Copyright August 18, 2020 by
Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
SUMMARY:
PBS-Hawaii has a long-running series of weekly 30-minute TV interviews called "Long Story Short." In each show CEO Leslie Wilcox has a pleasant conversation with a local celebrity who has made significant contributions to local culture or with a less-known person who has an interesting life-history.
In 2007 Wilcox interviewed Nona Beamer, an icon of Native Hawaiian culture who trained many masters of hula and chanting, taught at Kamehameha School, and produced many books and recordings [Google "Nona Beamer" for information]. During that interview Aunty Nona claimed that she had invented the word "Hawaiiana" in 1949 while teaching a class, and she maintained that claim under friendly additional questioning.
However, that term "Hawaiiana" was already in widespread use decades before 1949. Politely stated proof of that prior usage was sent to Ms. Wilcox, who said she would "look into it." But from 2008 through 2020 that interview continued to be occasionally rebroadcast without any deletion of the falsehood or correction in onscreen notes or offscreen announcements. Then in August 2020 there was suddenly massive publicity from PBS-Hawaii, published in lengthy local newspaper reports, that well-known filmmaker Tom Vendetti has produced a film focusing on Nona Beamer's invention of "Hawaiiana", which will be distributed to PBS stations nationwide and perhaps to other media or film festivals round the world.
This case study is significant because teachers of Hawaiian history and culture point out that before Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 and the arrival of missionaries in 1820 there was no written Hawaiian language; therefore native Hawaiians passed down all their stories, songs, and knowledge orally, and were very skillful at remembering and reciting verbatim important prayers, chants, genealogies, and histories. The ancient Hawaiian creation legend "Kumulipo" is a poem of 2002 lines which a Kahuna Nui (high priest) was expected to chant perfectly on solemn occasions at a human-sacrifice temple, under threat of severe punishment if he made any errors or hesitations. Ruling chiefs justified holding power because they were descended from the gods or from earlier conquerors; so they relied on their genealogists to flawlessly recite perhaps a hundred generations of ancestry. Continuing to now, ethnic Hawaiians have deep respect for kupunas (wise elders). What they say is accepted unquestioningly and with gratitude as irrefutable truth even though an elder might have some loss of mental sharpness or might be exaggerating fond memories from younger days.
This webpage provides links and text of front cover and page 2 of PBS Hawaii program guide for August 2020, both devoted in their entirety to Nona Beamer and the Vendetti film "Hawaiiana"; the transcript and YouTube video of the October 2007 Wilcox interview of Beamer; text of the news reports in 2020 touting the Vendetti film; text of letters to editor (which they did not publish) by Ken Conklin in response to the news articles, including Conklin's warning from early 2008 to Wilcox about the falsehood; assessment of who is to blame for perpetuation of the falsehood; a brief discussion of Hawaiian epistemology and the seriousness of raising doubts about the authoritativeness of kupuna pronouncements; citations to webpages debunking other Hawaiian historical falsehoods; and a Goebbels Award for Ms. Wilcox.
==========
PBS HAWAII PROGRAM GUIDE FOR AUGUST 2020
https://www.pbshawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PBS-Hawaii-August-2020-Program-Guide.pdf
The cover is dominated by a large photo of Nona Beamer at the Kona Inn, Hawaii Island, 1958
PBS Hawai'i
-- Presents --
Hawaiiana
Watch this new film on Hawaiian cultural icon Aunty Nona Beamer
Page 2 in the program guide is devoted entirely to two large photos of Nona Beamer with the following text:
Thursday, August 27 at 9:00 pm
PBS HAWAI‘I PRESENTS the world premiere of Hawaiiana,
a brand-new documentary about the late Aunty Nona Beamer
Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer, or Aunty Nona
as she was fondly called, was an educator, author, hula dancer and a champion of Hawaiian culture, known for her integrity, scholarship and love.
Maui-based filmmaker Tom Vendetti says he was asked to do the project by his dear friend, Keola Beamer, Aunty Nona’s son. “Even though there have been other films made about her, with basically people talking about her, this film is focused on her telling her own story, along with family members,” Vendetti says.
Included in the film is an excerpt from Aunty Nona’s 2007 episode of PBS Hawai‘i’s Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox. She was the first person ever interviewed for the series. You’ll also see rare black and white film of Aunty Nona as a child, dancing hula.
The title of the film, Hawaiiana, comes from a word Aunty Nona used to describe the very best of all things Hawaiian: the people, their knowledge, culture, wisdom and aloha.
“The wisdom of indigenous cultures is disappearing rapidly around the world. Aunty Nona Beamer was committed to preserving the pure and authentic Hawaiian culture,” Vendetti says. “Her wisdom of spreading aloha around the world is something that everyone should hear. Considering the current cultural issues that
we are confronting, I think her message will resonate and offer hope for the world.”
Courtesy of the ‘Ohana Beamer collection
============
PBS HAWAII CEO LESLIE WILCOX HALF-HOUR INTERVIEW OF NONA BEAMER FIRST BROADCAST ON OCTOBER 23, 2007
YouTube video is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6QeIg5tONQ
Transcript remains on PBS Hawaii website at
http://www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/longstory_transcripts/LSS%20102%20Transcript%20-%20Nona%20Beamer.pdf
Transcript is lengthy, and is copied in full toward the end of this webpage.
