Edith Kanaka’ole, hula teacher and ‘preeminent practitioner of modern Hawaiian culture and language’ to appear on U.S. quarters
Edith Kanaka’ole, the late Native Hawaiian hula dancer, will appear on U.S. quarters next year, as part of a program by the United States Mint that honors notable women.
Kanaka’ole was a composer, chanter, dancer, teacher, and entertainer, whose “moʻolelo, or stories, served to rescue aspects of Hawaiian history, customs, and traditions that were disappearing due to the cultural bigotry of the time,” the Mint said in a statement Wednesday.
The beloved hula teacher, who died in October 1979 at the age of 65, is recognized by the people and the state of Hawaii “as the preeminent practitioner of modern Hawaiian culture and language,” according to the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation.
The foundation, established in Hilo in 1990, maintains and perpetuates the teachings, beliefs, practices, philosophies and traditions of Kanakaʻole and her late husband. Its mission is to “elevate Hawaiian intelligence through cultural education founded on the teachings and traditional practices of Edith and Luka Kanakaʻole.”
An obituary published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Oct. 6, 1979 celebrated the life and legacy of “Aunty Edith,” calling her “one of the Big Island’s most cherished educators [whose] lifetime of learning, absorbing, understanding and knowledge, and her ability to relate it all to her students made her a priceless asset.”
She was a “polished performer of ancient Hawaiian chants and hula,” and a church and community leader “who plunged into her activities with smiles, laughter and total commitment.”
According to the U.S. Mint, four other women will also be honored next year: Bessie Coleman, the first Native American woman pilot and the first African American to earn an international pilot’s license; Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady, author, and the first chair of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights; Jovita Idár, a Mexican-American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist; and Maria Tallchief, America’s first prima ballerina who broke barriers as a Native American ballerina.
“The range of accomplishments and experiences of these extraordinary women speak to the contributions women have always made in the history of our country,” Mint Deputy Director Ventris Gibson said in a statement.
“I am proud that the Mint continues to connect America through coins by honoring these pioneering women and their groundbreaking contributions to our society,” Gibson added.
