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    3.73
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    5.13

    The Edith Kanakaʻole Quarter

     

    Edith Kanaka’ole (1913 – 1979) undoubtedly has one of the longest names of all the American women honored by the US Mint. Surprisingly, her birth name was quite a bit longer than that: Edith Kekuhikuhipu’uoneonāali’iōkohala Kenao. So, “Kanaka’ole” is an improvement, if only for writers who cover her memorable life.

    Name aside, Ms. Kanaka’ole left an indelible mark on both her native Hawaii and the greater United States. She is one of the primary reasons that the Hawaiian language, culture, and customs remain known to this day.

    So, her inclusion on the quarter is absolutely justified. Let’s discuss the remarkable life of “Aunty Edith.”

    Biography

    Edith Kekuhikuhipu’uoneonāali’iōkohala Kenao was born in Honomū on the big island of Hawaii. At the time of her October 1913 birth, Hawaii was in an awkward interregnum between its days as an independent kingdom and its statehood in 1959.

    Kanaka’ole was one of 12 children, and her formal education ended sometime in middle school. Instead, she spent much of her younger years engaging in subsistence fishing with her family.

    Kanaka’ole’s mother, Mary, introduced the young Edith to the Hawaiian language and customs almost from birth. In particular, Mary was a hula teacher, and she taught her children as a means of connecting to their heritage as Native Hawaiians. As part of this instruction, she also learned many traditional Hawaiian chants.

    Edith’s father, John, was a musician in his own right. So, most of Kanaka’ole’s formative years were spent absorbing the power and beauty of her culture, and it informed her perspective for the rest of her days.

    Now, in 1921, the US government set aside roughly 200,000 acres of land as part of the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The purpose of the act was to help reestablish some of the cultural connections lost during the period after the demise of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

    Edith Kanaka’ole was one of the first Native Hawaiians to move into one of the newly-established communities in the area, Keaukaha, which became her home sometime after 1924. Though the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act bore a controversial requirement that those moving into the area had to be 50% Hawaiian or greater, the Kenao family had no issues with their bloodlines that would have disqualified them.

    Edith Kenao became Edith Kanaka’ole when she married Luka Kanaka’ole in 1933. The couple had six children and remained together until Edith’s death in 1979.

    Kanaka’ole became a well-known figure within the Native Hawaiian community. She quickly gained the nickname “Aunty Edith,” as her hula and advocacy for the culture caused her popularity to grow.

    In 1946, Kanaka’ole began composing Hawaiian chants, or “oli,” of her own. She also wrote songs, which she eventually recorded on two albums.

    Her increasing fame and popularity led to a tour of the contiguous United States, Canada, and several countries in Asia in 1950. However, she returned to her home soon afterward due to her mother’s death from a stroke.

    As a means of honoring her mother, she established her own hālau hula, Hālau o Kekuhi, which was a traditional Hawaiian longhouse that served as a school for young boys and girls to learn hula and other Hawaiian customs and rituals.

    Hawaii’s passage into statehood in 1959 understandably created some tension for Native Hawaiians, who were concerned about the assimilation of residents into American culture at the expense of their own. As it happened, the resulting resistance became known as the Second Hawaiian Renaissance, which officially began in 1970.

    Kanaka’ole’s activities poised her to be one of the leading figures in this growing movement. She campaigned stridently for initiatives to teach the Hawaiian language in the state’s public schools.

    Her contributions to the advancement and maintenance of Hawaiian culture culminated in Edith becoming a professor at Hawaii Community College in 1971 and at the University of Hawaii – Hilo in 1973. Despite her avowedly incomplete formal education, she established courses on the Hawaiian language, Polynesian history, and ethnobotany.

    She also supported efforts to create an actual bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies. The discipline is now an integral part of education at the University of Hawaii.

    Sadly, Edith Kanaka’ole did not live to see the establishment of several of her programs. Diagnosed with cancer, she passed away on October 3, 1979 – a few weeks before her 66th birthday.

    Legacy

    Aunty Edith had already earned several awards and recognitions for her efforts prior to her death. The State Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs named her “Hawaiian of the Year” in 1977, and the Governor of Hawaii named her a Living Treasure and gave her the Award of Distinction for Cultural Leadership in 1979. Her second album, released posthumously, even won Album of the Year at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

    Edith’s husband, Luka, passed away in 1989. The following year, the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation opened as a means of continuing the couple’s commitment to Hawaiian cultural studies. Two of their daughters continued their hula teachings at Hālau o Kekuhi, and the school continues to instruct and perform to this day.

    Although Edith Kanaka’ole was largely unknown to the American public in more recent times, honoring her on an official piece of US currency was completely merited. So, let’s discuss how she appears on her custom coin.

    The 2023 Quarter

    The Edith Kanaka’ole quarter was the second specially-designed quarter released in 2023. It was also the seventh coin released overall.

    As with all of these quarters, the obverse continues to feature an image of President George Washington. The right-facing image has adorned the quarter since 1932.

    The reverse is where the quarter distinguishes itself. Aunty Edith is portrayed as a forward-facing bust, with traditional flowers and other items woven into her hair. Her face floats above a landscape of the Hawaiian plain, and her name is printed nearby.

    At the bottom of the quarter is the phrase “e hō mai ka ‘ike,” which translates to “granting the wisdom.” The phrase is an obvious reference to both hula and oli, and is a fitting nod to the legacy of Edith Kanaka’ole.

    Edith Kanaka’ole is the first Hawaiian to be recognized on American currency.

    All Market Updates are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of JM Bullion Inc. and should not be construed as financial advice.