UC RIVERSIDE in Collaboration with the Veterans Legacy Program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, and in tribute to those interred at Riverside National Cemetery, Along the Chaparral: memorializing the enshrined is working in collaboration with Riverside Unified School District (RUSD), Beaumont Unified School District (BUSD), Sherman Indian High School (Bureau of Indian Education/Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIE/BIA) and extended regional community efforts and includes K-12 tutelage and interface and supporting programming with:
UCR Graduate Fellows:
- Daniel Archuletta, PhD Student History
- Bob Bozonelos, PhD Candidate Musicology
- Alejandra Castillo Chavez, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Christiaan Clark, PhD Candidate Digital Composition
- Carlos Cruz, PhD Student History
- Brenda Delfino, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Nicholas Domich, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Sam Fernandez, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Nicole Furtado, PhD Candidate English
- Soleil Garneau, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Lauren Hammond, PhD Candidate English
- Sarah Helms, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Celeste Jackson, PhD Candidate English
- Robyn Johnson, PhD Candidate English
- Joshua Thunder Little, PhD Student History
- Cuaúhtemoc Peranda, PhD Candidate Critical Dance Studies
- Abbie Reese, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
- Amanda Wixon, PhD Candidate History
Training by:
Crystal Salas, MFA Candidate Creative Writing
UCR Alumnx Fellows/K-12 Teachers & School Staff:
- UCR Alumnx Fellows/K-12 Participating Teachers:
- Sherief Aziz, Highland Academy, Beaumont Unified School District BUSD
- Jalyn Barnard, Lead Teacher Martin Luther King Jr. High School, Riverside Unified School District RUSD
- Brenda Delfino, Alumni Fellow, MFA Creative Writing, UC Riverside
- English Unit Teachers, Sherman Indian High School, BIE/BIA
- Julie Frias, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside Unified School District RUSD
- Kevin LeDuc, Martin Luther King Jr. High School, Riverside Unified School District RUSD
- Christine Pollitt, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside Unified School District RUSD
- Lorene Sisquoc, Cultural Traditions and Museum, Sherman Indian High School, BIE/BIA
- Jasmine Smith, Lead Teacher Highland Academy, Beaumont Unified School District BUSD BUSD/
- Performance Alumni Fellow, MFA Creative Writing, UC Riverside
- Chan “Johnny” Moon, Production Assistant, Alumnx, Theater, Film, and Digital Production
UCR Undergraduate Theater, Film, and Digital Production Fellows:
- Production Assistants, Max Calzada and Harley Grow Hernandez
UCR Undergraduate Research Fellow:
- UCR Undergraduate History & Education, Society, & Human Development Double Major Fellow: Misti Childers
Anthology Fellows, MFA Creative Writing, UC Riverside:
- Editors, Brenda Delfino* and Celeste Jackson
- Layout & Design, Soleil Garneau
*Began in project as student, continued in project as alumna who graduated in fall 2020
Cooperating:
- Kat Koziar, Data Librarian and Point Person for Grant Services, UCR Library, Along the Chaparral Program
Coordinating Partner
- Brian Geiger, Director of the Center for Bibliographical Studies, UCR
- David Rios, M.L.S. Special Research Projects Director, UC Riverside Library; Genealogist
- Linda Christopher, Manager, Grants and Project Development, Program Development & Extended Learning, RUSD
- Carolyn Power, Staff Development for History & Social Sciences Specialist, Secondary Education, RUSD
- Regina Hazlinger, Contract & Grant Unit Director, UCR
- Linda Phi-Nguyen and Nelda Thomas, Financial Analysts, Contract & Grant Personnel, UCR
- Randall B. Black, Director of Research Development (RED), UCR
- Joshua Gonzales, Director, Native American Student Programs, UCR
- Kathleen DeAtley, Program Promotions Manager, UCR Performing Arts Administration (PAA)
- Financial & Administrative Officer, Marilyn Madrigal
- Creative Writing Assistance, Benicia Mangram
- Financial Analyst, Sarah Cleary
- Financial Assistant, Toya Adams
- and The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS) support staff members assisting promotions
- UCR ARTS
Training Sessions by:
- All Co-PIs and PI & by Kat Koziar, Brian Geiger, and David Rios.
