Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology

Entered 2017

Aloha mai kāua. Ikaika and his ‘ohana are from the ‘ili of Mokauea, in the ahupua‘a of Kalihi, on the island of O‘ahu.

Ikaika’s research engages with the roles of philanthropy and bureaucracy in projects of social change. Specifically, he studies decolonization/nation-building movements and entanglements with political economy, taking seriously the broader question of how resurgence movements occur in relation to institutional formations of Indigenous economies, in the context of Hawaiʻi. He also researches the cultural activism of Indigenous media, and the political questions emerging from new technologies.

He holds a B.A. from Harvard University in social anthropology (2016), with a language citation in Bahasa Indonesia. His research is supported by the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, the Mellon Mays Fellowship, and Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate.

Aside from his studies, in past years Ikaika has worked with the Lānaʻi Culure & Heritage Center leading an ‘āina/place-based cultural literacy initiative serving Lānaʻi youth. Ikaika also continues to work on the restoration of Mokauea island in his home ahupua‘a.