Lurline Wailana McGregor

Lurline Wailana McGregor is the daughter of a Hawaiian, Chinese, and Scottish father and a German mother. McGregor grew up in Honolulu, but left Hawaii to attend college on the mainland. After moving around the country for many years, she returned to Hawaii in 1992 and has remained there ever since. Her first novel, Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me, was published in 2008 by Kamehameha Publishing. The book tells the story of Moana Kawelo, a museum curator in Los Angeles, who returns home to Hawaii to attend the funeral of her father. Back in Hawaii after many years gone, Moana begins to question the decisions she has made about her life in California. She also starts to explore her ancestral responsibilities and ultimately discovers her identity as a Hawaiian.

In addition to writing, McGregor has directed and produced award-winning documentaries about the lives of Native Pacific Islanders. She feels it is important to teach people within her own community and in other communities about Native people from a first-person viewpoint. According to McGregor, "I like making documentaries because not only is truth often more compelling (and unbelievable!) than fiction, but there are many stories in our communities about our people that deserve to be told" (Native Networks). She has also served on the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs for US Senator Dan Inouye and is a former director of Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC), a public television consortium for Native Pacific Islanders. As executive director of 'Olelo Community Television, McGregor founded NATV, a public access television channel devoted to indigenous programming. She holds an MA in political science and public affairs from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Visit http://www.kamehamehapublishing.org/mcgregor for an interview with McGregor, as well as a sneak preview of Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me. McGregor has also created a short Youtube video describing her childhood on Hawaii and the importance of maintaining the Hawaiian culture.

Sources:

• "Lurline Wailana McGregor." Native Networks. Mar. 2005. Smithsonian Institution. 14 June 2009 http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/Eng/rose/mcgregor_l.htm.
• McGregor, Lurline Wailana. "Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me: An Interview With Lurline Wailana McGregor." Interview with ku'ualoha ho'omanawanui. Kamehameha Publishing. Sept. 2008. 14 June 2009 http://www.kamehamehapublishing.org/mcgregor.