Keola Birano is a Native Hawaiian storyteller born on the island of Maui and raised by his mother’s grandparents. He was the first in his family to attend college. That journey deepened his Hawaiian identity and led him to earn a Bachelor’s in International Cultural Studies, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, and a PhD in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education. His doctoral research examined Native Hawaiian storytelling and how literature can indigenize curriculum.

Raised in a multigenerational household on Maui, Keola’s early life blended family care, oral traditions, and the everyday practices of island life. Being guided by his kupuna (grandparents) grounded him in Hawaiian language, values, and history—an anchor that shaped his academic and personal path. As a first-generation college student, he navigated unfamiliar academic systems while carrying responsibility to family and community, turning those challenges into fuel for culturally responsive scholarship.

His PhD work focused on Native Hawaiian storytelling as both method and content: how mo‘olelo (stories), chant, and genealogical knowledge can reshape classroom texts, pedagogy, and curricular priorities to reflect Hawaiian worldviews. Keola argues that literature rooted in Indigenous epistemologies can restore relational ways of knowing, center community voices, and offer decolonizing alternatives to standard curricula.

Recently, Keola participated in the Native Hawaiian Storytelling Program, where he received direct coaching from Rebecca Roanhorse and cultural guidance from Dr. Ku Kahakalau, with program leadership from Dr. Michael Andres Palmieri. That experience sharpened his storytelling craft and strengthened his commitment to weaving Indigenous practice into educational spaces.

Keola’s work sits at the intersection of scholarship and practice: he teaches, writes, and collaborates with communities to bring Native Hawaiian stories into classrooms, curricula, and public consciousness—reclaiming narrative authority and creating spaces where Indigenous knowledge leads.