview of the documented environmental and natural resource history of a traditionally Native Hawaiian community on the North Shore of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i. The community of interest in this report covers a project site ranging from Anini Stream to Kalihiwai River, which will be referred to in this report as “Anini.” ​ Over the course of four months, a group of five students from University of Hawai‘I at Mānoa], in a Natural Resources and Environmental Management Departmental course, NREM 691: Kaiaulu Collaborative Resource Management worked on researching the environmental and natural resource aspects of the area, in conjunction with two other groups of students who researched policy and culture. This report provides insight into the past and current state of natural resources in Anini, and includes future outlooks and recommendations. Download Back to top (W)anini Resouces

ʻĀPana ʻOHANA Workshop About ʻĀpana ʻOhana was a five-part workshop series from September to November 2020. The purpose of these workshops was to educate and empower Hawaiian and local long-time ʻohana struggling to mālama (maintain and steward) their kuleana and ʻohana heir lands. Over 194 people engaged in group discussions led by local speakers and contributed to 388 total participation hours. As part of this workshop series, a number of new and innovative resources were developed by Huliauapaʻa . The Importance of ʻĀina Research Pūlama Lima and Donovan Preza Property Tax Leanora Kaiaokamalie, Mike Hubbard and Mason Chock Foundations of Access, Easements, and Right of Entry Peter Morimoto and Shae Kamakaʻala Quiet Titles and Adverse Possession Lance Collins and Bianka Isaki Estate and Trust Planning Nicholas Mirkay and Kelley Uyeoka Resources 1/4 Maps and Where to Find Them Handout Provides examples of different types of maps ​ Includes links to map repositories and collections ​ "How-To" Steps for finding county Tax Map Keys Download 1/4 How to Family Search Guide Step-by-step instructions on how to find Bureau of Conveyences documents ​ Color-coded aid for understanding how to read the index ​ ​ Step-by-step instructions for how to find and download land deeds Download 1/2 Hawaiʻi County Calendar for Tax Relief, Annual Filing, and Tax Exemptions Tax exemption calendar deadlines ​ Exemptions are categorized by themes which include short summaries of what each entails ​ Clickable links to download online applications Download 1/3 Maui County Calendar for Tax Relief, Annual Filing, and Tax Exemptions Tax exemption calendar deadlines ​ Exemptions are categorized by themes which include short summaries of what each entails ​ Clickable links to download online applications Download 1/4 Honolulu County Calendar for Tax Relief, Annual Filing, and Tax Exemptions Tax exemption calendar deadlines ​ Exemptions are categorized by themes which include short summaries of what each entails ​ Clickable links to download online applications Download 1/4 Kauaʻi County Calendar for Tax Relief, Annual Filing, and Tax Exemptions Tax exemption calendar deadlines ​ Exemptions are categorized by themes which include short summaries of what each entails ​ Clickable links to download online applications Download 1/4 Types of Access Handout Includes description of different types of access ​ Clickable links to State statutes and county ordinances ​ Defines important terminologies related to types of access Download 1/5 Glossary for Quiet Titles and Adverse Possesion Glossary indexed into four main sections: Quiet titles Adverse Possession Land Court County Tax Records ​ ​ Includes narratives and diagrams for understanding concepts, words, and phrases concerning Quiet Title and Adverse Possession. Download 1/4 Basic Guide to Conservation Easements Learn the basics of conservation easements ​ Outlines the benefits and function of conservation easements ​ Discusses property rights and conservation easement management plans Download 1/3 Hawaiʻi Estate Planning Resources Hawaiʻi Estate Planning Resources organized by categories: Lawyer Referral Estate Planning Resources, Advance Care/ Incapacity Planning ​ Clickable links embedded for each resource Download Back to top

AʻO Education and Research We enhance connections to ʻāina through education We lead field trips with local schools, a summer program for area keiki, college courses, workshops, and training for community learners of all ages. ​ Our educational efforts center on learning stories, place names, land-use history, policy, and ecology of particular ʻāina while building capacity to care for these places across generations. 20150306_140553 _DSC0329_rv _DSC0250_rv 20150306_185908 _DSC0357_rv We assist families, community groups, landowners, and government agencies with cultural, historic, and archival lands research to aid in the care and protection of ʻāina today Specialize in māhele and kuleana records, translation, place names, archival maps, historic images, land-use plans, and analysis to support policy reforms. ​ ​ Train people to conduct needed archival ʻāina research on their own. ​ ​ Build community archive of Kauaʻi lands, cultural practices, and ʻike to guide future restoration, caretaking, education, and governance. Projects and Resources (W)Anini Project A project to increase historical and cultural understanding of the past and present-day Wanini (Anini) area Learn More ʻĀpana ʻOhana Five-part workshop series in 2020 focused on maintaining kuleana and ʻohana heir lands Learn More

