HoʻŌla Nā Hawaiʻi : What does it mean
Our name was created to represent our purpose. Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi: Organization for Native Hawaiians at ASU. Hoʻōla means to give life, to survive. Hawaiʻi represents ka lāhui Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian people. Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi then becomes a name for an organization meant to give life and uplift the Hawaiian people at Arizona State.
Our Purpose : Mission Statement
Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi provides opportunities and connections to develop Native Hawaiian leaders at Arizona State University to initiate advancement in their communities that influence global change.
Our history : How we started
Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi initially began in January of 2020 when officers Kuaihelani and Meleana hired to work under Dr. Bryan Brayboy at the Center for Indian Education. We were given the task to seek out Native Hawaiian students at ASU and ensure that all current and future Hawaiians at ASU feel comfortable while away from home and are successful in their journeys. We began by working on a “Guide to the Valley” brochure to be updated as we got to know ASU and Tempe a little better over the years. This guide can be found here. Over the years we have made great connections with incoming students and decided that to achieve our goals of promoting the comfort and success of Native Hawaiians in Arizona, we needed to create a community of Hawaiians where experiences, successes, ideas, and struggles can be shared with people who relate. We decided that this could be addressed by creating a student organization on campus. This led to the founding of Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi: Organization for Native Hawaiians at Arizona State University.
Our future : where we are going
The original founders of this organization will be graduating from ASU within the next year. For this reason, we look to pass the torch to strong and driven Hawaiian Sun Devils who have the same passion to ensure that the growing population of Native Hawaiians at ASU survives and thrives. Our logo states “no ka lāhui Hawaiʻi” which is essentially the history, the purpose, and future of Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi, we exist for the Hawaiian people. What we'd like to see come from this organization is a strong Hawaiian presence on campus, encouraging the education of Hawaiian students at ASU. Weʻd like to see our community grow. We'd like to see the creation of more courses on and for Hawaiʻi. We’d like to see more Hawaiian professors, more Hawaiian student workers, more Hawaiian leaders at ASU.
Our logo
When creating the logo for Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi, we had to think of our name and our purpose and create a graphic that would be a physical manifestation of who we are and what we do. In the drafting process, we decided to look for some type of symbol that would connect both Hawaiʻi and ASU to represent the connection between our Hawaiian identity and our place at ASU, to strengthen the relationship between our duty as Hawaiians and our duty as students. Bright yellow, red, and orange ʻohai aliʻi can be found growing all around the Tempe campus. ʻOhai aliʻi, though not native to the islands, can be found throughout Hawaiʻi as well. This type of flower is strung to make lei resembling the bright orange, red, and yellow feather capes our aliʻi once wore. Flowers can also represent a time of growth and nurturing. The story that stems from this symbol is then that we Hawaiian students are important to both Hawaiʻi and Arizona. We are here to grow and become leaders in Hawaiʻi. The hands holding the ʻohai aliʻi are meant to represent our organization and our hui at ASU. We are here to hold each other up, here to assist each other in our growth. The slogan “no ka lāhui Hawaiʻi” is placed around the symbol with the name “Hoʻōla Nā Hawaiʻi” to reinstill our mission as an organization for the people of Hawaiʻi.
Contact Us to Learn More
Learn about how to get connected with us on our "Contact Us" page. You can fill out an inquiry form, go to our Sun Devil Sync page, see our on-campus location, and find us on all our social media platforms!