Ya\u2019at\u2019\u00e9\u00e9h \/ Aloha, My name is Coye. I\u2019m reaching out to share Kai Hiki, an Indigenous Youth Runway + Exhibition Platform based in Honolulu, Hawai\u02bbi. Kai Hiki means \u201cthe tide that arrives,\u201d and the project is being developed to support young Indigenous creatives in carrying culture, water memory, identity, and future-facing design into a runway and gallery experience. Kai Hiki is currently being developed as part of my creative and professional growth during the Young Professionals Mentorship Program through the Chamber of Commerce Hawai\u02bbi. The platform is created for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Kanaka Maoli youth ages 11\u201324, and will support Spring\/Summer 2027 (SS27) swim\/resort-inspired collections rooted in water, environment, culture, identity, movement, story, and place. Kai Hiki is seeking youth designers, makers, artists, stylists, beadworkers, sewers, sketchers, painters, digital creators, and mixed-media storytellers. While fashion design is central, the larger platform also includes modeling, photography, videography, production, culinary experience design, and creative direction. Each participating designer will be invited to develop two works: 1. The Wearable: a swim or resort-ready runway garment rooted in the designer\u2019s cultural heritage, created as a living expression of identity 2. The Art Object: a sculptural, conceptual, or mixed-media gallery piece that expands the designer\u2019s practice beyond the body and explores relationships to water, land, culture, and memory For youth based outside of Hawai\u02bbi, physical attendance will not be required in order to participate. Selected designers may ship their completed garments or works to Hawai\u02bbi and collaborate virtually with the Kai Hiki styling team to support model selection, hair and makeup direction, garment presentation, cultural context, and proper showcase instructions. This remote participation option is intended to create access for young Indigenous creatives who may not have the financial resources to travel but have strong creative potential and meaningful stories to share. Kai Hiki is also committed to honoring American Indian and Alaska Native communities. As a Din\u00e9\/Navajo creative and Haskell Indian Nations University alum, I understand the importance of creating pathways for Native youth whose creativity is powerful, even when access, visibility, or travel funding may be limited. The project carries a deeper cultural and historical lens. The word \u201cbikini\u201d was introduced in 1946 and named after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, a place marked by nuclear testing, Indigenous displacement, and environmental harm. Kai Hiki responds to this history by asking what swim and resort wear can become when young Indigenous designers reclaim the conversation through cultural sovereignty, protection, beauty, protocol, and relationship to water. Kai Hiki is rooted in culture, driven by community, and designed for the future. The goal is not simply to present youth work, but to create a platform where Indigenous youth can release their vision into the world with clarity, authorship, and power.I would be honored to connect with your school or organization and explore whether this opportunity could be shared with youth in your community. I would also be grateful for any referrals to art teachers, Native student programs, youth coordinators, cultural mentors, or young creatives who may be aligned with this opportunity. Ahe\u2019hee\/Mahalo for your time and consideration. Coye<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ya\u2019at\u2019\u00e9\u00e9h \/ Aloha, My name is Coye. I\u2019m reaching out to share Kai Hiki, an Indigenous Youth Runway + Exhibition Platform based in Honolulu, Hawai\u02bbi. Kai Hiki means \u201cthe tide that arrives,\u201d and the project is being developed to support… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10847,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-external-campus-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10847"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/nppnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}