Chief of War cast hope new series is a 'jumping off point' for audiences to learn about the real Hawai'i

Australia Broadcast Center

6 days ago

Spoken almost entirely in Ōlelo Hawai'i and telling a story of Hawaiian culture, language and history, Chief of War was a first from the moment the script was written.
The Apple TV+ drama is set in the late 18th century and is based on true events following warrior Ka'iana as he tries to unify Hawai'i's four major kingdoms before Western colonisation.
It is told from an indigenous perspective and features Jason Momoa, Moses Goods, Kaina Makua, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Luciane Buchanan, and Te Ao O Hinepinga.
Momoa, who also produced and co-wrote the series, said he was "really excited for everybody" to see it.
"Hopefully [people] embrace it so we can finish telling the story and let the next generation… hopefully it excites them to kick down the door and tell even more, and raise the bar," he said.
Co-creator, executive producer, writer and Kanaka Maoli Thomas Pa'a Sibbett said the series was "more than just a film" for him and Momoa.
"This is our cultural background; it's our heritage; it's the faces of our people," he said.
"I think because of that, there's always a search for representation, like where are we?
"So for us, it just became something that we just wanted to see, we wanted to experience and let the world experience a little bit of how we see ourselves."
Jason first noticed Temuera Morrison in his role played in Once Were Warriors. ( Supplied: Apple TV+ )
The significance isn't lost on Kanaka Maoli cast members Goods and Makua.
Goods said his people had been waiting for Hawaiian storytelling for a long time.
"We knew it would happen; that a story like this will be told on this level and showcase the language in the way that it does.
"It's a jumping off point. It's a starting point for a lot of people to then further their understanding and education of what, of who we are as people."
The use of Ōlelo Hawai'i is also significant in that; a dramatic turnaround from previous generations.
Goods said it was almost lost in his mother's generation.
"As a little girl, she was forbidden by her own parents to speak our language. They tried to get rid of our language but didn't succeed," he said.
"Now it's being showcased to the entire world, and they're going to see that our language, our culture, is very much alive and well."
Momoa hopes Chief of War raises the bar in Hawaiian story telling. ( Supplied: Apple TV+ )
Morrison said he was humbled to share the journey with the show's creators and other actors.
"It's something quite significant, something quite monumental, we're bringing Hawaiian language to the fore," he said.
Curtis agreed, saying indigenous cultural storytelling was vital because "to a large degree [they've] been erased from history".
"But we're still alive, we're still here. Thousands of years later, we can connect our Māori heritage with the Hawaiian heritage," he said.
"We're all struggling with the same things, are we? Even today, geopolitically, nations in the world are struggling with the idea of colonisers, oppression. How do we find our boundaries as a nation?
"Should we have a right to exist as indigenous cultures? Or should we be homogenised, and have our language stripped from us and only speak one language? I mean, these are the great struggles of us in contemporary times."