WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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- [Tiani-Loea Kuliakau'i Ray]
It makes me feel more in tune

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with everything around me,

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like all of mother nature,
the earth, the sky,

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the wind, the water, everything.

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I am Airman, First Class
Tiani-Loea Kuliakau'i Ray.

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I am a part of the 437th
Supply Chain Operation Squadron

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and my job is computer
operations technician.

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Growing up, back on Maui, my
parents were very traditional,

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and my mom really wanted to
teach us more about our culture,

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and who we are, and where we're from.

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So, watching my mom, like as I grew up,

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and her becoming Kumu
Hula made me wanna dance.

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You're just free as you dance,

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and you get to express yourself
in a way that's graceful,

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and it was just an amazing feeling,

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especially being able to dance
in front of a lot of people,

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and educate people

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and people just being in
awe of seeing us dance.

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I didn't really appreciate
hula as much as I do now

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when I was younger, but
especially being here

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and away from Hawaii
makes me feel more in tune

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of being Kanaka Maoli.

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A lot of times, we forget who
we are or where we're from.

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So I want to be able to educate
people about Hawaii is here,

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we're not just a tourist attraction.

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Kumu is another word for teacher

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and

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it's years of knowledge and practice

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and being educated of historic
ancient Hawaiian times

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and learning more about the traditions

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and how the stories of
(speaking in foreign language)

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is brought out.

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I want to become (speaking
in foreign language)

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and become Kumu Hula

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so I can have my own
(speaking in foreign language)

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and educate people and teach
people about Hawaiian culture

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and spreading my knowledge through dance.