Ka Hale Hoaka

Kumu Maile Naehu is a Boricua Kanaka Maoli educator, cultural arts consultant, performer, and community organizer from Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. She is the Owner and Co-founder of Ka Hale Hoaka – School of Hawaiian Knowledge, a small ʻohana-owned business centered out of her home on Molokaʻi, and the Director of the Molokai Nui a Hina Project, a multigenerational community art initiative. She has also led numerous projects in Hawaiian music, performance, and the arts. In 2023, she earned a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawaiʻi’s Grammy) for the album Hoʻokupu – A Hip Hop Anthology of Hawaiian History. As most refer to her, Kumu Maile is the Program Director for Hui o Kuapā, 501c3, which restores ancient Hawaiian fishponds and creates educational experiences for students of all ages. As a cultural practitioner, she has represented Hawaii as a delegate in the World Wilderness Congress- Spain, a presenter for WIPCE(World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education), and served as a Hawaiian cultural consultant and policy builder for ocean conservation with Taiatea-Aotearoa, a partnership with The World Wilderness Federation. Her storytelling has been shared in museums, classrooms, on stages, in news stories, and in publications. As a Hawaiian Cultural Arts educator and consultant, Kumu Maile specializes in designing innovative learning experiences rooted in traditional philosophies and practices such as moʻolelo (oral tradition), ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), hula, and oli (chant). She integrates these elements into her teaching to build communication skills, self-confidence, and cultural grounding in her students, nurturing a new generation of storytellers and leaders. Together with her husband, she performs as The Paniolo Prince and Queen Maile, blending oli with contemporary hip hop, reggae, and pop rhythms to share Hawaiian history, values, and stories with audiences of all ages.