New album marks 50 years of movement to protect Kaho‘olawe
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Fifty years after a protest helped launch the movement to protect Kaho'olawe, a new album and concert are marking the anniversary of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana and its continuing efforts to restore the island.
The album, "50 Years of Aloha ʻĀina," features 12 original mele, or songs, honoring the island and the movement that began in 1976. It is available on streaming platforms. There will also be a concert celebrating the anniversary from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, on Bishop Museum’s Great Lawn on Oahu.
The concert will feature Hawaii musicians including Ikaakamai, Kimié Miner and Kaʻikena Scanlan. Proceeds will support the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana.
Isaac ʻIkaʻaka Nāhuewai, known musically as Ikaakamai, helped develop the anniversary album by recruiting collaborators, writing songs, directing the Protect Kahoʻolawe Band and producing and mixing five tracks with other artists.
Nāhuewai, a student engagement and Hawaiian language resource coordinator at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and a doctoral candidate at UH Manoa, sees music as a way to preserve history and pass knowledge between generations.
"Gathering and singing songs together creates alignment and collective spirit. Contributing our voices and mana fosters aloha lāhui (love for our people)," Nāhuewai said.
The movement to protect Kahoolawe began in 1976, when nine activists landed on the island and witnessed the destruction caused by decades of military bombing.
Musicians gather with a ukulele in a photograph accompanying the release of "50 Years of Aloha ʻĀina," an album of 12 original songs celebrating the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana’s 50th anniversary. Courtesy photo
Their efforts helped establish the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana, which advocated for an end to the bombing and the restoration of the island. Military bombing ended in 1990, but efforts to restore Kaho'olawe and its cultural practices continue.
University of Hawaii faculty, staff and students have supported that work for decades through educational programs, cultural practices and hands-on restoration efforts.
Kaipu Keala, an assistant professor at UH Manoa’s Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, said the movement helped affirm Hawaiian beliefs about the relationship between people and the land.
"The value of aloha ʻāina takes on this religious dimension and that allows it to become more than just a slogan. It becomes a way of life," Keala said.
Kumu Kaliko Baker, an associate professor at UH Manoa’s Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language, helps lead the I Ola Kanaloa program. Students who visit Kaho'olawe practice Hawaiian language, care for historical sites, remove invasive plants and participate in traditional activities, including song composition.
The work also relies on families who help transport volunteers and supplies to the island.
University of Hawaii faculty and students have helped restore the island for decades. Photo courtesy P.F. Bentley
Kaulu Luʻuwai, an attorney with UH Manoa’s Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, said her family has supported transportation to Kaho'olawe since 1983. Today, her father and brothers help transport volunteers aboard the family’s boat, Pualele.
"It’s a generational commitment. It’s not something we can just stop doing. It’s an obligation for us, a really heavy kuleana: getting people there safely to support the work the ʻOhana does on the island," Luʻuwai said.
A ceremony honors Kaho'olawe as a physical form of Kanaloa. Photo courtesy P.F. Bentley