How Kula Nai’a Foundation Got Its Name

 

We were given our foundation name (Kula Nai’a)  by Hannah Kailua Richardson, the wife of Rev. John Richardson in July 1988

 

If you would like to know the full story….read on…

 

Our story starts on the island of  Lana‘i in 1988 when a small team of dolphin researchers landed on an island in the midst of a massive transition.   The two huge resorts that would come to dominate the island were just under construction.  The community and the local economy were going through a massive upheaval.  We had no idea, we only knew from previous studies that these were bays that attracted the species of dolphin we needed to study.  The local population of spinner dolphins often came into these bays to rest during the day and these bays would provide an ideal location to study their behavior from land.

 

When we arrived on island,  the corporation in charge of the development that would become the Four Seasons Hotel at Manele Bay were not enthusiastic about our presence but they gave us permission to sit and observe the bay from a shore location that would become a hole on the golf course.  We called our field site ‘Hole 8’.

 

In talking with folks in the local community we were told that another of our observation locations adjacent to a smaller bay close by was actually overlooking an important Hawaiian site.   This was a pillar of rock named Puʻu Pehe, or sweetheart rock. However, we were told that this rock, named after a Hawaiian princess who was buried in a tomb on top of that rock, was sacred and that we should ask permission from the local Native Hawaiian community to operate our equipment near that site.  When we asked who might be able to give us permission we were directed to the Rev.  John Richardson, the minister at Ka Lanakila 0 Ka Malamalama Ho'omana 0 Ioredane Hou Church in Lana'i City .

 

We contacted Rev. Richardson and his wife and they were kind and welcoming. He and his wife Hannah invited us to their home for tea, to discuss our situation. Rev. Richardson suggested that it would make more sense to not only offer prayers to request permission for our working location but to also bless our project overall.  After the blessing and ceremony we had a meal at the location picnic spot adjacent to the bay.  In talking about our project to study the local population of Hawaiian spinner dolphins the topic of a name for our project came up.    Mrs. Richardson suggested the name Kula Nai’a because Nai’a is the Native Hawaiian word for dolphin and  Kula means to study and to learn about, as well as school.  

 

And so, the Kula Nai’a Foundation was started at a picnic bench next to Manele Bay on Lana‘i in July 1988.   If you would like to read a fascinating interview that was conducted with Mrs. Hannah Kauila Richardson you can find it in the archives of Center for Oral History at UH Manoa

 

After four months of working with teams of volunteers to gather data from dawn to dusk every day, we left Lana‘i and it was decided by our advisors that the project should move to the Big Island as working on Lana‘i was too politically fraught to make a long-term study feasible. 

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Our Non-Profit Status

The Kula Naiʻa Wild Dolphin Research Foundation (Kula Naiʻa Foundation for short) was founded in 1990 as a charitable, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to marine research, education, and conservation. Our initial focus was on field research of Hawaiian spinner dolphins.

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From its inception, our mission for the foundation included both public education and marine conservation. During the first decade of its existence, the majority of our efforts focused on the study of marine mammals and marine bioacoustics in Hawai‘i. By combining a deep understanding of the behavior and ecology of marine species (based on our research) with many years of experience working in education and local, community-based marine resource management, the Kula Nai'a Foundation is uniquely suited to provide information, resources and workshops on marine conservation. We strive to foster a better understanding of the impacts of human activities on the marine environment and its inhabitants.