July 15, 2020

Born and raised in Papakōlea, Beau Shishido is our ʻĀina Warrior of the week.  Beau is one of ten advocates who were recently hired to serve the Kalihi community and support our organization’s growth.  As a keiki, he remembers living next door to Aunty Helen who grew mountain apple, ʻulu, and kalo.  “Yah you know there is always one house in the neighborhood that get nice yard.  That was Aunty Helen’s.”  Beau was on the pre-med track in college when he decided to shift focus within the first week of school to Hawaiian Studies.  The professors at Hawaiian Studies were supportive and into community building, which he was drawn to.  While spending time with Aunty Helen, Beau developed a passion for growing food and studying Hawaiʻi’s food systems in college – learning about big ag production, organic farming, Korean Natural Farming, and ethnobotany.  In a few months, his yard in Papakōlea became the second “nice yard” in the neighborhood.  From Beau’s passion of farming grew his desire to reclaim ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.  Just for fun, he would scan Hawaiian language newspapers, collecting stories on heroes, ʻāina, and ʻike kūpuna, which eventually developed into a master’s thesis around mea kupua (supernatural objects).  “As Hawaiians, we gotta be proud of our ʻōlelo.  We gotta reclaim it.  Keep it.  And not only keep it.  Restore it.”