Johnny Seve, of Aotearoa, New Zealand, hopes to learn from other indigenous communities during a conference running through Thursday at the Hawaii Convention Center.

"Many of our stories are the same. Many of our stores are different. And we get to learn from one another," Seve said.

About 2,500 people are expected to attend the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conference at the Hawaii Convention Center.

The conference kicked off Friday at the sacred Keaiwa Heiau at Aiea Heights, where kahuna treated the ailing. An awa ceremony was held.

This is the sixth conference held by the International Indigenous Council for Healing Our Spirit Worldwide. Since the early 1990s, the council held gatherings once every four years in various parts of the world. The first was held in Canada, then Australia, New Zealand, New Mexico and Canada again.

Papa Ola Lokahi, an organization that focuses on the health of native Hawaiians, facilitated the sixth gathering to be held in Hawaii.

Delegates participated in cultural events at Waimea Bay and Kualoa Regional Park last weekend before workshops that are being held through Thursday at the convention center. "It’s important to show them our aina," said event coordinator Vicky Holt Takamine.

In the conference, leaders will address a range of issues from alcohol and substance abuse and health to healing initiatives and the environment. The conference also is a celebration of the communities and programs that members developed over the years to heal the indigenous people from adverse effects of colonization, said Chairman Rod Jeffries. "The world’s in search of healing right now," Seve said, adding that youth in particular are lost. "A movement like this gives us direction. That’s real important at a time right now because people who stand for nothing fall for anything."

"We know as indigenous people that our ways, our ancestors’ ways, are the way we become healed and we become consolidated so we’re not lost anymore," Seve said.