Agnes Kalanihoʻokaha Cope (November 7, 1924November 16, 2015) was an expert in traditional Hawaiian culture. A spiritual healer, Cope helped establish the
Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
The Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC), founded in 1972, is a community health center serving the healthcare needs of the Wai‘anae Coast on the west side of O‘ahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. When it was first established, ...
after recognizing barriers
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
faced in receiving healthcare. She was also a
hula master and founded the Waianae Coast Culture and Arts Society to preserve traditional Hawaiian knowledge and practice.
Early life and education
Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Mengler was born on November 7, 1924, in
Honolulu.
Her parents were Henry T. Mengler, a German man, and Sarah Kalaniho’okaha Hakuole Mengler, a native Hawaiian from Maui.
Cope learned to speak Hawaiian from her mother and studied hula under kumu
Lokalia Montgomery.
She grew up in Honolulu and attended
Farrington High School
Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School is a public grades 9–12 high school located in the Kalihi district of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, United States.
The school is named after the late Wallace Rider Farrington, the sixth g ...
.
Cope graduated from
Honolulu Business College and the
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she studied education.
She began her career teaching English at
Waianae High School
Waianae High School is a public, coeducational secondary school in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, on the leeward (western) coast of the island of Oahu. The school about northwest of central Honolulu CDP. Waianae High S ...
, and later taught at Waianae and Nanaikapono elementary schools.
Work preserving Hawaiian culture
Cope was a
kumu hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual ...
, a master teacher in the art of hula, as well as a teacher of the Hawaiian language.
She encouraged the practice and teaching of traditional Hawaiian arts and culture throughout her life.
In 1967 she founded the Waianae Coast Culture and Arts Society, seeking to practice and preserve Hawaiian culture.
She was the Society's Executive Director for many years, encouraging the community to learn from cultural practitioners and artists.
As director of the organization, Cope was instrumental in the research and publication of the 1986 book ''Ka Poe Kahiko o Waianae: Oral Histories of the Waianae Coast of Hawaii'', documenting the rich history of Hawaii from the perspectives of kupuna.
Efforts in health care
Cope was a practitioner of lā'au kāhea, Hawaiian spiritual healing.
After recognizing some Hawaiians in
Waianae were not able to afford hospital treatment, Cope worked with other residents to help found the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.
The center and its two satellite clinics practice Western medicine, but the treatment regime is complemented with traditional Hawaiian healthcare practices.
A group of traditional healers work out of the Dr. Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Cope Traditional Hawaiian Healing Center, which was built in 2009.
Cope led the center's Kūpuna Council, a group of Native Hawaiian master healers who advise on cultural and traditional services.
For ten years she served on the board of Ke Ola Mamo, a health care system in O‘ahu for the Native Hawaiian community.
Core was an original member of the original Kupuna Council of Healers, established in 1988, bringing her perspective as a traditional Hawaiian healer.
Death, honors, and legacy
Cope died November 16, 2015, in
Kapolei.
In 1987 Cope was named one of the
Living Treasures of Hawaiʻi by the
Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii ( ja, 本派本願寺ハワイ別院, ''Honpa Honganji Hawai Betsuin'') is a district of the Nishi (West) Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, a school of Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism.
History
Jodo S ...
. In 2000 she received the Ka‘ōnohi Award in honor of her significant contributions to improving the health and well-being of Hawaiians.
She was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters from the
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2009.
Governor
Neil Abercrombie proclaimed April 8, 2011, as Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Cope Day in Hawaii.
The
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...
system announced plans in 2018 to build a community learning center in
Nānākuli to be named after Cope.
References
External links
Agnes K. Copeshort videos from the
National Library of Medicine "Native Voices" series featuring Cope discussing traditional Hawaiian healthcare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Agnes Kalanihoʻokaha
1924 births
2015 deaths
American people of Native Hawaiian descent
Native Hawaiian activists
People from Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni
Honolulu Business College alumni