More than 100 people gathered at Kaʻiwakīloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center on the Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha Kapālama campus to celebrate a relationship that stretches across oceans and generations.

Leaders from Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples signed the Declaration of Austronesian Kinship & Pacific Unity, affirming a shared commitment to strengthen Indigenous education, cultural exchange and collaboration across Moananuiākea.

“This declaration is an expression of ea,” said Randie Fong KSK’76, executive culture officer of Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha. “It’s about Indigenous peoples reconnecting across Moananuiākea and celebrating the relationships that tie us together through language, voyaging and shared ancestry. Tahiti is part of our motherland story, and Taiwan is part of an even older chapter. Today’s signing honors those connections and opens new opportunities for our peoples to learn from one another.”

The declaration was presented in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Paiwan, English and Mandarin, honoring the shared history that connects Indigenous peoples across the Pacific. ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and other Polynesian languages are the youngest branches of the ancient Austronesian language family, which traces its origins to Indigenous communities in present-day Taiwan.

“We came here with humble hearts to learn the way [Kamehameha Schools] is promoting Indigenous language and culture … to help our children and our next generation to grow,” Honorable Ljaucu‧Zingrur, Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan (R.O.C.) said. “At the moment, we are establishing the first Indigenous schools in Taiwan. We are hoping [that with] your experience we can go back to Taiwan and help our communities and our people to preserve our culture and language more. I am very confident with this collaboration that we established with Kamehameha Schools, and I believe that [through] this partnership we can contribute to all of the Pacific countries.”

For Kamehameha Schoos Kapālama Poʻo Kula Punihei Lipe KSK’01, the gathering underscored how a Kamehameha education extends far beyond the classroom.

“We talk a lot about wanting our students to be rooted, resilient and responsive to our communities. One of the most important things is pilina, relationships and interdependence,” Lipe said. “For everyone here, but especially our haumāna, to be able to see how interdependent we are across the world, the Pacific and across different Indigenous communities is really important.”

Kapālama haumāna from Hawaiian Ensemble and Concert Glee Club carried important kuleana in the ceremony, welcoming guests through oli, mele and hula. Among them was senior Timoteo Esene, who also helped prepare and present ʻawa as part of the ceremony’s formal protocol.

“The ʻawa ceremony is our equivalent to signing a document in the modern time, and it’s just as legitimate and important,” Esene said. “It’s through these ways that we can show our ea and our resilience as people of one shared ancestry across the Pacific. Ceremony to me is the most direct connection we have to our kūpuna.”

As Taiwan works to establish more Indigenous schools and Hōkūleʻa charts a course toward Taiwan in 2028, the declaration reflects a growing commitment to carry forward the relationships, knowledge and traditions that connect Indigenous peoples across Moananuiākea.

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