Partners He Wahi Mahalo Mahalo to all the individuals, community partners, and organizations who help support our work. Aloha Collection Common Ground Hawaiʻi People's Fund LiKEN: Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network Kapaʻa Ship, Print & Storage Dr. Mehana Vaughan, UH Mānoa Native Voices Rising National Science Foundation

Mālama Stewardship Supporting community care of ʻāina (lands and waters) across the island of Kauaʻi We participate in community efforts to mālama (care for) and restore culturally significant ʻāina. ​ ​ We lead cultural education programs, including our annual Kaiāulu Koʻolau Summer Program, that impart critical skills and knowledge grounded in place to the next generation of land protectors. ​ ​ We cultivate kīpuka (spaces of community caretaking and cultural restoration) so that families may gather, mālama, practice cultural traditions, and teach from places integral to their identities. Kaiāulu Koʻolau Summer Program A four-week program for keiki (children) focused on growing connections to community and ʻāina and cultivating a sense of identity through place. 1/20 Through this program, keiki come to know ʻāina through cultural practices, including mele and oli composition, map reading, moʻolelo and place names, fishing, foraging, lei making, hula and kanikapila. They learn how ʻāina must be cared for and sustained before it may feed community, and they work hard to mālama ʻāina, from planting native species to harvesting foods at ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea. Over two camping trips, they practice gathering their meals and cultural cooking techniques like building imu, pulehu, and steaming. One of the group's favorite activities is the culminating cooking competition, which gives keiki three hours to gather and prepare lunches using area ingredients. During a final hōʻike (reflection), keiki share and celebrate their learnings from the program with their ʻohana and kumu (teachers) through presentations, hula, music and a shared meal together. Special mahalo to the community members and partners who make this program possible: ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea, Aloha ʻĀina Economic Futures, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, Kiaʻi Kāhili, Limahuli Gardens, Namahana Education Foundation, Aunty Ann Eu, Aunty Kaninau Villanueva, Aunty Lei Wann, Uncle Atta Chandler Forrest, and Uncle Gary & Aunty Bebe Smith.

Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides by Mehana Blaich Vaughan All book proceeds benefit Kīpuka Kuleana. Mahalo for your kākoʻo (support)! $19.95 Purchase from Common Ground Common Ground is a Kauaʻi-based community hub that supports local entrepreneurs and businesses. They elevate stories, products and community connection through their "creative campus that brings together changemakers, thinkers and do-ers." ​ Special thanks to Jon Champlin, our champion at Common Ground! Mahalo to our local business partners and supporters! Limited copies of Kaiāulu sold at the following locations: Hunter Gatherer (Kīlauea) Taro Patch House (Kīlauea) Aloha Exchange (Kīlauea, Kalaheo) Kīlauea Lighthouse and Gift Shop North Shore Pharmacy (Kīlauea) The Kauaʻi Store (Kapaʻa) KIKO (Kapaʻa) The Womb Bookstore - Pop Up (various locations) Kauaʻi Museum (Līhuʻe) Talk Story Bookstore (Hanapepe) Kōkeʻe Museum (Kōkeʻe State Park) About the Author Mehana Blaich Vaughan grew up where the districts of Haleleʻa and Koʻolau meet on the island of Kauaʻi. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and the Sea Grant College Program and Hui ʻĀina Momona at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Mehana’s research and teaching focus on community relationships with natural resources, particularly in indigenous settings, as well as place-based education. Her home is on Kauaʻi with her husband, mother, and three children. Kaiāulu is her first book. About Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides Based on two decades of interviews with over sixty Hawaiian elders, leaders, and fishermen and women, Mehana Blaich Vaughan’s Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides is a deeply personal and affecting book about how community interacts with natural resources. The northeast coast of Kauaʻi, where Mehana was born and raised, can be a picturesque playground for tourists, but for centuries the catch from this local reef and the sharing of that food has helped sustain area families. What happens when these fishing families become increasingly unseen, many of them moving away due to global commodification and loss of access to their coastal land? This book skillfully explores a community’s enduring efforts to nurture respectful relationships with natural resources and perpetuate these practices for future generations. "Kaiāulu is a book of prayers, an exquisite inquiry into the nature of reciprocity and what it means to be human. Never have we needed the compassionate intelligence of Mehana Blaich Vaughan more. In the tradition of wisdom writers like Robin Wall Kimmerer and the storytelling magic of Louise Erdrich, we see a leader of the next generation on the page and in the world." - Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Hour of Land