Kumu Makani Tabura
Director, Cultural Education and Services
Malama Recovery Services, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
Makani is a traditional & cultural practitioner in Health, wellness and healing. Makani is one of the first Culturally-based Practitioners in Health, wellness and healing to work within western clinics and alongside western providers, creating, implementing and integrating cultural and traditional approaches to pain management and SUDS. He truly believes these are the types of relationships that need to exist in the contemporary Health and medical fields.
He comes from the Island of Lana’i, the ahupua’a of Ka’a and the kuleana of Pakali. He is currently the Director of Cultural Practices at 3 PIKO, llc. Also Alaka’i (Director) of Cultural Education and Practices at 3 Western Medical clinics; Malama Recovery Services, Ho’okuola, pain management clinic and Malama Ku ola, Mental Health clinic at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. And also a Cultural Consultant for Imua Health Group.
He is a Cultural educator and Kumu Lapa’au and has studied Traditional Health, Wellness & Healing practices from a very young age, learning from his Grandmother who was a Nurse and Practitioner. He recently turned his kuleana and his passion into his career; after working with and becoming Kako’o to Aunty and Kahu, Helen Kanawaliwali O’Conner of Molokai and other Kupuna Healers at the Traditional Hawaiian Healing Center.
As a cultural Educator Makani says, “I don’t teach culture, I use culture to teach.”