Mapuana C. K. Antonio

Office of Public Health Studies

Mapuana Antonio, Kanaka ‘Ōiwi Professor of Public Health Sciences at UH Mānoa, expresses her commitment to “helping … students become responsible and contributing members of society by embracing their own kuleana to their beloved communities.” As the head of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health (NHIH) and Public Health program in her department, Prof. Antonio is dedicated to implementing the six major dimensions of Native Hawaiian wellbeing in her classes; Ea (self-determination), ‘Āina Momona (healthy lands and people), Pilina (mutually sustaining relationships), ‘Ōiwi (cultural identity and native intelligence), Waiwai (shared and collective wealth; ancestral abundance), and Ke Akua Mana (spirituality and the sacredness of mana) guide her teaching philosophy and practice. In addition to teaching the six foundational concepts, Prof. Antonio blends them into course activities and assignments which are collective student efforts that emphasize cultural knowledge and community. Evident in a student comment that characterizes Professor Antonio as “an amazing resource and an extremely organized professor,” Antonio is a distinguished kumu that creates “an inclusive classroom environment that allow[s] for students to thrive.”