Pūkoʻa Fellows Program

Pasifika Students Leading With Ancestry, Advocacy & Purpose

APPLICATIONS OPEN: Apply to be an inaugural Pūkoʻa Fellow by January 4, 2026!

APPLY TODAY

What Is the Pūkoʻa Fellows Program?

The Pūkoʻa Fellows Program is a 12-week leadership and advocacy fellowship for Pasifika students living in the diaspora (outside of their ancestral homelands). A collaboration between the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) and Hawaiian Diaspora, the cohort supports young Pasifika students in deepening their connection to Oceania while strengthening their ability to build impact on their college campuses and beyond.

Through weekly sessions, readings, reflection, mentorship from Pasifika peers, and a required student-led event, fellows explore diasporic identity, community responsibility, on-campus organizing, and the evolving political landscape affecting Pasifika students today.

The Purpose of Pūkoʻa Fellows

As a Pacific Islander student living away from your ancestral lands, you might know what it feels like to live between an academic and cultural space. 

Maybe you’re one of only a few Pasifika students on your campus. Maybe people mispronounce your name, flatten your story, or treat your ancestral lands like vacation spots instead of homelands. Maybe you’re trying to juggle classes, family expectations, and the quiet ache of being away from your community. You want to do something for your people where you are now, but you’re not always sure where to start, or how to move in institutions that weren’t built for you.

Pūkoʻa Fellows was created for you.

This fellowship brings together Pasifika students in the diaspora who want to stay rooted in Oceania while organizing where they stand. Over 12 weeks, you’ll:

  • Ground yourself in genealogy, stories, and community.
  • Build the confidence to navigate and challenge colleges, policies, and systems that impact Pasifika students.
  • Learn how to design and host an on-campus event that centers on Pasifika culture, history, or politics.
  • Practice advocacy, strategy, and coalition-building with other Indigenous and marginalized communities.
  • Dream and plan toward sovereign futures—not just for yourself, but for the generations coming after you.

Together, this first cohort will also create a strategic plan for Pasifika student organizing in this new DEI and higher-ed landscape, so that you’re not only surviving your college experience, but reshaping it for the next Pasifika students who arrive.

What “Pūkoʻa” Means

The name Pūkoʻa comes from the Hawaiian saying—ʻōlelo noʻeau—he pūkoʻa kani ʻāina, which translates to “a coral reef that grows into an island.” In Hawaiian knowledge systems, a pūkoʻa is a coral head: a small, living structure that, over long periods of time, builds upon itself until it becomes the foundation of new land.

For generations, Native Hawaiian navigators observed how these coral formations slowly accumulate, strengthen, and rise above the surface—transforming from a single reef into an island capable of sustaining life and community.

Pūkoʻa Fellows carries this name because it reflects the experience of Pasifika students living in the diaspora. Many of us begin as small, scattered points of culture and connection on our campuses—our own kīpuka, or pockets of renewal and refuge.

With support, community, and shared purpose, those small spaces can grow—just like a coral reef—into something larger: places of belonging, identity, and self-determination that keep us connected to our homelands.

Who Can Apply

The fellowship is open to:

  • Pasifika-identifying youth (e.g., Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Chamorro, Fijian, Marshallese, Tokelauan, etc.)
  • College-age students (18–26)
  • Students living in the Pasifika diaspora (outside their ancestral homelands)
  • Individuals who can commit to 12 virtual weekly sessions
  • Students who are:
    • Passionate about identity, community, and culture
    • Interested in organizing or advocacy
    • Looking to build supportive Pasifika spaces on campus
    • Willing to learn, reflect, and contribute to group discussion

How to Apply

The application is meant to learn who you are, where you come from, and how this fellowship can support your journey. There are no “right” answers, no perfect resumes, and no expectation that you already know how to organize or lead.

We simply want to understand your story, your hopes, and the ways you’re already carrying heritage into your academic journey.

