V. Pauahi Souza is a proud Kanaka Maoli from Kailua, Hawai`i. She is a 2020 graduate of Louisville Seminary and currently pursuing her PhD at the GRSJ Institute at UBC, Vancouver. She is committed to the mental health of Oceanic populations, starting with her own community of Indigenous Hawaiians. Her goal is to develop a theory geared towards understanding “trauma” experienced by Kanaka Maoli.

Prior to PhD studies, she spent most of her life in Louisville, Kentucky and has dedicated most of her adulthood to her education, community activism, and working in healthcare. Her life’s passions are her community, her family, friends, her ancestors, God, and mental health. She is an advocate for all marginalized communities and is vocal about the injustice faced by Hawaiians on their own land.

V. Pauahi’s heart’s work is for the Kanaka Maoli community, as they are often left out of discussions or assimilated into other groups without regard. She is an advocate for inclusion of Oceanic populations by requesting dominant racial identities invite this community for representation in various fields. She has led countless lectures and teachings on the plight of Kanaka Maoli. She will continue to examine the mental health of Kanaka Maoli in her program where she hopes to develop a theory dedicated to understanding trauma that is experienced by displaced Kanaka Maoli.

Master’s “Research Project” – Cultural Historical Trauma: How colonization and commercialism has impacted the psychological, sociological and religious thought of communities of generations of Kanaka Maoli women.

The examination of mental health of Kanaka Maoli and development of a theory dedicated to understanding trauma that is experienced by displaced Kanaka Maoli.

Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (2023-2025) & the Indigenous Graduate Fellowship Research and Engagement Award (2024-2025).

Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness Indigenous Award – Dalhousie University (2023)

CUPE Nova Scotia Gender Equality Oral Presentation Award – Dalhousie University (2023)

Blue Lyles Award – Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (2020)

1) American Psychological Association – Conference Panelist/Presenter – Weaving Wisdoms: Decolonialism and Culture-as-Health in Clinical & Community Settings – (2024).

2) University of Toronto – Conference Presenter – Protesting “Paradise”: Understanding Political Mental Health and the Discourse Created by the Idea of “Paradise” – (2023).

3) Dalhousie University – Conference Presenter – “Seeking Paradise” as a Social Determinant of Health: Defining Political Mental Health from the Stories of Kanaka Maoli – (2023).

4) Mini-Conference Presenter: Conflicts in Colonization: “Women’s” Voices on Hawaiian Sovereignty and (De)Militarization in Hawai’i – (2022).

5) “Mobilizing for Change” – Panelist – A Conversation Between Indigenous and Palestinian Folks About the Power of Diverse Advocacy from Direct Action to Litigation – (2022).

6) “Moana Nui Presents:” Code Switching, Being POC in the Corporate World – Panelist – Discussion on Code Switching in the workplace – (2021).

7) “Courageous Conversations with Rev. Annettra Stephens MDiv.” – Panelist – Weekly Virtual Conversation: “Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence” (2020).

8) Vanderbilt School of Divinity – Panelist – Intergenerational Panel: Medical Apartheid (2020).

9) “Just Talk Live” – Panelist – Understanding Protest (2020).