Hinahina Gray is an artist and sensitivity reader based on Oʻahu, dedicated to informing and educating on Native Hawaiian issues in media. With a wealth of knowledge and resources on Hawaiian culture at her back, she is also a cultural sensitivity consult who assists on projects ranging from artwork to game development. An unapologetic nerd, she will play games and offer comprehensive critiques while doing so!
Being passionate about intersectional pedagogy, she continues to make art and literature more accessible through workshops involving comics and zines. Her oil painting and printmaking practices focus on how memory reacts to past experiences (nostalgia, gaslighting, reflection, delusion, saudade, sehnsucht). This is informed further by how she weaves her personal histories and experiences from being indigenous and a consistent interest in botanic languages.
She identifies within the queer indigenous Hawaiian spectrum known as Māhū which encompasses everything from her gender to her sexuality. All kinds of media are welcome (and she’s excited to do it)!
Sensitivity / Expert
- Native Hawaiian and White
- Hoʻomana Hawaiʻi
- Māhū
- Pansexual
- Depression, anxiety, and PTSD
- Indigenous Diaspora
- Native Hawaiian Spiritualism
- The Mixed-Race Experience
Preferred Genres
Anything!
Avoided Genres
None!
What Clients Say
Really enjoyed working with Hinahina, as I came away learning quite a lot about how best to write my Native Hawaiian protagonist and her family. Hinahina is amazing at asking me questions that dug deep into how I wrote my characters and built my world, which as a result helped me learn so much about how to properly represent my Native Hawaiian characters in a way that’s sensitive to actual lived experiences. And I gotta admit, I never thought about a lot of the things Hinahina brought up, so I’m glad I’m able to learn so much from her. Finally, my personal favourite takeaway from working with Hinahina is learning more about Native Hawaiian names, which most definitely helped with naming my characters.
I found Salt & Sage to be incredibly professional and organized. Erin was upfront about costs as well as expectations for both Salt & Sage readers as well as authors. Hinahina was comprehensive in her review of my manuscript, providing thoughtful input for me to consider. I appreciated her honesty, the questions she posed, and the kind nature in which she framed her wonderings. I highly recommend Hinahina for any writer needing input within her areas of expertise.