Native America Calling: Reclaiming and growing Hawaiian kapa traditions

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Native America Calling

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Native America Calling: Reclaiming and growing Hawaiian kapa traditions

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

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Reclaiming and growing Hawaiian kapa traditions

Note: This is an encore show so Native America Calling won’t be taking listener phone calls.

After a period of colonial suppression, traditional kapa making is enjoying a sustained resurgence.

In recent decades, a growing number of Native Hawaiian artists have mastered the labor-intensive process of harvesting, scraping, and soaking the bark of the wauke plant and embellishing the resulting fabric with colorful traditional designs.

A new generation of artists is benefiting from this reclaimed expertise.

Materials used by kapa practitioner Dalani Tanahy of Kapa Hawaii during a workshop at the University of Hawaii–West O‘ahu. Photo: University of Hawaii–West O‘ahu

Guests on Native America Calling

Dalani Tanahy (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Lehuauakea (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Micah Kamohoali’i (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian artist, fashion designer, and educator

Roen Hufford (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Bonus Content!

Here’s an extended interview with 2023 National Heritage Fellow Roen Hufford (Native Hawaiian). She spoke with producer Sol Traverso about her favorite part of the kapa making process and being taught by her mother Marie Leilehua McDonald.