[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                      REMEMBERING EDITH KANAKA`OLE

 Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, earlier this year, the U.S. Mint 
launched the Edith Kanaka`ole quarter, the seventh coin in the American 
Women Quarters Program, which is intended to celebrate pioneering women 
who were accomplished leaders in different fields and who came from 
various backgrounds. She joins other notable women such as Maya 
Angelou, Anna May Wong, and, starting next year, Patsy Takemoto Mink.
  Shortly after the bill creating the program was signed into law, I 
was proud to recommend to the Mint that Mrs. Kanaka`ole be selected for 
the program. Now, people in the State of Hawaii and throughout our 
Nation can find her likeness on circulating U.S. quarters.
  Mrs. Kanaka`ole's story is truly remarkable. Her impact is 
widespread. Born on October 30, 1913, Edith Kanaka`ole, or ``Aunty 
Edith'' as she was commonly known, was an indigenous Hawaiian composer, 
chanter, kumu hula--traditional dance teacher--and a custodian of 
Native culture, traditions, and the natural land. She has been 
recognized within her local community, throughout the State of Hawaii, 
and now nationwide as being a preeminent practitioner of modern 
Hawaiian culture, language, and practices.
  One of Aunty Edith's many accomplishments was her direct influence in 
Hawaii's education system. Aunty Edith was instrumental in the creation 
of Hawaiian language curriculum for public school students at the 
Keaukaha School in Hilo, as well as in the development of courses and 
seminars at the college and university levels on subjects including 
ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy, and Hawaiian chant and 
mythology.
  Aunty Edith was also a renowned kumu hula. She believed that oli--
Hawaiian literary chants--formed the basis of Hawaiian values and 
history. She started composing oli and choreographing hula, and, in the 
1950s, she toured the contiguous United States, western Canada, and 
much of Asia with a hula group named after her daughter Nalani. She 
went on to found her own halau--hula school--Halau O Kekuhi, which is 
still in operation today.
  In 1979, Aunty Edith received the Distinction of Cultural Leadership 
Award, the State of Hawaii's highest honor. It is given to individuals 
who have made significant outstanding lifetime contributions to Hawaii 
in areas of culture, arts, and humanities. Aunty Edith passed away on 
October 3, 1979, but her legacy lives on through her family, community, 
and the Edith Kanaka`ole Foundation, a Hawaiian culture-based, 
nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining and perpetuating 
cultural education and traditional practices.
  A line from one of her most famous oli, ``E ho mai ka ike,'' is 
inscribed on the reverse side of the Edith Kanaka`ole quarter and 
translated as ``granting the wisdom.'' I cannot think of a better 
phrase to encapsulate Aunty Edith's legacy.
  Mahalo, Aunty Edith, for all your contributions to our State and this 
Nation.

                          ____________________