UH Hilo names first PhD recipient of Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship

UH Hilo is proud to announce that Nick “Kealiʻi” Lum has been awarded the Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship, becoming the first doctoral student to receive this prestigious support. 

Lum, a PhD candidate in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization at UH Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, is focusing his dissertation – “Pewa: I Ola ke Mele Hawaiʻi i kona Mele ʻia” (“Pewa: The Life of Hawaiian Music in Its Song”) – on braiding traditional Hawaiian mele to modern soundscapes, creating bridges between younger audiences and the Hawaiian language through experimental musical expression.

“In my dissertation, I define mele as being ‘logogenic,’ which means that words in a genre of music are more important than the musical treatment,” Lum explained. “And I believe that represents mele Hawai‘i; it’s always the language within the text that is more important.”

With the fellowship, Lum will also have the opportunity to build on his 2023 debut album “Pewa,” using experimental approaches to mele Hawaiʻi that promote both cultural resilience and linguistic vitality.

Established by the daughters of Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne, the fellowship honors their parents’ lifelong advocacy of Hawaiian language and culture education.

Our parents did not have formal educational opportunities beyond the ninth grade in Puna," said Dr. Teresa Makuakāne-Drechsel. “Therefore, seeing this fellowship support Keali‘i’s doctoral journey is a powerful reminder that their legacy continues to uplift future generations of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi leaders."

UH Hilo’s College of Hawaiian Language is uniquely positioned as the only institution worldwide offering a PhD in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization. In 2023, it was also designated as the first National Native American Language Resource Center, further expanding its role in advancing language revitalization across the United States.

“The Makuakāne family has been longstanding supporters of our college, ever since their mother (Lydia) played a big role in the movement that started the Hawaiian language revitalization,” said Leslie Kaʻiu Kimura, director of Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani. “It’s such an honor that the family continues to work with us to forward our purpose.”

The Makuakāne Fellowship ensures that students, like Lum, have the resources to complete their research, while also carrying forward the cultural knowledge and values that make the College of Hawaiian Language a global leader in Indigenous language revitalization.

“Keeping Hawaiian language alive for future generations has always been important to our family," said Makuakāne-Drechsel. “This endowment is our way of honoring our parents’ values while giving others the opportunity to carry on this important work.”

For more information about the Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship or to support Hawaiian language initiatives at UH Hilo, contact the UH Foundation.