Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, (born May 15, 1972) also known as Kumu Hina, is a Native Hawaiian ''

māhū ' ('in the middle') in Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures are third gender people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan ' and Samoan '. Historically māhū were assigned male at birth (AMAB), but in ...

'' – a traditional

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usuall ...

person who occupies "a place in the middle" between male and female, as well as a modern transgender woman. She is known for her work as a ''kumu hula'' ("

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...

teacher"), as a filmmaker, artist, activist and as a community leader in the field of ''

Kanaka Maoli Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

'' language and cultural preservation. She teaches ''Kanaka Maoli'' philosophy and traditions that promotes cross-cultural alliances throughout the Pacific Islands. Kumu Hina is known as a "powerful performer with a clear, strong voice", she has been hailed as "a cultural icon".

Early life and education

Wong-Kalu was born on May 15, 1972 in the Nuʻuanu district of Oʻahu. Her mother is of English, Hawaiian, and Portuguese descent and her father is of Chinese descent. She is the youngest of four siblings. She attended Kamehameha School (1990) and the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...

(1996–2004) where she began her activism.

Career

Wong-Kalu was a founder of the Kulia Na Mamo transgender health project and cultural director of a Hawaiian public charter school. She was also a former Hawaiian language kumu at

Leeward Community College Leeward Community College is a public community college in Pearl City, Hawaii. It is one of 10 campuses of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Leeward's open admiss ...

. A candidate for the

Office of Hawaiian Affairs The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a self-governing corporate body of the State of Hawaii created by the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention. Background In 1893, pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the monarchy and formed the ...

, she was one of the first transgender candidates for statewide political office in the United States. She also served as the Chair of the Oʻahu Island Burial Council, which oversees the management of Native Hawaiian burial sites and ancestral remains. Wong-Kalu was the subject of the feature documentary film ''

Kumu Hina ''Kumu Hina'' is a 2014 American LGBTQ related documentary film co-produced and co-directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson. It is based on the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, and stars Wong-Kalu, Haemaccelo Kalu and Ho'Onani Kamai. The film premiered a ...

'', directed by

Dean Hamer Dean Hamer (; born May 29, 1951) is an American geneticist. He is known for his research on the role of genetics in sexual orientation and for a series of popular books and documentaries that have changed the understanding and perceptions of h ...

and Joe Wilson. ''Kumu Hina'' premiered as the closing night film in the

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is ...

in 2014 and won several awards including best documentary at the

Frameline Film Festival The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

and the

GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary is an annual award that honors documentaries for excellence in the treatment of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals, history, and themes. It is one of several categories of ...

. It was nationally broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 2015 where it won the

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...

Audience Award. In 2022, Wong-Kalu was one of the curators for a Bishop Museum exhibit on the

Waikīkī Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

’s Healer Stones of

Kapaemahu Kapaemahu refers to four stones on Waikiki Beach that were placed there as tribute to four legendary mahu (third-gender individuals) who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi centuries ago. It is also the name of the leader of the hea ...

Filmmaker

Subsequent to the release of ''Kumu Hina'', Wong-Kalu wrote an educational children's version of the film, ''A Place in the Middle'',
A Place in the Middle
' which premiered at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

and

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

for Kids and is featured on PBS learning media. Wong-Kalu, along with filmmaker Dean Hammer and director Joe Wilson produced the short film, ''Lady Eva''
Lady Eva
' and feature documentary ''

Leitis in Waiting ''Leitis In Waiting'' is a 2018 feature-length documentary about transgender rights in Tonga. It was produced and directed by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. The filmmakers previously explored trans rights in the Pacific in t ...

'' about the struggle of the Indigenous transgender community in the South Pacific Kingdom of

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. Both films screened and won awards at

AFI Docs The AFI Docs (formerly Silverdocs) documentary film festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Starte ...

and the LA,

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

, FIFO and Festival of Commonwealth Film and were broadcast on PBS/Pacific Heartbeat,

ARTE Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

, Maori TV, TV France and

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

. Since the production of ''Leitis in Waiting,'' the film co-directed by Kumu Hina has recently been granted the GLAAD Media Award, which accurately portrays issues among LGBTQI+ communities globally. In 2020, Wong-Kalu directed, produced and narrated ''

'', an animated short film based on the Hawaiian story of four legendary māhū who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawai'i and imbued their powers on giant boulders that still stand on

Waikiki Beach Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

after the introduction of U.S. government and tourism. Narrated in the rare Niihau dialect of Hawaiian, the film premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

and for the Grand Jury Award which qualified for the Oscars at Animayo in 2020.

Awards and honors

She is a recipient of the National Education Association Ellison Onizuka Human and Civil Rights Award, Native Hawaiian Community Educator of the year, and a White House Champion of Change. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' named Wong-Kalu one of ten Women of the Century from Hawai'i Wong-Kalu is also featured in Naomi Hirahara's 2022 anthology ''We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States'' that was published by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and Running Press Kids.

Personal life

Wong-Kalu is married to Haemaccelo Kalu, a native of

Filmography

* ''Lady Eva'' * ''

'' * ''A Place in the Middle'' * ''

'' (2020)

References

External links

''Kumu Hina''
- Main website
''A Place in the Middle''
- Kids' version
Kapaemahu
- animated short {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong-Kalu, Hinaleimoana 1972 births Living people LGBT Native Hawaiians American LGBT rights activists Hawaii people of Chinese descent Native Hawaiian activists Kamehameha Schools alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Transgender women LGBT people from Hawaii LGBT dancers American filmmakers