Apply Here

What Fellows Can Expect

  1. Weekly Sessions (12 weeks)
    • Sessions include readings, group activities, facilitated discussion, guest speakers, and peer collaboration.
    • Each session lasts approximately one hour, typically structured as a 20-minute presentation, 20-minute discussion, a short break, and a 15-minute activity.
    • Sessions explore:
      • Diasporic identity, genealogy, & movement
      • Home, belonging, and “off-island” dynamics
      • Native–settler responsibilities
      • The Pasifika student experience in higher education
      • Institutional histories & reconciliation
      • Organizing, advocacy, & event planning
      • Coalition-building
      • Federal DEI regulations impacting Pasifika students
      • Radical care and community building
  2. Final Event Project
    • Each fellow will:
      • Design, plan, and implement one campus event about Pasifika culture, history, or politics
      • Present their project and learning in the final week
  3. End-of-Program Strategic Plan
    • The inaugural cohort will contribute to a collective strategic plan to help Pasifika students navigate shifting federal regulations, campus politics, and access to resources.
  4. Community & Support
    • Fellows also receive:
      • National network of Pasifika organizers and scholars
      • Mentorship throughout the program
      • Access to organizers from CNAY, the Aspen Institute, and Hawaiian Diaspora
      • A supportive cohort of peers navigating similar experiences

Timeline

Applications will be accepted between Sunday, December 8, 2025 – Friday, January 4, 2026.

Applicants can expect to hear back the week of January 19, 2026. 

The cohort begins the week of February 2nd, 2026 through May 4, 2026:

  • 2/2/2026 (Week 1)
  • 2/9/2026 (Week 2)
  • 2/16/2026 (Week 3)
  • 2/23/2026 (Week 4)
  • 3/2/2026 (Week 5)
  • 3/9/2026 (Week 6)
  • 3/16/2026 (Week 7)
  • 4/6/2026 (Week 8)
  • 4/13/2026 (Week 9)
  • 4/20/2026 (Week 10)
  • 4/27/2026 (Week 11)
  • 5/4/2026 (Week 12)

    * Note: A mid-program break will be scheduled based on the cohort’s availability.

Meet the Teaching Team

The program is led by Pasifika students and scholars:

  • Joshua Maka’ala Ching (Native Hawaiian): A student organizer at Yale University majoring in Political Science and Ethnicity, Race & Migration whose campus and community work strengthens Pasifika visibility and advocacy.
  • Kaylah Toves (Native Hawaiian): A student leader at Cornell University majoring in Government and American Studies strengthening Pasifika community and political education in higher education.
  • Kanoelani Handa (Native Hawaiian): A Mellon Mays research fellow at Oberlin College, majoring in Anthropology, whose work centers on Hawaiian repatriation, sovereignty, and diaspora identity.

Supported by collaborators from CNAY, Hawaiian Diaspora, and guest speakers across academia and community leadership.

Organizers

Center for Native American Youth (CNAY)

The Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) is a national organization housed within the Aspen Institute that is dedicated to improving the health, safety, and overall well-being of Native American youth. CNAY works to increase opportunities for Indigenous young people through leadership development programs, advocacy training, resource creation, and national network-building. They partner with Native communities and youth-led initiatives to amplify youth voices, expand access to education and wellness supports, and develop pathways for Indigenous youth to influence policy and systems that impact their lives.

Hawaiian Diaspora 

Hawaiian Diaspora is a grassroots organization that supports Native Hawaiians living outside of Hawaiʻi to feel empowered in their identity, honor their kuleana (responsibilities), and stay deeply connected to their roots. Through virtual, in-person, and hybrid programs—as well as research and community insights—Hawaiian Diaspora creates spaces to explore the diverse lived experiences of Hawaiians in the diaspora, including questions of belonging, cultural knowledge, well-being, community, and advocacy. Its mission is to ensure that every Hawaiian, no matter where they live, feels a sense of pride and belonging within the lāhui (nation) and is supported to contribute in ways that uplift themselves, each other, and Hawaiʻi.

Questions? Check out the FAQ or contact the team at pukoafellowship@gmail.com.