The 2026 NHEA Educators of the Year
We are honored to announce Kapulani Landgraf, Marques Hanalei Marzan, and Sulu‘ape Keone Nunes as the 2026 Native Hawaiian Education Association Educators of the Year.
These three exceptional educators and practitioners will be formally honored at the 2026 NHEA Convention on Tuesday, March 17th. As part of the celebration, Kapulani, Hanalei, and Keone will come together for a special panel presentation centered on their hana noʻeau and kuleana—the responsibility, care, and intention that guide their work.
Kapulani Landgraf
Kapulani Landgraf is an artist whose powerful black-and-white photography, installations, and objects weave together place, memory, and moʻolelo. Grounded in ʻike Hawaiʻi, her work bears witness to the impacts of colonialism, land dispossession, and development while illuminating the enduring resilience of ʻāina and lāhui. Through poetic visual narratives, Landgraf challenges conventional landscape traditions, centering Native Hawaiian ways of knowing and the sacred relationships between people and place.
Landgraf holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and an MFA in Visual Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a Professor at Windward Community College and Curator of Gallery ʻIolani. Her work is held in the collections of the Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Institute of American Indian Arts, and has been exhibited nationally, including in Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation. A recipient of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Artist Fellowship, Landgraf’s practice continues to give voice to Hawaiian sovereignty, kuleana, and the living stories of ʻāina.
Marques Hanalei Marzan
Marques Hanalei Marzan is a Hawaiian and Oceanic fiber culture bearer and contemporary visual artist born and raised in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi. Deeply rooted in place and practice, he is widely respected within his community as a mentor and advocate who promotes sustainable gathering, perpetuates Hawaiian fiber traditions, and cultivates Indigenous values in the next generation of practitioners. Marques trained under esteemed masters, including renowned weavers Julia Minerva Kaʻawa and Esther Kakalia Westmoreland.
Through meaningful cultural exchange, Marques expands his understanding of Indigenous Oceanic perspectives, representing Hawaiʻi at major international gatherings such as four Festivals of Pacific Arts in Palau, American Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Guam, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. His engagements affirm his commitment to cultural continuity while embracing thoughtful innovation.
Marques currently serves as the Cultural Advisor and the Wayne Pitluck and Judith Pyle Curator for Cultural Resilience at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. In this role, he advances Indigenous frameworks within museum practice, supports cultural practitioners in engaging with ancestral knowledge, and strengthens the presence of Native Hawaiian voices in institutional spaces. Through exhibitions, public programs, and community partnerships, Marques bridges ancestral innovations with contemporary expression, fostering dynamic conversations that honor the vitality and resilience of Hawaiian and Oceanic cultures.
Suluʻape Keone Nunes
Suluʻape Keone Nunes grew up in the 1960s–1980s learning from kupuna within his family and the Hawaiian community. Among the many subjects shared with him, the knowledge of uhi (Hawaiian tattoo) became a lifelong focus beginning in the late 1980s. Keone began practicing uhi in 1990 and, in 1996, met Suʻa Suluʻape Paulo of Samoa, who trained him in traditional Polynesian tattooing methods. After Paulo’s passing in 1999, Keone has continued practicing exclusively with traditional tools since 2000.
In 2001, Keone was honored with the Suluʻape title, becoming the first Hawaiian and among the first non-Samoans to receive this prestigious recognition. He has played a key role in the reestablishment of uhi within the Hawaiian community and has shared his knowledge internationally. For nearly twenty years, he has also supported Native American communities in Northern California in revitalizing their tattoo traditions.
Keone was named one of the 101 Most Influential People in Tattooing in the World (2012), and his carvings and tools are held in collections including the Bishop Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and Te Papa Tongarewa in New Zealand. He has also served as a crewmember and protocol officer for the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s canoes Hokuleʻa and Hawaiʻiloa.