Thousands of miles away from the nearest populated land mass, surrounded by Moananuiākea (the vast ocean), the volcanic Hawaiian Islands emerged from the ocean floor. The geological birth of the islands spanned millions of years – at the northwestern end of the archipelago, Hōlanikū, also known as Kure Atoll, is about 28 million years old. The island of Hawai‘i, the geologically youngest island at the southeastern end of the island chain, is about 400,000 years old and still growing – new land was added to the island as recently as 2018 by the volcanic eruption of Kīlauea.

The entire Hawaiian archipelago consists of 132 islands, reefs, and shoals stretching across 1,523 miles of the North Pacific Ocean. Only the islands on the southeast end of the archipelago are inhabited and constitute what is commonly known as the Hawaiian Islands. The remainder of the archipelago is part of Papahānaumokuākea, one of the largest protected marine areas in the world.

In the cultural world view, the Hawaiian Islands are described in mele ko‘ihonua (genealogical chants) as the products of heavenly unions, descendants of Wākea (sky father), Papahānaumoku (earth mother), and Ho‘ohōkūkalani (creator of the stars). The Hawaiian people and their staple food kalo (taro) also descend from these unions, which makes the kuleana (responsibility) of stewardship a deeply personal connection. (Excerpt from Ma'ema'e Toolkit, page 5)