welina mai!

This is the creative headquarters of Pōhaikealoha who you may also know as Pōhai or Kea. I am a Kanaka Maoli creative that strives to bring native stories to life through collaboration and passion for not only our cultures and history, but for their longevity and projection far into the future.

I work with various forms of creative and interactive media to support the teachings and perpetuation of indigenous cultures.

Kaʻapeha - to spread as in the tail feathers of a bird, to expand wings for taking flight

Nā Mea ʻIke ʻIa

Credits & Experience

Professional Work

CREATIVE DEVELOPER - Purple Maiʻa Foundation, Mālama Design Studio (Present)
PROGRAMMING SELECTION COMMITTEE - imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival (2022)
INSTRUCTOR - Storyboarding & Video Production Summer Course, Kamaile Academy (2010)

Project Credits

STORY MENTOR, Untitled Waʻa Restoration Documentary (2023)
NARRATIVE DESIGNER, PROGRAMMER - Seasons of Life, An Interactive Poetry Experience (2022)
WRITER, PRODUCER, PROGRAMMER - AlterNative Visual Novel (2o21 - Present)
OVERARCHING NARRATIVE DESIGNER - Wao Kanaka (2018)

Media Involvement

Panelist - Collaborative Game Making, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival 2022
Netflix Animation Foundations Screenwriting Mentee 2022
Best in Show Team Winner, LandJam+ - Indigenous Game Jam 2022
Maoriland Film & Media Festival, Official Selection, Artist 2022
Community Award Winner, LandJam+ - Indigenous Game Jam 2021
CreativeLab Hawaiʻi: Indigenous Storytellers Screenwriting & Story Development Mentee 2021
imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival Official Selection, Artist 2019
Skins 6 Workshop presented by AbTec + Concordia University 2018

Hana Noʻeau

Creative Works

Cultural Education Initiatives

E Pili Ana Iaʻu

About Me

I'm just a simple storyteller making their way through the galaxy.

Indigenous.

Hailing from ke ana o Hina and ka papa moku o Hina, my ohana is rooted in the land that I was born to. With the ancient kalo patches just up the valley and family burials a mere stone's throw from my uncle's hale, my heart is settled deep in the soil of this ʻāina.

I am Maoli. I am indigenous. And that doesn't merely mean I stem from the first inhabitants of this land; it means that I have a familial relationship with it. It sustains me as it had sustained my people for generations. And I will go back to it just as my people had for generations. And when it sustains new life, it will be because I gave life unto it, just as I am thriving because of those who gave unto the land before me.

Creative.

As an artist, a dreamer, a thinker--creating is both my biggest passion and my greatest power in life. It's what fuels my love of narrative design, art, and music.

But I am also fueled by the love of my culture and the plight of my people and all indigenous peoples. These concepts are expressed through the narratives that I write, the art I create, and the initiatives that I take on. My culture ties into everything that I do.

I hope that these works are not only emotionally moving, but are uplifting and encouraging of fellow indigenous people to follow their creative passions. I firmly believe that creativity is the magic that can turn fantasy into reality and as ancient storytellers, we were all gifted with that mana.