Hundreds of people filled the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Performing Arts Center on Saturday to honor the legacy of Edith Kanaka‘ole, a revered Hawaiian educator, composer, singer and dancer.
The event celebrated the release of a commemorative quarter by the U.S. Mint featuring a portrait of Kanaka‘ole as part of the American Women Quarters Program.
“We got to spend the day yesterday with the Kanaka‘ole family and her organization, and it was incredible to watch the culture she saved, preserved and shared,” said the deputy director of the U.S. Mint, Kristie McNally. “A lot of people travel from the mainland to Hawaii to see this culture, and I think some don’t realize what effort Edith has put through to actually preserve that and share it with us, in a time where they weren’t really encouraging it, so it’s amazing to be able to share that story.”
The event began with a blessing and an oli composed by Kanaka‘ole, “E Ho Mai Ka ‘Ike,” which is inscribed on the bottom of her quarter.
UH-Hilo professor Jackie Pualani Johnson served as the emcee and introduced several guest speakers who shared their memories of “Aunty Edith,” including the Kanaka‘ole ‘ohana, UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, representatives for both the mayor and governor, and others whose lives were impacted by the Hawaiian renaissance leader.
“Aunty Edith’s teachings have touched literally everyone who calls Hawaii home,” said UH President David Lassner in a video message. “Her philosophy was to teach all who come because one never knows who will advance the knowledge, and although four decades have passed since she left the physical world, her impact is still felt greatly in Hawaii culture and language.”
Amy Miwa, who represented Gov. Josh Green at the ceremony, announced that May 6, 2023, would be remembered as Edith Kanaka‘ole Day, and presented the proclamation.
“Aunty Edith’s lasting contribution to the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Hawaiian language program, as well as her numerous other initiatives, set the foundation that will continue to be built on today and long into the future,” Miwa said. “Although sadly she passed away on Oct. 3, 1979, her legacy is continued through her family, her students, her hula, and by the hard work of the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation.”
Alapaki Nahale-a, the Hawaii County UH Board of Regents representative, shared thatKanaka‘ole will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters during the UH-Hilo and Hawaii Community College commencement ceremonies, President Lassner approved the naming of the Edwin H. Mookini Library Hawaiian Collection to the Edith Kanaka‘ole Hawaiian Collection, and a room at HCC will be named the Edith Kanaka‘ole Collection of Indigenous Knowledge and Leadership, effective immediately.
“At UH-Hilo we’re honored to be able to host this kind of event and celebrate the legacy of just an amazing woman,” Irwin said. “We’re also very honored that we were able to grant her an honorary degree that we will be celebrating next week at our commencements.”
Following the ceremony, guests walked to the new Kanaka‘ole mural by Kamea Hadar and Kuha‘o Zane, Kanaka‘ole’s grandson, located on Edith Kanaka‘ole hall.
“It’s glorious,” said Edith’s granddaughter, Kekuhi Keali‘ikanaka‘ole. “It’s actually the closest painted rendition of her, there’s been dozens, but that is the closest to her that I’ve seen.”
Guests also enjoyed several hula performances on campus with Kanaka‘ole’s compositions.
Rooms were set up where guests could learn about Kanaka‘ole legacy with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, her impact on the UH, the Smithsonian Institute, and the U.S. Mint, and where visitors received a Kanaka‘ole quarter.
“We love our grandmother, and of course she’s awesome, but all of this, from our perspective, all this is not about one lady and one family,” Keali‘ikanaka‘ole said. “The bigger message here is that we’re a part of the landscape and the big thing that carries us and moves us into the next space and time is our quality relationship with each other and that landscape. And if that can get spoken through a coin, a visitor, a mayor, a governor, a UH president, then that’s good.”
The celebration culminated in the courtyard where Nalani Kanaka‘ole, Edith and Luka’s youngest daughter, watched the dances her mother composed.
She shared a brief passage from her mother’s autobiography for attendees.
“It’s an insight into her Hawaiian passion and how she acquired the knowledge she urgently passed on,” Nalani Kanaka‘ole said of the passage written in 1975:
“Teaching language at Keaukaha Elementary School was a great accomplishment for me, to hear children speaking the language,” she recited. “Now at UH-Hilo … I will teach Hawaiian language, herbs and plants, hula, chants and music, sports, games and legends. I think a lot about my time as a young girl, about the ocean and the river, while I’m in the mood to write songs and chants, for one can only enjoy doing when she actually does it.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.