Our Campus & Cultural Spaces

Honolulu Community College

sits on the ʻili ʻāina of

NIUHELEWAI

in the ahupuaʻa of KAPĀLAMA

in the moku of KONA

on the mokupuni of OʻAHU

Hulili Ke Kukui, the Native Hawaiian Center at Honolulu Community College, was established in 2001 through a Title III grant and opened its doors in 2002. Its name, gifted by Kumu Kimo Alama Keaulana, means “a blazing torch (of knowledge),” and speaks to our commitment to illuminate, preserve, and share ʻike Hawaiʻi.

The Center is part of the college’s Kūlana Hawaiʻi Division, which uniquely integrates Nā Papa Hawaiʻi (academic instruction) and Hulili Ke Kukui (student support) to create a true Hawaiian Place of Learning at the piko of campus.

Mission

To actively preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture and values through comprehensive support services, co-curricular programming, and place-based education that empower Native Hawaiian students to thrive.

Hale Kawelohea

Nestled at the piko of our campus beside Hulili Ke Kukui, Hale Kawelohea stands as a hale hālawai — a community gathering space built through the collective efforts of students, faculty, staff, and community members between 2018 and 2020 under the Hoʻalā Hou Title III Grant. Named in honor of Kumu Edith Kawelohea McKinzie, Honolulu CC’s first Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies professor, who began teaching in the late 1970s, the hale represents a physical and spiritual piko where knowledge, culture, and pilina converge.

Constructed using traditional methods and cultural protocols, Hale Kawelohea serves as a space for protocol, workshops, educational gatherings, and community events. It symbolizes a return to traditional forms of learning and leadership rooted in ʻāina, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and ʻike kūpuna — values Kumu McKinzie upheld throughout her life and teaching. Her legacy lives on in this space where past, present, and future generations connect through shared ʻike.

Edith Kawelohea McKinzie

A beloved educator, genealogist, and cultural steward whose life's work helped preserve and elevate Native Hawaiian knowledge. As a lecturer, researcher, and kumu hula, she shaped generations through her teachings in Hawaiian language, chant, and genealogy.

Watch Our Hale Being Built

Haʻaheo Niuhelewai Mural

Located in the heart of Building 5’s courtyard, the "Haʻaheo Niuhelewai" mural brings the vibrant history of our ʻāina to life. Spearheaded by Native Hawaiian Counselor Kahale Saito and completed in 2019 with the collaboration of Kōkua Kalihi Valley’s KVIBE program and artist James Davis of 808 Urban, this mural honors the stories and spirit of Niuhelewai.

The mural depicts the flowing waters of Niuhelewai stream, the numerous loko iʻa (fishponds) that once nourished this area, the abundant coconut groves, and the ancestral presence of moʻolelo figures such as Lepeamoa, Kaulu, and Haumea, rooted within a grand ʻulu tree. It also pays homage to the more than forty-five loʻi that once sustained the Hawaiian people for many generations at this site.

During its creation, over 150 campus and community members added their handprints to the mural, symbolizing their pilina to Niuhelewai and commitment to restoring a sense of place and pride in our learning environment.

"Haʻaheo Niuhelewai" reminds all who pass through the courtyard that we walk upon storied land — land of resilience, abundance, and deep ancestral mana.

Ka Māla o Niuhelewai

Under the leadership of Dr. Alapaki Luke, Ka Māla o Niuhelewai serves as a living cultural and educational space at the heart of the Honolulu Community College campus. Inspired by the ancient loko iʻa (fishponds) and loʻi (taro fields) that once thrived in Niuhelewai, this māla (garden) reestablishes vital connections between land, culture, and community.

Not just a garden, Ka Māla o Niuhelewai is an outdoor classroom, a place of gathering, and a center for ʻike lawelawe where students, faculty, and community members engage in hands-on cultural practice. Dr. Luke's leadership emphasizes mālama ʻāina, sustainability, and indigenous knowledge systems as integral parts of student learning and wellness.

Through seasonal plantings, loʻi kalo cultivation, and traditional agricultural practices, Ka Māla o Niuhelewai embodies the mission of the University to actively preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture and values. It invites all to re-root themselves in the ʻike of Niuhelewai and honor the ʻāina that sustains us.

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