Māhealani Taitague-Laforga speaks on the Panel on Adults at the Public Health Resonance Culturally & Regionally Relevant Physical Activity Across the Globe Webinar program.
Bio
Māhealani Taitague-Laforga, a Kānaka ʻŌiwi, is a Native Hawaiian graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health, specializing in Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Born and raised on her ʻāina (enviornment), kaiāulu (community, and processes that have contributed to her sense of mauli ola (health and well-being). This kuleana fuels her passion for research, particularly in exploring the intersections between Indigenous peoples, the environment, and health, with a specific focus on water.
Academically, Māhealani is a former scholar of the Summer Health Academy and is currently a graduate student with the Ke Aʻo Mau Program. This program aims to enhance the understanding of healing and health among faculty, students, and alumni through interdisciplinary, culturally anchored education informed by the Native Hawaiian values, practices, and principles. She also completed her practicum hours with Project Mokiha, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leaders project currently in its seventh cohort. This project promotes a culture of health by addressing structural racism and building community capacity to protect water resources while increasing access to water through public trust lands, specifically in Maui and Molokaʻiʻi. This effort involves invigorating a coalition of water protectors within communities across the pae ʻāina (Hawaiian Archipelago).
Māhealani enjoys everything related to the ʻāina. Whether surfing, working in the loʻi (taro patches), or going on long walks, she loves being outdoors. She is an ʻōlapa, a student of hula, where she has the unique opportunity to connect with wai (water) and ʻāina through the moʻolelo (stories), the ʻoli (chants), and mele (songs) of her kūpuna (ancestors).
Public Health Resonance Project 