Radio Hosting by:
- Robert Perez, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies
Vendors:
- Jonathan Skurnik, Director of Photography, Editing, Films
- Mike Cohen, GiS WebApp Story Map
- Cati Porter, Inlandia Institute & Press
UCR Co-Principal Investigators & Mentor Faculty:
- Emily Rapp Black, Associate Professor of Creative Writing
- Katie Ford, Professor of Creative Writing
- Rebecca “Monte” Kugel, Associate Professor of History
- Keun-Pyo “Root” Park, Associate Professor of Filmmaking
- Robert Perez, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies
- Michelle Raheja, Associate Professor of English
- Jonathan Ritter, Associate Professor of Music & Director UCR Latin American Studies Program
- Susan Straight, Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing
- Clifford Trafzer, Distinguished Professor of History & Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian Affairs
UCR Along the Chaparral Principal Investigator & Project Director,
- Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing
Along the Chaparral: memorializing the enshrined gives special thanks to:
- Bryce Carpenter, Program Manager,
- Kenneth Holliday, Legacy Program, National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Peter Young, Director of Riverside National Cemetery;
- Craig Arsell, Assistant Director of Riverside National Cemetery;
- Oliver Villalobos, Assistant Director of Riverside National Cemetery;
- Adriene Benton, Assistant Director of Riverside National Cemetery;
- Cuauhtemoc Meza Davila, Assistant Director of Riverside National Cemetery; Beverly Newsome
- Casandra Cabrera Ruelas, Riverside National Cemetery; and March Joint Powers Authority
- Paul Adkins, Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee;
- Sharron Savage, Chairperson, American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee
- UCR project support teams, including Randall B. Black, Lauren Savord, Ursula Prins, Sharon Shanahan, Regina Hazlinger, Nelda S Thomas, Linda Phi-Nguyen, Kiril Tomoff, Robert Chan, Tanya Wine, Marilyn Jamileth Madrigal, Sarah Cleary, Toya Adams, Brittany Fraser, Kathleen DeAtley, Juliet McMullin, and Tom Lutz
- UCR Department and Centers, including chairs, advisors, and directors of the MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts, Creative Writing, Dance, English, Ethnic Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Latin American Studies Program, Music, Theater, Film, and Digital Production, Native American Student Programs (NASP), UCR Veterans Resource Center, UCR Libraries, and UCR ARTS
- UHM Departments Anthropology, English, and Ethnic Studies, Research Libraries, and the Center for Bibliographical Research
- Riverside Unified School District, Beaumont Unified School District, Sherman Indian High School, and all other participating K-12 schools and communities
- Special gratitude to Shane Brown, Kat Koziar, Janet Reyes, & Charles A. Farrar, volunteer.
- King High Remembers oral history programming
- Lorene Sisquoc, Sherman Indian Museum
UCR Department and Centers, including chairs, advisors, and directors of the MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts, Creative Writing, Dance, English, Ethnic Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Latin American Studies Program, Music, Theater, Film, and Digital Production, California Center for Native Nations, Native American Student Programs (NASP), UCR Veterans Resource Center, and UCR ARTS
Riverside Unified School District, Beaumont Unified School District, Sherman Indian High School, and all other participating K-12 schools and communities King High Remembers oral history programming, Morongo Pow Wow Committee & Amanda Castro, Malki Museum, and Lorene Sisquoc, Sherman Indian Museum To the fantastic youth community that we have the privilege of serving and to each and all of our collaborators!
Subcontract Team:
Pūowaina: Memorializing the Enshrined at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Subcontract, part of Along the Chaparral: Memorializing the Enshrined at Riverside National Cemetery
In collaboration with the Veterans Legacy Program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, and with Pūnahou School, Kamehameha Schools, and Mililani High School, Department of Education, Hawaiʻi, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa team has successfully completed the Pūowaina subgrant, a collective and colaborative tribute to those interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, at Pūowaina, often referred to as “Punchbowl.”
The Co-Principal Investigators were Sarah Allen, Associate Professor of English, and Director of the Composition and Rhetoric, the Mentoring, and the First-Year Writing Program; Craig Howes, Director of the Center for Biographical Research, Co-Editor of Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, and Professor of English; and Ty P. Kāwika Tengan, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair, Ethnic Studies.
The University of Hawaiʻi Graduate Fellows were Mana Peleiholani-Blankenfeld (MA), Elizabeth Calero (PhD), Lane Davey (PhD), Lexi Kinoshita (MA), Christina Lee (MA), Jordan Luz (PhD), Jordan Restrepo (MA) and Briana Uʻu (MA), all in the Department of English, and Autumn-Raine Kahōkū Hesia (MA) and ʻIhilani Lasconia (MA), both in the Ethnic Studies BA and Educational Administration MEd (BAM) program.
The K-12 teachers who hosted the program in their classes were Paul Hamamoto and Erica Washburn (Punahou School); Moya Donahue and Sarah Razee (Kamehameha Schools); and Micah Benavitz, Amy Boehning, Grant Bramer, Tim Dunn, Jason Duncan, and Sean Wagner (Mililani High School, Hawaiʻi Department of Education).
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Support Staff included David Gustavsen, Humanities Librarian; Leilani Dawson, Manuscript Collections Archivist; Kapena Shim, Hawaiian Collection Librarian; and Dawn Sueoka, Congressional Papers Archivist. All are professionals at Hamilton Library.
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Fiscal and Grant Management Staff comprised Daniel Sato, Administrative Officer, and John Kawahara, Fiscal Support and Administration Specialist of the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters; and Guilan Xia, Senior Accountant, and Toni-Ann I. Samio, Contracts and Grants Specialist, Office of Research Services.
Cooperation from host departments was essential. For the English Department, Shankar Subramanian, Chair, and John David Zuern, Director of Graduate Studies, were very supportive, and co-Principal Investigator Ty P. Kāwika Tengan conveniently was serving as the Chair of Ethnic Studies, which made recruitment especially successful.
