This dissertation is built upon ancestral ʻike (knowledge), Kanaka Maoli scholars such as Mary Kawena Pukui and Dr. Manu Meyer (Pukui, 1983; Pukui et al., 1979a, 1979b; Meyer, 1998, 2001), and KanakaCrit (Reyes, 2017). Research on representation in young adult literature is added to amplify what Kānaka Maoli always understood, “Words can heal; words can destroy” (Pukui, 1983). Through this foundation and a Kanaka Maoli methodology called Māʻawe Pono (Kahakalau, 2019) the writing of a modern moʻolelo (story) for young adults was conducted. The moʻolelo and the cultural process of creation was analyzed using ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverbs) and the research by Brandy McDougall (2016) whose work offers insight on what is a moʻolelo. Findings offer a window into how a modern Kanaka Maoli can do culturally relevant work, where the research process doesn’t strip away their identity but builds on it leading to a decolonizing experience.