Leilehua Yuen, a celebrated Native Hawaiian artist, cultural practitioner, and storyteller, brings profound depth and historical consciousness to every strand of her beadwork. While she is perhaps most widely known for her hula, mele, and work in cultural education, Yuen’s artistry in lei hulu—traditional Hawaiian feather lei—has been an essential part of her expression and a vital act of cultural perpetuation. Her beadwork, often incorporated into or inspired by lei hulu, stands at the intersection of adornment and ancestral narrative, reflecting a lifelong commitment to preserving the living spirit of Hawaiian identity through craft.
Lei hulu, or feather lei, is among the most revered forms of adornment in Hawaiian culture. Traditionally worn by aliʻi (royalty) and crafted with extreme care and reverence, these lei are made from thousands of carefully gathered and arranged feathers. Though the primary medium is feather, beads have long had a presence in Hawaiian adornment practices, introduced through global trade routes and later integrated into the lei-making process as decorative elements, structural supports, and spiritual symbols. Leilehua Yuen honors these traditions while expanding upon them, using beads to enrich her featherwork and to tell stories about the land, the elements, and the kūpuna (elders) who continue to guide the present.
Yuen’s beadwork is meticulous and layered with cultural meaning. She often incorporates natural materials—shells, seeds, and bone beads—alongside glass or crystal beads, all chosen with intention. Each bead is selected not merely for color or shine, but for its connection to a specific story, landscape, or ancestor. In one lei hulu, for instance, she included beads carved from the shell of the pūpū o Niʻihau, native to the small Hawaiian island known for its enduring traditions. These tiny, brilliant shells, often strung together in complex geometric patterns, hold deep cultural resonance, and Yuen’s inclusion of them is a statement about continuity and the sustaining of Indigenous knowledge.
Her process begins with observation and reverence for nature. Inspired by native birds such as the ʻiʻiwi, ʻapapane, and ʻōʻō—many of which are now rare or extinct—Yuen replicates the luminous quality of their feathers not only with actual plumage but with beads that catch and refract light like morning dew on lauaʻe fern. The beading is often stitched into the central structure of her lei, accenting the rhythm of feathers and giving subtle form to the flow of the piece. In certain works, she uses beads to represent rain, moonlight, or stars, creating cosmic narratives that are worn around the neck, touching the pulse point of the wearer, and activating memory and mana (spiritual energy).
Leilehua Yuen’s beadwork is also pedagogical. As an educator and kumu (teacher), she teaches students not just how to string beads or tie knots, but how to listen to the stories the materials carry. She speaks of the beads as having their own genealogy, especially those made from ancestral resources such as coral, olonā fiber, or whale ivory. Her workshops are as much about building ʻike (knowledge) and pilina (relationship) as they are about technique. In these settings, beads become tools of connection—between generations, between humans and land, and between tradition and modern creativity.
One of Yuen’s signature approaches is integrating chant and hula into the creation and presentation of her bead-adorned lei. During the making of a lei hulu, she may offer oli (chant) to call forth guidance or express gratitude, imbuing each piece with spiritual intention. This practice emphasizes that for Yuen, beadwork is not just craft but ceremony—a means of maintaining pono (balance) with the world. Her finished pieces are not static artifacts but living objects, meant to be worn, danced, and passed along with care.
Yuen also explores contemporary expressions of Hawaiian identity through her beadwork. She has crafted pieces that respond to current issues such as the protection of sacred sites like Maunakea, climate change’s impact on native bird populations, and the resilience of Hawaiian language and culture. In one notable piece, she created a lei that incorporated green glass beads, kukui nuts, and synthetic feathers dyed to mimic the endangered ʻākohekohe. The lei was a call to awareness and a tribute to the birds who once filled the upland forests with their songs. The beaded elements served not only as visual highlights but as encoded references to healing, enlightenment, and the interconnectedness of all life forms.
Leilehua Yuen’s contributions to Hawaiian bead artistry are inseparable from her broader life’s work as a cultural practitioner. She holds space in her community not only as a maker of beautiful things, but as a guardian of deep time, bringing forward the voices and visions of her ancestors while embracing innovation and dialogue with the present. Her lei hulu beading is a luminous thread in this tapestry—a vibrant, detailed, and spiritually charged expression of who she is and where she comes from.
In Yuen’s hands, beads are not merely embellishments but messengers. Each one speaks of rain and stone, bird and ocean, kupuna and keiki. Each piece she creates is a living chant, a wearable prayer, a map of memory that encircles the body and anchors it to ʻāina (land) and moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy). Through her beadwork, Leilehua Yuen reminds us that art is not separate from culture—it is culture in motion, stringing the past and future together, one sacred bead at a time.