Na Loea: The Masters

- Season 1

(2014)

Fulfilling a soldier's duty to preserve life, Edward Wendt personifies servant leadership with a tenacious resolve to fight for what is right. A Vietnam War veteran and a strong advocate for native Hawaiian rights, he used ancestral knowledge to survive in both scenarios. Ed, a pioneer in the taro restoration movement, has helped to re-establish the water rights for all traditional farmers in east Maui.

Growing up in the ahupuaa of Hakipuu, Herbert Hoe learned from a young age the value of ohana and the aina and the mutual dependence between the two. Following a career in the Honolulu Fire Department, Herbert recognized how the widespread health afflictions of the Native Hawaiian people impaired our ability to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities. His Ai Pono diet program aims to remedy these issues by returning to the traditional foods of our ancestors. Herbert's work demonstrates how many of the most pressing questions can be answered using ...

For locals on the rural Hawaiian island of Molokai, the "ice box" isn't just the refrigerator in their kitchens but the abundant ocean that still provides a main source of sustenance for that community; a community that has fought against development and many modern "conveniences" with great resolve to maintain their unique island lifestyle. Malama Moomomi features "Mac" Poepoe, a native Hawaiian fisherman and community leader on Molokai, who has dedicated his life to sharing his knowledge of traditional resource management with the hope of ensuring that this ocean "...

This is the story of traditional Hawaiian kakau (tattoo) artist, Keone Nunes, and the journey of cultural re-discovery inherent in kakau uhi (tattooing). The process of kakau uhi is one where the artist guides their subjects down a path of self-discovery, revealing life lessons of who they are and where they come from. Traditional kakau is an art that was nearly lost to Hawaiians, but Keone's perseverance to learn, practice and teach this craft has been a critical determiner of its survival and resurgence in the Hawaiian community today.

One hundred years after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the government oppression of the native language and two generations of very few native speakers, the Hawaiian language was near extinction by the turn of the 20th century. Despite the odds, a small group of determined parents banded together with the few remaining native speakers in the early 1980's, to bring the olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) back to the mouths and ears of keiki (children) in Hawaii. Lolena Nicholas, a native of the isolated island of Niihau, was one of these very first native speakers...

While the ancient art of non-instrument navigation has been rekindled throughout Polynesia, the knowledge of canoe building has been largely forgotten except for a select few artisans. Following in the wake of her sister canoe Hokulea, the Hawaiiloa canoe was hulled from two spruce logs gifted from the tribes of Alaska to prove the ingenuity of traditional building and voyaging techniques. But with the passing of her original builder - Wright "Wrighto" Bowman - Hawaiiloa was left to wait for another master craftsman. With a steady hand and unwavering dedication, Jerry...