George Jarrett Helm Jr. (March 23, 1950 – disappeared March 7, 1977) was a Native Hawaiian

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

from Kalamaula,

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. He graduated from St. Louis High School on

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

, about which he said, "I came to Honolulu to get educated. Instead I lost my innocence." While at St. Louis, he studied under Hawaiian cultural expert John Keola Lake, and Kahauanu Lake. George achieved mastery in vocal performance and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Overview

Helm was one of the greatest Hawaiian

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

vocalists, and played fast, complex guitar parts while singing in an "almost inhuman" vocal range. He was a powerful speaker, writer, and "revolutionary" philosopher who pioneered many

Hawaiian sovereignty The Hawaiian sovereignty movement ( haw, ke ea Hawaiʻi), is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to re-establish an autonomy, autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii due to desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and ...

concepts. He was considered, as his posthumous album title suggests, a "True Hawaiian" who surfed, fished, farmed, loved, sang, worshipped, and thought in the ways of old.

Activism

Helm began his front-line activism in the

-based group Hui Alaloa around 1975, and became deeply involved in Protect Kahoolawe Ohana, a Hawaiian-led organization that sought to end the

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

of the island of Kahoolawe, a Hawaiian island used as target practice by the U.S. Navy. In 1976, nine activists occupied the island of Kahoolawe, Helm among them. He was moved intensely by the power and beauty of the island, and dedicated the rest of his life to fighting for its protection. Helm, stating "We were touched by some force that pushed us into commitment." (''Hawaii Observer'', 1976), appealed to the Hawaii State legislature Pages 1 & 2 of House Resolution # 493, House of Representatives, Eighth Legislature, 1976, State of Hawaii and to the U.S. Congress, where he proved to be a persuasive writer and orator, for Kahoolawe's protection. However, the bombing continued. More Kahoolawe landings by protesters ensued, and on January 30, 1977 five

s (Helm, Walter Ritte, Richard Sawyer, Charles Warrington, and Francis Kauhane) landed on Kahoolawe in an attempt to gain greater public recognition of the struggle. Everyone was arrested except for Ritte and Sawyer, who stayed hidden on the island for 35 days, with very limited food and water.

Disappearance

Concerned for Walter Ritte and Richard Sawyer (bombing protesters who were in hiding on the deserted island of Kahoolawe), and beset by vivid dreams and visions, George Helm set out — first by boat, then by surfboard — to Kahoolawe, with Maui fisherman and park ranger Kimo Mitchell and water expert Billy Mitchell (unrelated). They reached the island, but Sawyer and Ritte had already been picked up. The next day, the boat belonging to Maxwell Han from Hana that was scheduled to meet Helm, Kimo Mitchell, and Billy Mitchell and return them to Maui was discovered swamped. Apparently, someone had removed the plug out of the small Boston Whaler. Not refitting the plug prior to launch is a common mistake among novice boaters. The three apparently decided to return to Maui and they had a long board, a short board and a pair of fins between them. The weather was extremely treacherous with high winds, small craft warnings, and pounding waves on the shoreline. On the entry to the water George Helm was injured with a gash to his head. Once they were in the water it was obvious to all of them that the currents and ocean conditions were going to prevent them from reaching Maui. They realized they were in a life-threatening situation. At this point Billy Mitchell took the long board and headed back to Kaho'olawe to get help. It took him a good part of the day to reach the shore and walk across the island to notify the Navy of the situation and to get the Coast Guard involved in a rescue operation. Helm and Kimo Mitchell were last seen near the tiny crescent-shaped islet of

Molokini Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small, uninhabited islet located in ʻAlalākeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoolawe, within Maui County in Hawaii. It is the remains of one of the s ...

by Billy Mitchell, who was the only survivor of the group.

Legacy

Today, George Helm Jr. is hailed as one of the

Aloha ʻĀina Aloha Āina, which literally means "love of the land", is a central idea of Native Hawaiian thought, cosmology and culture. ''Aloha ʻāina'' brings a perspective that pervades many aspects of life. Its ecological and cultural orientations are fou ...

movement's greatest heroes; among young activists he is as legendary as the great Eddie Aikau is to young surfers. Although his only musical recordings were made with minimal technology in a local

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, they are played regularly on all Hawaiian music stations. Generations later, George Helm's music is still inspirational to many, both because it is considered to be some of the finest examples of Hawaiian falsetto ever created, and because it embodies one of the most powerful expressions of the Hawaiian soul. The popular song, "Hawaiian Soul," by Jon Osorio and Randy Borden, was written in his memory. Audio sample of song. Written in honor of George Helm In 2020, filmmaker ‘Āina Paikai released a 19-minute film, ''Hawaiian Soul'', about Helm's life.

Quotes

"We are in a revolution of consciousness .... What we (are) looking for is the truth." "There is man and there is environment. One does not supersede the other. The breath in man is the breath of Papa. Man is merely the caretaker of the land that maintains his life and nourishes his soul. Therefore, the āina is sacred. The church of life is not in a building, it is the open sky, the surrounding ocean, the beautiful soil...."

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, George 1950 births 1970s missing person cases 1977 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American anti-war activists American community activists American environmentalists American anti-racism activists Missing people Missing person cases in Hawaii Native Hawaiian activists Native Hawaiian people Nonviolence advocates People lost at sea Singers from Hawaii