Scott Garlough

DIRECTOR

Scott Garlough, affectionately known as Uncle Scotty, is from the valley of Kalihilihi 'o Laumiha, in the kona moku, on the mokupuni of Oʻahu. Being of Hawaiian descent, and a child of Kalihi, a resilient community of many different ethnicities, he grew up knowing firsthand the historical and cultural trauma brought on by colonization.

Scotty works for Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, a federally qualified health center, at Hoʻoulu ʻĀina, a 100-acre nature preserve, that believes: ʻo ka hā o ka ʻāina ke ola o ka poʻe, the breath of the land is the life of the people.

Here he holds space for our keiki, community members, local and national leaders to engage with ʻāina, and reconnect with their ancestors. Outside of this work he spends his time building hale, restoring fishponds, teaching lashings, restoring native forest, and building community across Hawaiʻi.

​​Scotty's personal mission is to help heal the ʻāina and community from historical and cultural trauma using ʻike kupuna. “I donʻt need to know what kind of trauma you have to help heal you. Aloha heals everything.”