Kumu hula Charles Aulii Mitchell was raised in the traditions of hula ‘ōlapa (ancient hula) under the tutelage of his mother, Kumu Hula Harriet Aana Cash, and his grandfather, Charles Kahiwahiwa Cash. In 2015, he completed a master’s degree in Applied Indigenous Knowledge in Tāmaki Makarau (Auckland), Aotearoa (New Zealand), the only to hold this degree in the United States. He Waka Hiringa (The Desired Canoe) and his work continues to thrive between Hawai‘i, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. He is a distinguished worldwide lecturer, keynote speaker, author, performer, producer, artist, and kumu hula of both Hālau ‘o Kahiwahiwa on the islands of Hawai‘i and O‘ahu, and their sister hula academy in Aotearoa, Hālau O Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. A lifelong practitioner of hula, he continues the legacy of his loea hula (hula experts) the ‘ōlapa, and his 42 years of research, carving, and teaching the practice of hula ki‘i, the dance of the sacred image, Hawaiian puppetry. Aulii is a recipient of the 2021–22 1st Nations Henry Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship for his continued work in the creation, preservation, perpetuation, and dissemination of the hula ki‘i. 

Aulii is trained in the traditional arts of the hula including — ipu, or gourds, carving, tapa making (in the traditions of Hawai‘i, Tonga, and Sāmoa), fiber arts, weaving, dye making, and lei making. His work in non-traditional arts include photography, digital sketching, papier mâché, sculpture, and other mediums.