{"id":177287,"date":"2023-05-09T15:11:17","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T01:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=177287"},"modified":"2024-03-04T12:09:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T22:09:37","slug":"hundreds-celebrate-edith-kanakaole-uh-hilo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/09\/hundreds-celebrate-edith-kanakaole-uh-hilo\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds celebrate Edith Kanaka\u02bbole at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_73721\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qG789H2Bg3Y?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Hundreds celebrate Edith Kanaka\u02bbole at Â鶹´«Ã½Hilo\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&#8217;s good that they finally put a Native Hawaiian (woman) on a U.S. currency&#8212;that they recognize our culture,&rdquo; exclaimed 10-year-old Opua Kern, holding her Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> quarter in a commemorative sleeve.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_177385\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-177385\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kern-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Two keiki\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-177385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kern-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kern-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kern.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-177385\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(left) Opua Kern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kern joined about 1,000 who gathered to celebrate the iconic cultural practitioner\u2019s legacy at the <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> on May 6, 2023. <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> worked as a teacher at <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.hawaii.edu\/\"><span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community College<\/a> and at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo in the 1970s, creating courses and seminars on subjects including Hawaiian language, ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian chant and mythology. The legendary educator passed away in 1979.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;How to sustain ourselves on the &#699;\u0101ina (land), how to teach hula, how to oli (chant), how to speak Hawaiian&#8212;all of that was encapsulated in her and she positioned herself within the university system where she really needed to be,&rdquo; said granddaughter Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, executive director of the Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> Foundation (<abbr>EKF<\/abbr>) and <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo kuleana (responsibility) and curriculum development coordinator.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_177547\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-177547\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kanahele-mossman-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Kanahele-Mossman standing in front of a portrait of Edith Kanakaole\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-177547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kanahele-mossman-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kanahele-mossman-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-kanahele-mossman-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-177547\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Huihui Kanahele-Mossman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The U.S. Mint released the Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> quarter into circulation in March. The special coin was a collaboration between <abbr>EKF<\/abbr>, the U.S. Mint and the Smithsonian American Women\u2019s History Museum. <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> is one of five American women being recognized in 2023 as part of the National Women\u2019s History Museum\u2019s American Women Quarters&#8482; Program.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It means a lot to the U.S. Mint,&rdquo; said U.S. Mint Deputy Director Kristie McNally. &ldquo;It&#8217;s showing America the history of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and what a wonderful impact she made to the history here and holding the culture.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>E h\u014d mai ka &#699;ike<\/h2>\n<p>In one of many chicken skin moments that day, hundreds rose to their feet to chant &ldquo;E h\u014d mai ka &#699;ike&rdquo; (granting the wisdom) at the opening ceremony. The first line of <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>\u2019s well-known oli is also inscribed on the quarter that honors her.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Aunty Edith knew that for <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to thrive as a vibrant Indigenous space, she had to be willing to share the knowledge and wisdom of her ancestors,&rdquo; said <abbr>UH<\/abbr> President David Lassner. &ldquo;Her philosophy was to teach all who come, because one never knows who will advance the knowledge. This is important wisdom for the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, which is widely recognized as one of the nation\u2019s most diverse universities.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> founded H\u0101lau o Kekuhi, an internationally recognized dance company. The Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> Multi-Purpose Stadium in Hilo where the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is held is named in her honor. She was also a singer, composer and N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano award winner.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The most important thing for people to take away from Aunty Edith\u2019s legacy is the fact that throughout her lifetime she really advanced and tried to perpetuate&#8212;we would today call traditional ecological knowledge,&rdquo; said Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, associate curator for Native Hawaiian history and culture for the National Museum for the American Indian. &ldquo;So this is really a celebration of that knowledge base that she worked very hard to pass down to not only her children but to anyone who was willing to learn.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>The next generation<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-mural-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Woman taking a picture of the Edith Kanakaole mural\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-177387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-mural-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-mural-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/hilo-kanakaole-mural.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A mural of <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> adorns the wall of <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> Hall where some of the festivities, including coin distribution were held. The mural is a collaboration between local artist Kamea Hadar, <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>\u2019s grandson <span aria-label=\"KUhao\">K&#363;ha&#699;o<\/span> Zane, creative director of Sig Zane Designs, with support from the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo K\u012bpuka Native Hawaiian Student Services. Attendees from keiki to k\u016bpuna stopped to admire the artwork and found themselves enriched by the day\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The amount that she has touched so many people is just astounding, not just through her hula, but through her teaching and through everyone that\u2019s her legacy. I\u2019ve never known anyone that had such a big legacy as Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>,&rdquo; said Myles Walsh, a <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumnus.<\/p>\n<p><span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>\u2019s 14-year-old great grandaughter Malu Killion said, &ldquo;I think everything she did is important to me and my family, because without her, I don\u02bbt think <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> would be in the position it is today.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>\u2019s family recently established the Hale <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> Fund with the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Foundation. The fund recognizes <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span>\u2019s numerous contributions toward the promotion of Native Hawaiians\u2019 educational pursuits, and provides support to students enrolled at any campus within the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> System with a preference for students of Native Hawaiian ancestry. <a href=\"https:\/\/giving.uhfoundation.org\/funds\/13026904\">Donations to the Hale <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> Fund can be made via the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Mossman said, &ldquo;For the next generation, they realize this is who she was and this is the person that the hall is named after and this is the person that the multipurpose stadium is named after and now we know who she is and now we have another Native Hawaiian hero to follow after.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<em>By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The distribution of Edith <span aria-label=\"Kanakaole\">Kanaka&#699;ole<\/span> quarters was a highlight for hundreds who gathered to honor the cultural icon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,12],"tags":[598,61,33,1057,1041,319,14,56,1626],"class_list":["post-177287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-video","tag-faculty-recognition","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-hula","tag-uh-foundation","tag-uh-hilo","tag-video-2","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177287"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177549,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177287\/revisions\/177549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}