==============
PROOF THAT THE WORD "HAWAIIANA" WAS ALREADY IN USE MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, LONG BEFORE NONA BEAMER "COINED" IT.
For example see the word "Hawaiiana" in the title of a book in 1915. Do a Google search for "Catalogue of Hawaiiana"
And one item that pops up is a book whose title page says:
Preliminary Catalogue of
HAWAIIANA
in the Library of George R. Carter
Honolulu
Territory of Hawaii
Collected largely by
Professor H.M. Ballou
Part 1
(in all languages except Hawaiiana)
August 1915
The URL might change from time to time as happens with Google temporary responses to searches; for now it can be viewed at
https://books.google.com/books/about/Preliminary_Catalogue_of_Hawaiiana_in_th.html?id=D3gZAAAAMAAJ
==============
LAHAINA NEWS, AUGUST 13, 2020 [A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER], NEWS REPORT ABOUT TOM VENDETTI'S DOCUMENTARY FILM AND ITS BROADCAST SET FOR AUGUST 27 ON PBS HAWAII
http://www.lahainanews.com/page/content.detail/id/566815/Lahaina-resident-Aunty-Nona-Beamer-remembered-in-new-documentary---Hawaiiana-.html?nav=19
Lahaina resident Aunty Nona Beamer remembered in new documentary, ‘Hawaiiana’
BY CINDY SCHUMACHER , Lahaina News
LAHAINA - On Thursday, Aug. 27, at 9 p.m., PBS Hawaii will present the world premiere of "Hawaiiana," a new documentary about the late Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer, or Aunty Nona as she was fondly called.
Credited with coining the term "Hawaiiana" as early as 1949, Aunty Nona used it to describe the absolute best of all things Hawaiian: the people, their knowledge, culture, wisdom and aloha.
Keola Beamer, Aunty Nona's oldest son, and his wife, Moanalani, assisted by veteran Maui-based filmmaker Tom Vendetti, made the documentary about the much loved Hawaiian heroine who was known for her integrity, scholarship and love.
PBS Hawaii will present the world premiere of “Hawaiiana,” a new documentary about the late Aunty Nona Beamer, on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 9 p.m.
"My mother's legendary wisdom continues to spread much-needed aloha around the world.," said Keola, a Hawaiian slack key guitarist and Grammy Award nominee.
"My mom was a revered Hawaiian cultural treasure and is warmly remembered by thousands of her students."
Keola reflected, "Mom lived in Lahaina in the later years of her life starting from about mid-2005. She died at our home in Lahaina on April 10, 2008. She remained a lifelong teacher of helping to nurture the love of hula and mele in Hawaii and the world, touching many lives. In addition to being my mother, she was an educator, author, hula dancer, artistic collaborator, wise councilor and beloved friend. When my wife, Moanalani, and I think of her many contributions, we are filled with gratitude. Her existence on this Earth was a blessing to all."
Aunty Nona was the granddaughter of Helen Desha Beamer and cousin to Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductee Mahi Beamer.
Before she was a teenager, Aunty Nona was composing meles by adding melodies to ancient chants.
In 1949, she became a high school instructor of Hawaiian culture at Kamehameha Schools and served in that position for almost 40 years. She also took over her mother's hula studio and taught hula in Waikiki for 20 years.
She was an early proponent of the ancient form of the hula being perpetuated through teaching and public performances.
Vendetti said he was asked to do the project by his dear friend, Keola.
"Even though there have been other films made about her, with basically people talking about her, this film is focused on her telling her own story, along with family members," Vendetti said.
"After hearing Aunty Nona's definition of Hawaiiana, I thought it would make a wonderful title for the film, as she explores, in her own words, the journey of her life and her fight toward preserving, perpetuating and creating awareness of Hawaiian culture. I was truly touched and honored to take on the project."
Aunty Nona published numerous books and musical scores, as well as audio and video recordings on the subject of authentic and ancient Hawaiian culture. She brought international attention to hula and other forms of Hawaiian storytelling through music and the Native Hawaiian arts.
After retiring from classroom teaching, Aunty Nona founded and operated the Aloha Music Camp with Keola and Moanalani.
There she spent her days sharing her extensive knowledge of Hawaiian culture with various groups and at numerous workshops. During Aloha Music Camp, she shared the meaning of Hawaiiana and told stories of growing up as a Native Hawaiian.
The film serves to educate people in Hawaii and around the world about traditional Hawaiian culture and how it can serve as a way of bringing people of all backgrounds together. The stories in the documentary pay tribute to how Aunty Nona has achieved being recognized as one of Hawaii's treasures of aloha.
She dedicated her life to the education of Hawaiians and those who have a desire to learn about Hawaiian culture and hula.
Included in the film is a rare black and white film of Aunty Nona dancing hula as a child. There is also an excerpt from Aunty Nona's 2007 episode of PBS Hawaii's "Long Story Short" with Leslie Wilcox. Aunty Nona was the first person ever interviewed for the series.
