Emalani Case
Kanaka Maoli
Emalani Case is a lecturer in Pacific Studies at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington. As a Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) activist, teacher, and writer, she is deeply engaged in issues of Indigenous rights and representation, settler colonialism and decolonisation, and environmental and social justice. Her work is motivated by a desire to strengthen trans-Indigenous solidarities across the Pacific and to work toward building better futures.
She is the author of Everything Ancient Was Once New: Indigenous Persistence from Hawaiʻi to Kahiki. She comes to Aotearoa from Waimea, Hawaiʻi.
Nurturing wairua: Anchoring activism in place
In this fireside chat, Lewis Williams and Emalani Case will talk about Indigenous activism in place. Using their own lives and experiences in various locations—both having lived away from their Indigenous homelands—they will reflect on positionality and about what it means to protect their worlds while at home and while away from home. Drawing on practice-focused work and research that is intimately tied to community and focused on Indigenous resilience and persistence, they will come together to discuss how maintaining connection and nurturing wairua is the anchor for protective and political action for the planet.
