Celebrating Hawaiian Culture

Join the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian to welcome Kānepō Ka Lua, the museum’s new Western cardinal marker, to Washington, DC with a hoʻolauleʻa (Hawaiian celebration). Bring the whole family to celebrate Kānepō Ka Lua with curator tours, music by The Aloha Boys, hula performances by Halau Hoʻomau I ka Wai Ola O Hawaiʻi, kapa workshops with Page Chang, and other hands-on activities. Check out the full schedule of activities. Kānepō Ka Lua, a volcanic stone from the famed area of Kaʻauea that overlooks the caldera of Halemaʻumaʻu, hails from the district of Kaʻū on the island of Hawaiʻi. Kānepō was loaned to the museum for a 20-year period by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park in consultation with their Kūpuna (Elders) Consultation Group. The group of elders recognized the importance of sending a new stone to serve as the museum’s Western cardinal marker and as an ambassador for Kānaka Maoli in DC.