{"id":219001,"date":"2025-07-22T14:49:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T00:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219001"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T01:35:28","slug":"edith-kanakaole-library-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/22\/edith-kanakaole-library-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Hawaiian icon Edith Kanaka\u02bbole honored in naming of library collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Library
Newly named collection at Mookini Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The collection of Hawaiian history, legends, books, maps and more inside the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo\u2019s Mookini Library<\/a> now bears the name of a revered Native Hawaiian scholar, kumu (teacher) and haku mele (composer)—who dedicated her life to teaching and preserving Hawaiian culture—Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Renamed in May, the Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span> Hawaiian Collection<\/em> serves students and faculty from both UH<\/abbr> Hilo and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community College. More than that, it\u2019s also become a trusted resource for community members looking to reconnect with their roots.<\/p>\n

“We have a lot of people that are just looking for research about their ʻ\u0101ina<\/span> or about their families, and they come in and utilize our resources,” said Annemarie Paikai, librarian of the Hawaiian collection. “Based on my personal experiences learning from her family, I think that’s what Aunty Edith really wanted, is for that perpetuation to happen on a larger scale, so that it lives within our families and our communities.”<\/p>\n

ʻIke<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian Knowledge) treasures<\/h2>\n
\"Old
Historic maps and land surveys showcase ancient ahupuaʻa<\/span> (Credit: Cooper Lund)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hawaiian collection is home to some rare gems, including detailed 19th-century maps of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island that highlight ancient place names for ahupuaʻa<\/span> (land divisions) and ʻili<\/span> ʻ\u0101ina<\/span> (land sections), names that are no longer commonly used. Visitors can also explore microfilm reels of Hawaiian language newspapers that reach back to the era of the Hawaiian monarchy.<\/p>\n

The collection’s vault contains a substantial number of rare books including early edition copies of works by Queen Liliʻuokalani<\/span>, Samuel M\u0101naiakalani Kamakau, David Malo, W.D. Alexander, as well as many early malihini (foreign) explorers and scientists of the 19th century, and archival materials such as a Hawaiian quilt pattern collection.<\/p>\n

“People can come with their own tracing paper and trace patterns. We’ve had a number of researchers come in\u2026and try to do these old patterns,” Paikai said.<\/p>\n

Kanakaʻole<\/span> legacy<\/h2>\n[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I8EDZrEijoY” el_aspect=”169″ align=”right” el_id=”wrap-video-right”][vc_column_text]\n

The dedication ceremony for the newly named collection was filled with the sounds of oli (chant), mele (song) and hula performed to one of Kanakaʻole<\/span>\u2019s original compositions Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai<\/em> about various limu (seaweeds) found in the ocean. Held in May, the event brought together members of the Kanakaʻole<\/span> ʻohana<\/span>, UH<\/abbr> Hilo leadership and library staff to honor the renaming. Four generations of Aunty Edith\u2019s ʻohana<\/span>, including her daughter Pua Kanahele, were present\u2014highlighting the deep cultural and personal significance of the occasion.<\/p>\n

Kanakaʻole<\/span> worked as a teacher at Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> CC<\/abbr> from 1971 to 1974 and at UH<\/abbr> Hilo from 1974 to 1979.<\/p>\n

For her great-granddaughter Lanihuli Kanahele, seeing Kanakaʻole<\/span>\u2019s name within the Hawaiian collection is both an honor and a reminder.<\/p>\n

“Education and being a scholar was a waiwai<\/em> (value) for her,” Kanahele said. “Especially in our ʻohana<\/span>, it continues to be an important thing for us.”<\/p>\n

Native icon<\/h2>\n
\"Edith
In 2023, Kanakaʻole<\/span> was one of five women featured on new U.S. quarters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2023, the U.S. Mint honored Kanakaʻole<\/span><\/a> as one of five American women featured on new quarters through the American Women Quarters\u2122 Program. To celebrate the recognition, a mural of the Keaukaha native<\/a> was unveiled on the building named Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span> Hall at UH<\/abbr> Hilo. Created by Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> artist Kamea Hadar in collaboration with K\u016bhaʻo<\/span> Zane—Kanakaʻole<\/span>\u2019s grandson and creative director at Sig Zane Designs—the mural was made possible with the support of UH<\/abbr> Hilo K\u012bpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mural
Kanakaʻole” width=”676″ height=”381″ class=”size-full wp-image-219009″ \/> Mural at UH<\/abbr> Hilo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more go to the Mookini Library website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span> Hawaiian Collection pays tribute to the respected Native Hawaiian scholar, kumu and haku mele.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":219007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,33,1305,14],"class_list":["post-219001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-hawaiian","tag-hilo-library","tag-uh-hilo","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/hilo-library-edith-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219001","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=219001"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219067,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219001\/revisions\/219067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}