Pelehonuamea (Suganuma) Harman
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Social Impact
Pelehonuamea (Suganuma) Harman is the daughter of Laʻakea and Leimomi Suganuma, the wife of Kekoa Harman and the mother of Kalāmanamana, Kaumualiʻi, Nāliʻipōʻaimoku and Hiʻiakaikawenaʻulaokalani. She is a 1997 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in the Hawaiian language, her Indigenous Teaching Certificate, as well as her Master’s degree in Hawaiian language and literature from UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla ʻo Keʻelikōlani. She has been involved in Hawaiian language revitalization efforts for over twenty years, 19 of those as a teacher at Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu Hawaiian Medium School in Keaʻau, Puna. She has studied hula all her life under many knowledgeable teachers and is a hula ʻuniki graduate of Kimo Alama Keaulana. She along with her husband are the kumu of Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo. She is also a board member of the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, No Nā ʻŌpio Non-Profit, the Nā Hoa o Puna Soccer Club, and is a recent member of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Kaʻū as well as the Waikapuna Stewardship Committee. Her aloha for her Native Hawaiian heritage, her homeland of Hawaiʻi, her kupuna (ancestors) and her community guides her in all she does.
Aloha pumehana kākou. ʻO Pelehonuamea Nāpuaʻalaonuʻuanu Gin Suganuma Harman koʻu inoa. ʻO wau ke keiki ʻelua a Laʻakea lāua ʻo Leimomi Suganuma. No Oʻahu o Kākuhihewa mai au. Noho au me kaʻu kāne ʻo Kekoa Lloyd Harman a me kā māua mau kamalei ʻo Kalāmanamana (Nāwahī, papa puka 2019), Kaumualiʻi (Nāwahī, papa puka 2023), Nāliʻipōʻaimoku (Nāwahī, papa puka 2024) a me Hiʻiakaikawenaʻulaokalani (Pūnana Leo o Hilo papa puka 2025) ma ka ʻāina i kaulana i ka Ulumano a me ka Moanianilehua. Ua puka au mai Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha ma ka makahiki 1997. Ua puka ma lalo o ka malu o Ka Haka ʻUla ʻo Keʻelikōlani ma ka pae muapuka a loaʻa maila ka BA Haʻawina Hawaiʻi, ka laikini aʻo Kahuawaiola, a me ka palapala mulipuka MA ma ka ʻōlelo a me ka moʻokalaleo Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻuniki ma lalo o Kimo Alama Keaulana ma ka makahiki 2012 a hoʻokumu maila māua ʻo kaʻu kāne i ka Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo ma hope maila. Me ke ohohia a me ka haʻahaʻa wau i aʻo ai ma Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu mai ka makahiki ʻelua kaukani ʻekolu a hiki i kēia ma nā ʻano kūlana aʻo likeʻole. E like me ka ʻōlelo kahiko: ""Na wai hoʻi ka ʻole o ke akamai, he alanui i maʻa i ka hele ʻia e oʻu mau mākua,"" hāhai au i nā mākua a me nā kūpuna o kākou ma ka ʻimi naʻauao. Noʻu ke kuleana ʻo ka hoʻoili ʻana i ia ʻike makamae ma luna o ka hanauna hou i ō mau kā kākou ʻōlelo kamahaʻo, ke kuanaʻike a me ka mauli ola Hawaiʻi. He ʻelele ʻo ia o nā hui kaiaulu like ʻole: ʻo ka Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, No Nā ʻŌpio Non-Profit, Nā Hoa o Puna Soccer Club, a me ka Waikapuna Stewardship Committee. ʻO ke aloha i ka ʻāina nei ʻo Hawaiʻi, ka ʻōlelo, ka ʻike o nā kūpuna a me ka ʻohana nā mea e alakaʻi mau mai ana."