Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele (born September 14, 1937) is a Hawaiian

kumu hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song ( ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance ...

and author. She is the daughter of Edith Kanakaʻole, and as of 2003 led Hālau o Kekuhi along with her sister

Nalani Kanakaʻole Nalani Kanakaʻole (born March 19, 1946) is an American Hawaiian kumu hula (hula teacher) at Hālau o Kekuhi, the dance company. The daughter of Edith Kanakaʻole, she leads Hālau o Kekuhi along with her niece Huihui Kanahele-Mossman. In 1993, ...

. In 1993, the sisters were jointly named National Heritage Fellows by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which recognized them as "Hula Masters".

Career

In 1994, Kanahele was invited by the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

to give a speech about

world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

. In 1995, Kanahele co-wrote and directed the first

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

-length hula drama for the stage, titled '' Holo Mai Pele''. In 1999, she represented Hawai‘i in a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

committee on native cultures and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. As of 2003, Kanahele led Hālau o Kekuhi along with her sister

, additionally teaching

Hawaiian studies Hawaiian studies is an academic discipline dedicated to the study of Hawaiians. It evolved in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional disciplines such as anthropology, history, English language, ethnology, ...

Hawaiʻi Community College Hawaiʻi Community College is a public community college with two campuses on the Island of Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaiʻi system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Hawaii Com ...

during the day. Kanahele was among the leaders of the

Thirty Meter Telescope protests The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) protests are a series of protests and demonstrations that began on the Island of Hawaii over the choosing of Mauna Kea for the site location of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Mauna Kea is the most sacred dormant vo ...

in 2019. In May 2021, she was one of seven

Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesian ...

named to a

working group A working group is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. Such groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdisciplinary collab ...

of 15 people that was convened by the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives () is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, 1978 constit ...

to develop recommendations for management of the

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea (, ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant Shield volcano, shield volcano on the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the List of U.S. states by elevation, highest point in Hawaii a ...

summit. As of 2020, Kanahele was president of the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation.

Personal life

Kanahele has two daughters, Kekuhi Kanahele-Frias and Huihui Kanahele-Mossman.

References

1946 births Living people Hula dancers Dance teachers National Heritage Fellowship winners {{Hawaii-stub