May 28, 2013
Contributed by Shaun Chillingworth
The First Nations' Futures Program (FNFP) is a fellowship that focuses on the use of Hawaiian and indigenous values in natural and cultural resource management. The program aims to develop 'ōiwi and servant leadership skills within cohorts of promising individuals for the betterment of our Hawaiian community. The vision is to develop well-balanced leaders who serve their communities in meaningful ways through public or professional roles.
"That capacity to learn and to adapt, all the while holding onto those values, that sense of identity, those core principles that we hold dear will help us survive and navigate what life brings to us," said Neil Hannahs, Kamehameha Schools Land Assets division director and one of the founders of FNFP. "We created FNFP because we wanted to be resilient and adaptive and reach back to those values that may work better for us. To look back at the heroes of our people and honor what they've shared with us and enrich what they've passed onto us."
FNFP is a partnership between Kamehameha Schools, Te R?naga o Ngāi Tahu (Aotearoa-New Zealand) and Sealaska (Alaska Native), with academic support from Stanford University and the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa. This partnership shares a common purpose: to improve the well-being of our communities through the proper stewardship of our assets, including natural and cultural resources, in perpetuity.
A one-year commitment is required, which involves 6-10 weeks of programming including a three-day orientation, a two-week leadership development institute at Stanford University, an 'ōiwi leadership 'aha (gathering) and a case study research project in Hawai'i. The fellowship concludes with a final community presentation.
"FNFP is a self-graded professional development. You're not going to take tests and there are no right answers, but it is intended to give you the space to develop those qualities of resiliency and to help our people have those qualities of resiliency," said Hannahs. "We embrace the notion to deconstruct, to try to think of things in a new way and to keauhou, to be that new era."
For program information, including eligibility requirements and scheduling, interested applicants should visit fnfp.org, e-mail fellowship@ksbe.edu or call 808-541-5346. Applications can be downloaded, through May 31st at ksbe.edu/admissions or mailed to perspective applicants by calling 1-800-842-4682 ext. 8800. Kamehameha Schools' policy on admissions is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