Producing the anthology, Pūowaina: Memorializing the Enshrined at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, proved a challenge, but one which our editorial team met. Lane Davey and Christina Lee evaluated all of the produced memorials from the three schools, selected those that would be included, and carefully edited the contents. Zoë Sprott then did all of the layout, creating the document that went publication ready to the printers. We are especially grateful to Ron Cox, Director of Kamehameha Publishing, and Paige Rasmussen, Managing Editor of Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, and Manager of the Center for Biographical Research, for their direction and advice. Jeff Texeira, our contact at Service Printers Hawaii, Inc., expertly shepherded the order through production on a very tight schedule.
We also gratefully acknowledge James C. Horton, Director, and Gene Maestas, Public Affairs Specialist, and all those at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Pūowaina / “Punchbowl”), and David Astin, Administrative Officer with National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Army officer (Ret.), for their dedication to those under their care. We only regret that the pandemic not only made it impossible for the students, teachers, and mentors to visit Pūowaina, but for us to meet directly with these administrators.
Testimonials from Teachers, Mentors, and Students
Testimonials from Teachers
Moya Donahue, Teacher at Kamehameha Schools
From our school you can see . . . the outside of the crater itself. . . . We’re not talking about Arlington Cemetery, that’s so far away, but something that’s right in our backyard, or next door neighbor almost. . . . It was significant to know that the story [the students] are sharing is about someone that’s buried right over there. . . . It brought a sense of place, of where this cemetery is, what the cemetery stood for, what the person stood for. . . . And the ability to share a story about someone gave students that creativity part which they enjoy most. The students said many times that they enjoyed doing research about someone and that they got to be the Storyteller.
Paul Hamamoto, Teacher at Punahou School
When I started teaching at Punahou in 1990 there wasn’t a lot of talk about empathy in the curriculum, and this was a another opportunity I think to really embrace that. The challenge for these students was to create a life and to pay tribute to these people—some who they knew, some who they didn’t know. Besides a work of research, besides a work of creativity, it was a work of empathy for them—to try to understand this person. I think it did do what I had hoped it would do, in terms of not just being about skills, not about knowledge, but about just expanding their views of the world and their views of themselves.
Amy Boehning, Teacher at Mililani High School
As a social studies teacher, I’ve always been drawn to project-based learning. When I heard about this project, I knew it was one of the projects I wanted to do with my students. At Mililani High School, we’ve always worked with veterans. In the last couple of years, we invited Vietnam veterans and Korean War veterans to our school. During the pandemic, this program worked out perfectly, because we were able to still have the students make connections with our silent heroes, our soldiers who served for our country, our service members and their family members. Students were able to make connections to the community. It was just an amazing project for students to participate in. They learned so many skills. There’s the researching, looking at primary sources, and that’s right up my alley. So I was really ready to jump on and I’m so glad that we’ve had this opportunity.
. . . Participating in this project is about building and understanding the community and our nation. Students creating this one tribute for this one service member allows them to trade a memory of that person, and each of these students will carry that service member with them for the rest of their lives.
Testimonials from Mentors
Autumn-Raine Kahōkū Hesia, Mentor for Punahou School
This experience teaching high school students has allowed me to grow my skills in facilitating a class, creating curriculum and lesson plans, and working with other educators. . . . Overall, the first session of the Pūowaina project allowed me to learn quickly on my feet, create valuable lesson plans, and work with students through a virtual setting.
Jordan Luz, Mentor for Mililani High School
Working with Jason Duncan’s A.P. U.S. History class was a memorable experience thanks to the students. Not only were they eager to work on the project, the level of enthusiasm they displayed on finding out more information of their chosen veterans was seen throughout the course of the project. . . . By the end of the project, most of the students were able to compose graciously detailed narratives about their veterans. I can’t stress enough how proud I am of them and the work that they’ve done.
Lexi Kinoshita, Mentor for Mililani High School and Kamehameha Schools
I was very impressed with the amount of research that the students were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. . . . Some of the activities that I applied in the Mililani classroom were free writes, and group activities such as team guided research or peer-evaluation of drafts. . . . It was a challenge working on Zoom because of the lack of interaction and the barrier of communication, but I think we made it work as best as we could have!
Christina Lee, Mentor for Mililani High School
The Pūowaina Punchbowl Fellowship was one of the most rewarding teaching experiences that I’ve ever participated in. . . . Because of the pandemic, there needed to be a lot of flexibility and adjusting throughout the process. . . . I created an introductory video introducing myself and going over how to choose service members to research on an Excel Spreadsheet I provided in Google Classroom. . . . The first synchronous lesson consisted of explaining the goals for the course. . . . . I went over the history of the National Cemetery of the Pacific, explained the genre of tribute writing, and gave students a YouTube video to watch titled “The only Time I cried // WW II Vets Remember the Fallen.”
And a student can have the final word
Nicholas Pang, Punahou School
In older Hawaiian culture, the bones, or iwi, of the one who has passed, continue to live on after death while the spiritual essence of the deceased, or mana, remains in their bones. Samuel Kahela Kalahookahi will live on forever.