Kanoeʻulalani Morishige, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Kanoeʻulalani Morishige, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Embedded Files
Assistant Professor
ʻO wau iho nō ʻo Kanoeʻulalani Morishige a no Oʻahu mai au. He Hawaiʻi au, he makuahine au, a he mea kālaimeaolakai nō hoʻi au. I am a Kānaka ʻŌiwi scientist deeply committed to supporting ʻĀina Momona, healthy and thriving communities of people and place.
Palena ʻole ka mahalo i koʻu ʻohana, nā kūpuna, nāʻ āina, nā kumu, a me nā kaiāulu makamaka ola that I have the privilege of serving and learning from. Mahalo to the ʻŌiwi leaders and communities who created the foundation for us to build on and fought many battles to make what we do today possible.
My Background
My Background
My academic path has led me to earn Bachelor's degrees in Hawaiian Studies and Marine Science at the University of Hawaiʻi in Hilo in 2012 and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from here at UH Mānoa. As a co-founding member of Na Maka Onaona and a researcher trained in both Western and Indigenous methodologies, I apply biocultural research through tools assessing reproductive biology and seasonal variation in community diversity and population ecology of key intertidal grazers, ʻopihi and hāʻukeʻuke, limu (algae/seaweed), and local biophysical drivers of changes. Over the past 16 years, this long-term biocultural monitoring has evolved through ʻŌiwi inquiry of kilo through Huli ʻia and exploring various tools of western science to understand the seasonal productivity of coastal ecosystems working alongside ʻŌiwi communities.
Before joining Kamakakūokalani as faculty, I helped manage the Native Hawaiian Program at NOAA’s Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary and UNESCO Mixed Natural and Cultural World Heritage Site, supporting the weaving of ʻŌiwi knowledge, values, practices, and communities in research, governance, and policy through Mai Ka Pō Mai.
Mahalo to these organizations and programs that have been part of my journey:
Keaholoa STEM Program at UH Hilo
PIPES Program at UH Hilo
The Nature Conservancy Marine Fellowship Program
My work is part of a collective movement led by ʻŌiwi communities to reimagine and transform how fisheries research, management, and policy are shaped—centering Indigenous communities, knowledge systems, values and practices in biocultural restoration of relationships between people and places. I have come to understand that the mechanism for change is not only to conduct research guided by ʻŌiwi communities, but to also critically question and challenge the dominant narrative and misconception that Western science is superior to Indigenous knowledge.
In ʻŌiwi worldview, fisheries are a part of ʻāina, and through an Āina Momona framework, we perpetuate the weaving of ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) and kilo as an ʻŌiwi scientific methodology while also using tools of institutional Western science. By listening to ʻāina as our kumu (teacher) and authority, we work to build our collective understanding of what ʻāina needs to be productive and healthy and adjust our actions to support the regeneration of these ecosystems to feed future generations through reciprocal relationships and subsistence fisheries.
My path has been a journey of learning in service to ʻāina and kaiāulu that has taught me the importance of de-centering institutional Western science and challenging the narrative that places it above Indigenous knowledge systems. I am committed to growing partnerships and engaging in meaningful dialogue to prioritize equity, ethics, and reciprocity in fisheries. This requires rethinking how we bridge research, management, and policy through an ʻĀina Momona framework and invest in growing the next generation of kiaʻi and aloha ʻāina to overcome the barriers that oppress the advancement and career pathways of Kānaka ʻŌiwi students and agency of ʻŌiwi communities in decision-making.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse