sustainability Review I Ke Ewe¯ ‘Aina¯ o Ke Kupuna: Hawaiian Ancestral Crops in Perspective Aurora Kagawa-Viviani 1 , Penny Levin 2,* , Edward Johnston 3,4, Jeri Ooka 4, Jonathan Baker 4,5, Michael Kantar 6 and Noa Kekuewa Lincoln 6,* 1 Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa,¯ Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;
[email protected] 2 E kupaku¯ ka ‘aina,¯ Wailuku, HI 96793, USA 3 ‘Alia Point ‘Awa Nursery, Pepe‘ekeo, HI 96783, USA;
[email protected] 4 Association for Hawaiian ‘Awa, Pepe‘ekeo, HI 96783, USA;
[email protected] (J.O.);
[email protected] (J.B.) 5 Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 6 Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa,¯ Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] (P.L.);
[email protected] (N.K.L.) Received: 19 August 2018; Accepted: 28 November 2018; Published: 5 December 2018 Abstract: Indigenous crops, tremendously valuable both for food security and cultural survival, are experiencing a resurgence in Hawai‘i. These crops have been historically valued by agricultural researchers as genetic resources for breeding, while cultural knowledge, names, stories and practices persisted outside of formal educational and governmental institutions. In recent years, and following conflicts ignited over university research on and patenting of kalo (Haloa,¯ Colocasia esculenta), a wave of restoration activities around indigenous crop diversity, cultivation, and use has occurred through largely grassroots efforts. We situate four crops in Hawaiian cosmologies, review and compare the loss and recovery of names and cultivars, and describe present efforts to restore traditional crop biodiversity focusing on kalo, ‘uala (Ipomoea batatas), ko¯ (Saccharum officinarum), and ‘awa (Piper methysticum).