The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is a world-class research and academic institution focused on informing solutions to some of the world’s most vexing problems. Through an integrated, comprehensive, and sustained system of Earth and planetary observations, research, and education, SOEST staff work to transform the way people live on Earth by enabling a healthy public, economy, and planet.

Land Acknowledgement

Adapted from the Native Hawaiian Place of Learning (NHPoL) Advancement Office Land Acknowledgement resources

SOEST begins by acknowledging that the ‘āina on which we gather, Mānoa, is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawaiians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku.

SOEST recognizes that her majesty Queen Lili‘uokalani yielded the Hawaiian Kingdom and these territories under duress and protest to the United States to avoid the bloodshed of her people. SOEST further recognizes that Hawai‘i remains an illegally occupied state of America.

SOEST recognizes that each moment we are in Hawai‘i she nourishes and gifts us with the opportunity to breathe her air, eat from her soils, drink from her waters, bathe in her sun, swim in her oceans, be kissed by her rains, and be embraced by her winds. SOEST further recognizes that generations of Indigenous Hawaiians and their knowledge systems shaped Hawai‘i in sustainable ways that allow us to enjoy these gifts today. For this our SOEST community is grateful, and as guests, settlers, immigrants, and kanaka, we seek to support the varied strategies that the Indigenous peoples of Hawai‘i are using to protect their land and their communities, and commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity.