Hawaiʻi Island students celebrate Edith Kanakaʻole
VIDEO NEWS RELEASE
University of Hawaiʻi
Students at Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School
Keao Killion, Edith Kanakaʻole's grandson
Kaniaulono Hāpai, Student, Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School
The U.S. Mint workshop
Students at Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School
Link to video and sound and stills (details below): bit.ly/3LxDwmO
WHO: More than 300 students from three Hawaiʻi Island schools.
- Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School
- Keaukaha Elementary School
- Ke Ana Laʻahana Public Charter School
WHAT: Keiki learn about and celebrate the legacy of Edith Kanakaʻole, a revered educator, dancer, singer and composer.
WHERE: Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School in Hilo, Hawaiʻi
Note: The Keaukaha area, where this school is located, is special. Kanakaʻole helped to create a Hawaiian language program for a public school there to perpetuate the Hawaiian language.
HOW: Workshops for keiki included:
- Hei, the skill of creating string figures
- Palaʻie, the loop and ball game
- The hula “E komo ma loko a o Halemaʻumaʻu,” original choreography by Kanakaʻole
- “Pua Melie,” another of Kanakaʻole’s famous songs
- Coloring time with Kanakaʻole’s great granddaughters in a specially commissioned book
- Introduction to the art of ʻulana (weaving) lauhala (pandanus) leaves
- Virtual huakaʻi (trip) through Keaukaha, exploring the place names Kanakaʻole describes and writes about in her song, "Nā Pana Kaulana O Keaukaha"
- Learning about the U.S. Mint and distribution of the Edith Kanakaʻole quarter
OTHER FACTS:
- A community celebration of Kanakaʻole’s legendary life will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where she taught and has a building named after her.
- Doors open to the public at 10 a.m., and the celebration runs through 12:30 p.m.
- Livestream: https://go.hawaii.edu/XXT
- The Kanakaʻole’s family recently established the Hale Kanakaʻole Fund with the UH Foundation. The fund recognizes Kanakaʻole’s numerous contributions toward the promotion of Native Hawaiians’ educational pursuits, and provides support to students enrolled at any campus within the UH System with a preference for students of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Donations to the Hale Kanakaʻole Fund can be made via the UH Foundation: https://giving.uhfoundation.org/funds/13026904
VIDEO: TRT 3:34
BROLL: 2:25
:00-:28-chanting (good nat sound)
:27-:40 shots of workshops
:40-1:00 shots of students dancing
1:00-1:14 Shots of Kanakaʻole’s daughters watching
1:14-1:25 shots of workshops
1:25-1:59 shots of students dancing
1:59-2:25 shots of workshops
SOUND:
Keao Killion, Student, Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School, Edith Kanakaʻole’s grandson (:17)
“Just me being able to get out there and to hula for my grandmother to honor her in the ways of hula that are meant for her that really impacted me pretty hard today.”
Killion (:23)
“Because of the fact that she left all these hulas, all of these dances, all of these songs, meles, not only for us to know but to pass on to our next generation and for us to teach, not for us to hold on to it or to let it die out.
Kaniaulono Hāpai, Student, Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Hawaiian Language Immersion Public Charter School (:26)
“Remembering Aunty Edith is something very important to our community of Keaukaha, because sheʻs done so much, not only for the whole world but especially for us individually. And “E hō mai ka ʻike” is a famous line of hers that means, ‘to instill all the knowledge into us,’ and that is something that should be spread to everyone, to always seek knowledge.”