Alexis Lum. Photo: Chris Emeott
In August 2023, the world watched in horror as a series of wind-blown wildfires engulfed the town of Lāhainā on Maui’s northwest coast, taking the lives of more than 100 people and destroying businesses, homes and natural lands. The aftermath was gutwrenching. And for one Mahtomedi High School (MHS) senior, the wildfires represented something much deeper than a news story. “It was absolutely devastating to see so much Hawaiian culture dying, especially somewhere like Lāhainā, where so much of our culture had been preserved,” Alexis Lum says.
Alexis, who will graduate from MHS this spring, is a champion of Hawaiian culture and history, and she’s made it her mission to share that with her peers—Native Hawaiians and mainlanders alike. “My dad was born and raised in Hawaii and came to the mainland for school and work,” Alexis says. “He definitely wanted me to get involved with my culture because, when he was growing up, he did all the cultural activities, like hula.” Alexis, who lives in Little Canada and has attended MHS since eighth grade, has been active in a local hula hālau (dance school) since she was 9. “I really enjoy being part of that community,” she says.
Alexis Lum gardens with children on a 2024 service trip to the Big Island with Global Routes. Photos: Alexis Lum
Alexis has also traveled extensively to the Hawaiian Islands, spending many of her summers staying with relatives on Oahu or volunteering. In 2023, she worked with Global Routes, a mission organization for teens, on volunteer projects and connected with Native Hawaiians in areas around the Big Island. In 2024, Alexis helped win a $5,000 grant for Ho’ōla Nā Pua, a nonprofit that supports children who have been sex-trafficked in Hawaii.
“I just feel so connected there,” Alexis says. “Being in Hawaii has really opened my eyes to the different environmental practices on the land and helping people who have grown up there.”
Alexis volunteers in a taro patch on the island of O’ahu in July 2025.
Now, Alexis directs the MHS Hawaiian Culture Club (HCC), which meets regularly to share Hawaiian crafts, foods, history lessons and music. Alexis founded the club in fall 2023 after learning about the high number of Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts destroyed in the Lāhainā fires. “I had to do something,” Alexis says. “People needed to know more about Hawaiian culture, especially when they could see in the news what was going on that summer.” Under Alexis’s dedicated leadership, the HCC has been going strong for more than two years.
Alexis Lum (right) with her Global Routes group on Mauna Kea, a sacred volcano on Big Island, in July 2024.
Each HCC meeting begins with a slideshow and presentation, where Alexis introduces the history and significance of the day’s theme and then transitions to a hands-on activity. “We’ve made malasadas, which are traditional Hawaiian doughnuts, or we make leis or play the ukulele,” Alexis says. Cooking is a popular pastime—HCC members have made Hawaiian-style mochi, Spam musubi and more. “It’s important to keep the culture alive for Native Hawaiians, but it’s also about teaching other people about the culture,” she says. “Seeing people who are willing to learn about other people’s cultures is my favorite part of the club.”
To her knowledge, Alexis and her younger brother, JJ, are the only two Native Hawaiian students at MHS. “I definitely plan for him to take over the club when I graduate,” Alexis says with a smile.
Her hula hālau, Kuulei Kūikanani (formerly known as Kaleiokapilialoha), holds classes in Anoka, Brooklyn Center and St. Paul throughout the year, along with casual gatherings and cultural events.. Alexis and her dance partners, both wahine (women) and kāne (men), know dozens of traditional dances, along with the Hawaiian-language lyrics, dance implements and storytelling elements that go with them. “We all get together and make our traditional skirts and leis,” Alexis says. “A lot of times, we perform for fundraisers or do volunteering. The community is really tight. I’ve known most of these people for a long time.”
Last fall, Alexis and her fellow hālau members rehearsed for an important performance: the ho’ike retirement celebration of Kalei Enstad, their kumu (teacher) and hālau’s director and owner. “Without Aunty Kalei, this community would not be what it is,” Alexis says. “This is a celebration of her retirement but also a transition to our new teacher.”
Alexis (right) performing at the Ho’ike retirement celebration for Kalei Enstad. Photos: Deb McBride
The group performed a series of special dances for the ho’ike, ending with a dance solo for their new teacher, whom they presented with a handmade lei to officially welcome her to the school.
Enstad says spaces like the hālau are crucial for keeping Hawaiian culture vibrant on the mainland, including for members who aren’t Native Hawaiian themselves but want to explore the islands’ history and traditions. “It has been my pleasure to watch boys, girls, men and women grow into hula dancers who embrace a culture that isn’t necessarily what they grew up with,” Enstad says. “It warms my heart.”
Enstad says she’s been proud to see Alexis step into a leadership role at the hālau and in her school’s Hawaiian Culture Club. “There aren’t too many teens who would take that upon themselves, but then again, we are talking about Kamaha’o,” she says, using Alexis’s Hawaiian middle name, which is how she’s addressed at the hālau. “She has high expectations for herself, which helps her achieve and excel in all areas. Her Hawaiian name means ‘wonderful, astonishing, marvelous,’ and that says it all.”
Kalei Enstad, the newly retired kumu of hālau.
Both Alexis and Enstad note that, for many mainlanders, the Hawaiian Islands are “just” a tourist destination. They hope that continues to change. “Wherever people go, including Hawaii, they should try to learn more about the culture,” Alexis says.
“It’s a vacation spot for most, but for those of us who grew up there, it’s just home,” Enstad says. “There will always be misconceptions or questions about Hawaii, and we just try to answer them one at a time with humility and grace. That’s what Alexis is trying to do—share what she knows, what she’s experienced, with her peers.”
Mahtomedi High School Hawaiian Culture Club
Instagram: @maht_hcc
Kuulei Kūikanani
Instagram: @kuulei_kuikanani
