The University of Hawaii at Hilo will honor kumu hula and patron of Hawaiian arts and culture Edith Kanaka‘ole on Saturday to celebrate the release of her commemorative quarter.
“We are honored to host the celebration of the new quarter with Edith Kanaka‘ole’s likeness,” said UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “She has such a profound legacy here at UH-Hilo, and we are happy to welcome the community onto our campus to celebrate her many contributions.”
The free event starts at 10:30 a.m. in the school’s Performing Arts Center with a 45-minute presentation from the Kanaka‘ole family, UH President David Lassner, a representative for Gov. Josh Green and Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth.
“We can see signs of Aunty Edith’s influence all over the Hilo campus,” Irwin added. “From the building named in her honor, to the academic programs we have in ‘Olelo Hawaii and Hawaiian culture, to our Kipuka Native Hawaiian Student Center.”
At 11:30 a.m., the event will move into Edith Kanaka‘ole Hall with a video featuring her, a U.S. Mint education and resource booth, and stories of her impact and legacy on the world as told by her ‘ohana.
“We’ll be going over her life, and the different things we experienced as a family with her,” said Kanaka‘ole’s granddaughter Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, who serves as executive director of the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation. “She was sweet and compassionate, but also very hard-headed, very tenacious about UH-Hilo being the learning center for Hawaiian culture.”
Kanaka‘ole — who was born in Honomu in 1913 and died in 1979 — was instrumental in creating seminars and courses at UH-Hilo including ‘Olelo Hawaii, ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian mythology.
“That was back in the ’70s when the Hawaiian renaissance was just beginning,” Kanahele-Mossman said. “It was also a time where a lot of things in Hawaiian culture were kept kind of in secret, in separate families here and there among the Hawaii Island community, but she was the kind of person to say, no, that’s not right, this curriculum has to be shared with everybody, and UH-Hilo should be the place to do it.”
A special ho‘olaule‘a (celebration) featuring various musicians and performers will also be held in the parking lot.
The newly printed quarters feature a portrait of Kanaka‘ole with her hair and lei po‘o morphing into elements of the Hawaiian landscape, symbolizing her life’s work preserving the lands and culture of Hawaii.
“It’s rare to be able to honor the Hawaiian culture and people in the true spirit of Edith Kanaka‘ole, and we hope that through this coin, the Mint can assist in ensuring that her legacy continues to live on for decades and generations to come,” said Kristie McNally, deputy director of the U.S. Mint, who will attend the celebration. “Her efforts and work preserved the history, cultural heritage and way of life of Hawaiian people.”
Kanahele-Mossman was shocked when she heard the news that Kanaka‘ole had been selected to be part of the American Women Quarters program.
“It was a huge surprise, and after we realized it was real, we were very honored and humbled,” she said. “She would think this is silly; she always did that. She’s been the recipient of several awards, and every time they would call her name, she would come up and she’d say the same thing. ‘Oh, why you gotta bring up my name, you guys are so silly.’”
The Mint involved Kanaka‘ole’s family throughout the design process.
“They asked us for images of my grandmother, then they asked us what we think is important to her,” Kanahele-Mossman said. “So, of course, aloha ‘aina, anything with taking care of the land — that was a big part of her philosophy — language, hula, all of those images we gave to the U.S. Mint.”
The family also advocated for the inscription that appears on the bottom: “E ho mai ka ‘ike,” or “granting the wisdom.”
The phrase comes from a well-known chant that Kanaka‘ole composed.
“When she wrote it, she felt that it was something people needed to recite because it asks for knowledge, it asks the elements and natural resources to please, grant me knowledge so that I might understand better what I’m saying, what I’m reading, what I’m observing,” Kanahele-Mossman said. “It started in Hilo, and then people felt the freedom of it, and they started chanting it, and it opened up this whole new understanding to today’s generation, that we can learn culture, we can practice culture, it’s not a secret to be hidden away, it can be spread throughout Hawaii … and now, throughout the mainland, and the world.”
The phrase has been included on the almost 200 million Edith Kanaka‘ole quarters that have been shipped nationwide by the Mint.
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.