HILO, Hawaii — The University of Hawaii at Hilo invites the public to an event celebrating the life and legacy of educator and cultural icon Edith Kanakaʻole. “He Kaʻao No Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole” will be held on May 6 on campus.
Kanakaʻole was a teacher at Hawaii Community College from 1971 to 1974, then moved to UH Hilo from 1974 to 1979. During her years at both campuses, she created courses and seminars to share Native Hawaiian culture and heritage that included Hawaiian language, ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian chant and mythology.
“It was famously said of my grandmother that she never turned down anyone who asked her to teach,” said Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation executive director, in a news release. “She always said, ‘yes’ not only out of the goodness of her heart but because she felt an urgency to pass down this information and these traditions before they fade away and are forgotten.”
At 10:30 a.m., a kīpaepae (welcome ceremony) and hoʻokupu (ceremonial presentation of gifts and tributes) in the Performing Arts Center will start the day’s program. Then from 11:30 a.m., activities will be held in the Edith Kanakaʻole Hall.
They include sharing of stories of Kanakaʻole’s impact on Indigenous cultures and the world; sharing of stories among Hawaii CC ohana, UH Hilo ohana and the Kanakaʻole ohana at different times; educational crafts and activities; an audio/video loop of “Aunty Edith”; and U.S. Mint education resources and coin board distribution.
A variety of musicians and performers will also perform as part of a hoʻolauleʻa in the parking lot.
Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole is one of five women being honored as part of the 2023 American Women Quarters™ Program by the U.S. Mint. The quarter was released into circulation on March 27. Event attendees will receive an Edith Kanakaʻole quarter.
“It is an honor to celebrate the life and legacy of Edith Kanakaʻole at the University of Hawaii at Hilo,” said Kristie McNally, deputy director of the United States Mint. “Edith Kanakaʻole — the first female Hawaiian to be featured on a United States quarter — worked diligently to preserve Native Hawaiian culture, teach environmental conservation, and serve the Hawaiian community at large. We are proud to recognize her accomplishments through the American Women Quarters™ Program.”
The coin depicts Kanakaʻole, her hair and lei poʻo (head lei) transforming into the Hawaiian landscape, a symbol of Aunty’s lifelong work dedicated to preserving the land and traditional Hawaiian culture. The inscription, “e hō mai ka ʻike” or “granting the wisdom,” comes from a well-known oli (chant) Kanakaʻole composed, asking for knowledge to be bestowed upon the chanter.
“At a time when Native Hawaiians were discouraged from learning their language and cultural practices, Edith Kanakaʻole persisted in teaching and innovating upon her traditional knowledge base,” said Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, associate curator for Native Hawaiian History and Culture at the National Museum of the American Indian.
“Her work laid the foundation for developing Hawaiian curricula that thousands continue to benefit from today. The Smithsonian works with her story in both telling the lesser-known history about the U.S. takeover of Hawaii and its aftermath to further understandings of Native Hawaiian and U.S. history,” said Kapuni-Reynolds.
The four other women being honored on 2023 quarters include Bessie Coleman, the first African American and first Native American woman licensed pilot; Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights leader, reformer, former first lady and author; Jovita Idar, Mexican American activitist, journalist and educator; and Maria Tallchief, Americaʻs first prima ballerina who broke barriers as a Native American.
The four-year American Women Quarters™ Program honors women who have shaped the nation’s history through their lifelong accomplishments and contributions and helped pave the way for the generations that followed.
The Kanakaʻole family recently established the Hale Kanakaʻole Fund with the UH Foundation. It provides support to students enrolled at any UH System campus, preferring students of Native Hawaiian ancestry. The public is welcome to make a donation via the UH Foundation.
Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.