Kumu Māhealani Uchiyama’s presentation, “Pōpoloheno Songs of Resilience and Joy,” highlights the historical bonds between Hawaiian and African cultures, recognizing shared values, struggles, and resilience.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A groundbreaking musical project headed by Kumu Māhealani Uchiyama honoring African-descended people in Hawaiian history will be presented at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo as part of the campus’s Black History Month events.
Uchiyama is an award-winning dancer, musician, composer, choreographer, recording artist, author, and teacher based in California. Trained in traditional hula and Tahitian ʻori under the late Kumu Hula Joseph Kamōhaʻi Kahāʻulelio, she received her bachelor of arts in dance ethnology and master of arts in Pacific islands studies from UH Mānoa.
Uchiyama’s project, “Pōpoloheno Songs of Resilience and Joy,” highlights the historical bonds between Hawaiian and African cultures, recognizing shared values, struggles, and resilience. The project seeks to challenge misrepresentations, deepen cultural understanding, and create a lasting musical tribute to Black history in Hawaiʻi.
Yolisa Duley, UH Hilo assistant professor of kinesiology and exercise sciences who also serves as advisor for the Indigenous public health certificate program, is co-organizer of the event.
“Pōpoloheno is a wonderful opportunity to learn about some of the contributions of Black, African Americans in Hawaiʻi’s history that many do not know about and to show the relational connections between Hawaiians and African Americans and some of their shared struggles and history,” says Duley.
Assistant Professor Duley is also a member of UH Hilo’s Waiolama, a co-sponsor of the event, led by a committee that advises the chancellor on ways to create a campus environment that cultivates a diverse, multicultural university rooted in the Indigenous culture and history of Hawaiʻi.
“Presentations such as Pōpoloheno will help foster deeper connections between diverse groups and individuals, help to reduce stereotypes and eliminate cultural barriers through community engagement and collaborative learning thus creating a more inclusive and cohesive campus community,” she says.
Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience and Joy
The “Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience and Joy” presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, 5:00 p.m. at University Classroom Building, room 127. A potluck will follow the presentation.
The event is sponsored by the UH Hilo Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences in collaboration with the Waiolama Center.
The importance of Black History Month
Additional Black History Month events held this month at UH Hilo include a film series with the theme “Black Trailblazers in Sport.”
“Black History Month is important because it provides an opportunity to illuminate some of the many contributions of Black/African Americans in the U.S. and diaspora that have mostly been erased from the narrative of United States and American History and our contemporary times,” Duley explains in an email. “It fosters a sense of pride and deeper connection to Black/African American identity.”
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
