Forum

Tane wrote this:

Today the Hawaiian Kingdom celebrates its national holiday, La Ho'omaika'i, Thanksgiving Day.  This is during the Makahiki season whereby we emphasize a period of peace, joy, love and happiness as opposed to war and strigent kapu.  Our kupuna knew we needed a "circuit-breaker" and what better time to do it than during the season of Lono. 
 
Christmas coincides with the Polynesian practice; so whether we celebrate Thanksgiving proclaimed by Kamehameha IV or the
Christians' traditional Christmas, all is in order of the day.  Peace on earth to men of good will!
 
Have a happy holiday season one and all!  Don't for get our next national holiday is Memorial Day on 30 December; a time to reflect on our loved ones who have departed from this world.
 
God bless you all,

Stanford Achi: Kauai leader who led early successful tenant struggle against Niumalu-Nawiliwili evictions.

Kahu Abraham Akaka: During the last 15 years at Kawaiahao Church, the Rev. Akaka supported and participated in special annual observances of the 1893 overthrow. Akaka wholeheartedly shared the dignity and stature of his office with radical sovereignty politics and early on led an historic protest march that resulted in appointment of Hawaiian trustees to Bishop Estate.

Martha Billie Beamer: Served as Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee and chairwoman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. As chairwoman, she ushered in an era of unprecedented new housing for beneficiaries and concentrated her efforts on fiscal accountability at OHA.

Robert Beaumont: Composed and recorded many songs that poetically describe the beauty of the land and the hard struggles of Hawaiian people. Along with other members of the musical group Olomana, he was a constant and consistent presence at early political struggles.

Wayne K. Davis: A tireless and unselfish genealogy expert who helped hundreds of Hawaiian families in their efforts to trace complex and essential family histories.

Apolonia Day: A kupuna (elder), cultural and spiritual counselor who was an early grass-roots member of the sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawaii.

Mary Choy: An activist who was arrested in the early 1970s during the Kalama Valley eviction struggles.

Emma Defries: A kupuna, poet, cultural and spiritual counselor to early movement leaders.

Healani Doane: A respected kupuna, she worked to reform the Hawaiian Homes program and the appointment process for Bishop Estate trustees.

Anita Gouveia: Core support of Ka Lahui Hawaii. She struggled for years for her family's right to engage in subsistence farming on family kuleana in her ahupua'a of 'Loleka'a.

George Helm: Key leader of the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana. He was lost at sea while attempting to reach Kahoolawe on a surfboard.

Betty and Walter Johnson: Husband and wife who were avid supporters, especially monetarily, of Kokua Kalama, considered by many to be the first major contemporary political struggle.

Manu Kahaiali'i: A musician who overcame personal hardship in his early years to become a source of inspiration to the troubled youth he worked with. He was also a former OHA trustee and a nurturer of Hawaiian language.

Randolph H. Kalahiki: An early activist who founded Hui Malama 'Aina o Koolau to protect Windward Oahu resources against overdevelopment and urban encroachment. He was a founder and later executive director of the Hawaiian Coalition of Native Claims, which later became the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: "Bruddah Iz," an inspirational musician who had an impact on local youth with his beautiful voice, songs of political struggle, his personal courage and his aloha.

Parley Kanaka'ole: Along with other members of his family, he guided people on cultural protocol and provided spiritual counsel and leadership, especially to the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana.

Ah Num Kealakamahele: A staunch supporter and activist with the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific organization.

David Ke'alanahele: A kahu and practitioner of native religion who undertook tremendous research to understand the ancestral significance of pohaku (stones) and heiau (temples).

Clara Ku: A kupuna, cultural and spiritual counselor to movement leaders, especially on Molokai.

Henry Lindsey: A meticulous researcher and professional archivist who spent his last years of life painstakingly combing documents in Washington, D.C., to prove the U.S. conspiracy against Hawaii that led to the overthrow.

Sam Lono: Kahuna and practitioner, teacher, mentor and advocate of native religion and the right to carry out religious practices and rituals at sacred places.

Moose and "Mama" Louie: Husband and wife who were early resistance leaders in Kalama Valley eviction.

Lydia N.T. Maioho: Curator and caretaker of Mauna'ala, the Royal Mausoleum, a job passed within the family for many generations.

Harry Mitchell: A kupuna, cultural and spiritual counselor to movement leaders, especially members of Protect Kahoolawe Ohana. Strong mentor and inspiration to generations of Hawaiian language students.

Kimo Mitchell: Son of Harry Mitchell and Protect Kahoolawe member who lost his life with George Helm while attempting to reach Kahoolawe on a surfboard.

Gregory Nali'ielua: Known affectionately as "Papa Kala" or "Papa Kalahiki'ola," he provided spiritual counsel and guidance, especially in his later years, to Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees.

Judy Napolean: Molokai activist who spearheaded many projects to move the island into an era of culturally based economic self-sufficiency.

Harriet Ne: Molokai kupuna, cultural expert and author, and spiritual counselor to movement leaders.

Georgiana Padeken: Queen Liliuokalani Trust social worker and early member of several movements to reform the Hawaiian Home Lands program. Padeken later served as chairwoman of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. She was responsible for accelerated awards, which intensified pressure for increased funding for administration and infrastructure.

Gail Kawaipuna Prejean: An activist as well as founder and first executive director of the Hawaiian Coalition of Native Claims. She was involved in every major early political struggle, including Makua Valley, Kahoolawe, Waiahole-Waikane and Makapuu.

Helena K. Salazar: A descendant of Robert Wilcox, she served as the first head of the Alii Nui branch of Ka Lahui Hawaii.

Helena Santos: Avid supporter and activist with Anahola Beach Park struggle, an effort to challenge the state's homestead leasing practices.

George Santos: Kalama Valley farmer who took a stand against eviction and whose dilemma developed into the central focus of that land eviction struggle.

Piiahi Paki Silva: Kupuna and spiritual counselor to early movement leaders. She is responsible for translation of music written by composer Liko Martin, from which this year's annexation observation takes it theme.

Hilbert Kahale Smith: Lost his life in a fire while being evicted by state officials from his Anahola homestead on Kauai. He had protested expensive, substandard homestead housing for more than a decade.

Lambert Ulaleo: Practitioner of native religion who fought developers and filed the first major lawsuit against geothermal development at Kahauale'a on the Big Island.

Mits Uyehara: An attorney whose research, analytical skills and strong convictions served as a catalyst for community education and action on ceded lands claims. Founding member of Ho'ala Kanawai and the Native Hawaiian Task Force.

Dallas Vogeler: Staunch proponent of independence and member of Hui Na'auau. She used her talent to produce a national award-winning re-enactment of the events of the overthrow during the 1993 centennial observance.