Academia and science
- Isabella Abbott (1919–2010), educator, phycologist, and ethnobotanist; she was the first native Hawaiian woman to receive a PhD in science
- Lilia Wahinemaikaʻi Hale (1913 – 2003), educator, musician, and prominent champion of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
- John Dominis Holt IV (1919 – 1993), writer, poet and cultural historian
- Kamakahukilani (1937–1999), Native Hawaiian educator, poet, and activist
- Kauanoe Kamanā (born 1954), ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi educator
- Cliff Kapono, scientist, surfer, journalist; his work is focused on researching ocean conservation and sustainability at University of Hawai'i at Hilo
- Samuel Kamakau, historian and scholar of Hawaiian culture and language, author
- John S. K. Kauwe III (born 1980), geneticist and 11th president of Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii)
- Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, professor, writer, and activist
- David Malo (1795–1853), Native Hawaiian historian of the Kingdom of Hawaii
- R. Keao NeSmith, Native Hawaiian linguist, educator, and translator
- Mary Kawena Pukui (1895–1986), Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert and educator
- Nainoa Thompson, Polynesian navigator, Trustee for Kamehameha Schools
- Haunani-Kay Trask (1949–2021), Hawaiian nationalist, educator, political scientist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Native Hawaiians in academia and science
