ʻO Dr. Leilani Basham ka Luna Hoʻomalu no ka Papahana Laeoʻo o Kamakakūokalani a he Hope Polopeka nō hoʻi ʻo ia . Aʻo aku ʻo ia i nā papa ma ka Mahele Kālele o Hālau o Laka me ka Moʻolelo ʻŌiwi kekahi. ʻO kāna mau papa e aʻo aku ai, he pili nō i ka mele, ka hula, me ke oli ma nā papa laepua me nā papa laeoʻo kekahi. ʻO kāna mea e noiʻi ai, he pili nō hoʻi i nā mele, e laʻa me nā mele lāhui o ke au o ka hoʻokahuli aupuni, a noiʻi pū nō hoʻi ʻia nā moʻolelo wahi pana o ka ʻāina. He kumu hula nō hoʻi ʻo Leilani a aʻo aku ʻo ia i ka hula a me ke oli i nā keiki a me nā mākua o kona hālau. Ma kāna mau papa o ke kula nui me ka hālau, a ma kāna hana noiʻi nō hoʻi, he mea nui koʻikoʻi ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi me ka moʻolelo, ke kālailai manaʻo polokika, a me ka loina pū kekahi. 

Dr. Leilani Basham is the Graduate Chair for the Master’s program at Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies and also is an Associate Professor in the department. She teaches in the Hālau o Laka and Moʻolelo ʻŌiwi areas, offering courses on moʻolelo, mele, hula, and oli at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research interests include wahi pana, as well as mele and hula, with a particular focus on mele lāhui composed and published in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Leilani is also a kumu hula and teaches hula and oli to both children and adults in her hālau hula. Across her university instruction, research, and hālau practice, the Hawaiian language remains a central focus, deeply intertwined with historical, political, and cultural contexts.