Māhūi - Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation

The Māhūi is the Culture and Education Subcommittee of the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation.

Join the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation for Protocol and Ceremony on Sunday, October 1, 2023 beginning at sunrise.

Members of the Māhūi, the Foundation’s Culture and Education Committee, will lead the program at Nā Pōhaku Ola O Kapaemahu A Me Kapuni which will include oli to honor culture and ancestors, and help to set the tone as we enter Honolulu Pride Month. For more information, and to RSVP, contact Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation board member Tatiana Kalaniʻōpua Young.

The Māhūi, formed in 2021, represents a shift in the Legacy Foundation’s efforts in ensuring that the organizationʻs work is place-based, and in particular, that it reflects Kanaka stories, values, and history in its programming.

One of the group’s first projects was a continuation of the series of Rainbow Town Halls previously produced by the Foundation’s Community Outreach Team in partnership with the Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction Center. Presented online and at Waiwai Collective, the 2021 Rainbow Town Halls explored queerness and indigeneity, community building and spirituality.

These intersectional dialogues featured cultural practitioners, community leaders, indigenous movement builders, musical artists and diverse members of the community. Rainbow Town Halls continued throughout 2022 and 2023.

On October 1, 2021 the Māhūi convened the first-ever Kapaemahu Ceremony at Nā Pōhaku Ola, commonly referred to as “the healer stones”, in Waikīkī to honor and pay tribute to ancestors, culture, and Pasifika peoples, and to initiate Honolulu Pride Month.

In 2022, led by board members Sami L.A Akuna, Tati Young, Ha’aheo Zablan, and Ian Tapu, alongside cultural alaka’i Kepa Barrett, the Māhūi continued what has become an annual opening ceremony for Honolulu Pride with the Nā Pōhaku Ola Ceremony, in accordance with the 2022 theme “Rooted In Pride”. The group also led the 2022 Honolulu Pride Parade, as a way of grounding and centering the celebrations in indigenous experiences, knowledge and values.

On February 11, 2023, the Māhūi of the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation hosted the first annual Pride Pāʻina Lā ʻOhana. It was a night to celebrate LGBTQIA+ youth and provide a safe space for queer families. The Pāʻina is part of our Pride365 initiative that celebrates pride as more than a day, week or month, but a year-round endeavor. If you would like to support, volunteer, or sponsor other Pride365 events in the future, do not hesitate to reach out to any of the HLLF board members mentioned below.