Wayfinding, observing nature, and respecting the ocean have been present and important to me since childhood. So when Rónadh and Brad asked me to be part of the National Science Foundation-funded “A few waves do most of the work” project, I felt very connected to their ideas of integrating knowledge and research about the ocean into classrooms.

Prof. Cox’s research inspires metaphor: a few waves can make a difference, and have made our work as Kanaka Maoli artists relevant to today’s dynamic landscape where science and indigenous knowledge celebrate the power of nature.

The work is sung completely in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi. A language that is changing, that is evolving, that is new, is alive. Similarly, compositional practices that engage new sounds through an indigenous lens embrace native language and ways of knowing as an active, living parts of the creative process.

*Mahalo nui loa to Kumu Patrick Makuakane for his expertise on the game nāʻū (which I have taken great liberty with in this work).