Additionally, the Hawaiiana program was delivered to American Public Television, the leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation's public television stations.
"Hawaiiana" will be distributed this fall around the nation and beyond.
"The wisdom of indigenous cultures is disappearing rapidly around the world," said Vendetti. "Aunty Nona was committed to preserving the pure and authentic Hawaiian culture. Her wisdom of spreading aloha around the world is something that everyone should hear. Considering the current cultural issues that we are confronting; I think her message will resonate and offer hope for the world. She was truly a Lady of Aloha - a pioneer, alii, musician and a humanitarian."
----------------
COMMENTARY SUBMITTED TO LAHAINA NEWS BY KEN CONKLIN ON AUGUST 15, 2020; NOT YET PUBLISHED.
Headline: How a falsehood about "Hawaiiana" gets perpetuated
Byline: by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
Tagline: Dr. Conklin is a retired professor of Philosophy who has lived in Hawaii since 1992 studying Hawaiian history and sovereignty. His book "Hawaiian Apartheid" is available in the library.
--------------
Concerning your article on August 13 regarding the documentary film "Hawaiiana" about Aunty Nona Beamer, produced by Tom Vendetti, which will be broadcast on PBS:
http://www.lahainanews.com/page/content.detail/id/566815/Lahaina-resident-Aunty-Nona-Beamer-remembered-in-new-documentary---Hawaiiana-.html?nav=19
I'm sad to report a falsehood at the core of the article and film; but glad we can learn a good lesson from it.
The article says "Credited with coining the term "Hawaiiana" as early as 1949, Aunty Nona used it to describe the absolute best of all things Hawaiian: the people, their knowledge, culture, wisdom and aloha." The prominently displayed and publicized title of the film is "Hawaiiana." Mr. Vendetti is correct that Nona Beamer claimed to have coined the term "Hawaiiana" in 1949. She asserted that claim publicly in a 30-minute interview of her by Leslie Wilcox, CEO of PBS Hawaii, which was broadcast on October 23, 2007. The transcript is still available on the PBS-Hawaii website.
The relevant portion of the transcript says:
[Beamer] We didn’t have a term Hawai‘iana until ‘49 when I coined it. ... I wrote on the board “Hawai – glottal i – dash – ana.” So I turned around, I looked at the teachers... I said, “I’d like for us to study this word ‘Hawaiiana... Hawaiiana.’” Now the “ana” is the root word “to measure, to evaluate, to determine what is the best.” So we’re going to concern ourselves with that and teach only the best of Hawaiian culture in the classroom. And that was my reason for that word “Hawaiiana.”
[Wilcox] You made it up.
[Beamer] Yes. And I didn’t mean “-ana” like Americana, Mexicana like a conglomerate of things, you know. But I meant to measure everything that we’re going to teach, and offer the children the very best in the culture.
[Wilcox]That’s one of the many one-of-a-kind things you’ve done, firsts you’ve done.
Soon after the broadcast of that interview I sent this email to Ms. Wilcox:
"Aunty Nona might indeed have believed she was coining the word in 1949. She might be speaking the truth when she claims she invented the term using the Hawaiian meaning of 'ana.' However, the term 'Hawaiiana' was in use long before 1949, and did indeed have the meaning similar to 'Americana or 'Mexicana. ... Aunty Nona would surely have come across the term "Hawaiiana" in its usual meaning. So the best she can claim is that she took a word already in widespread use and twisted it into a kaona of itself -- a double meaning based on the Hawaiian-language meaning of the English-language suffix 'ana.' For example, there's a book published in the year 1915 entitled 'Preliminary Catalogue of Hawaiiana' ... attached to this e-mail. The pdf file of this book contains 207 pages, and the book is entirely an index of published materials, as you can see -- an index of a conglomerate collection ... commonly called 'Hawaiiana.' ... So although Aunty Nona might indeed have created the term 'Hawaiiana' out of her own mind as an original idea of her own, she most definitely was not the first person to coin the term, and the term was already in widespread use for many decades before she 'coined' it. I'm reminded of the period when I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when the Russians were claiming they had been the inventors of everything."
Ms. Wilcox replied "Thanks for the time you took in writing. I'll check this out."
However, during the 13 years since then the interview has been rebroadcast several times locally with no correction or disclaimer, and now is undoubtedly a major source of content in Mr. Vendetti's film which will be broadcast nationwide and perhaps worldwide.
This particular history falsehood is clearly no "big deal." But it illustrates something of major importance: how falsehoods about Hawaiian history get started and perpetuated despite vigorously presenting factual evidence disproving them. A sweet old lady -- a deservedly revered kupuna near the end of her life -- misremembers an event or overstates her own role; and then that initially benign falsehood grows, gets memorialized and passed down as irrefutably authoritative because "it's what my kupuna taught me." And now there's massive publicity about a beautifully made film about a beloved kupuna whose falsehood will now be widely distributed to a teary-eyed audience eager to believe it.
We cannot blame Mr. Vendetti for believing a revered kupuna; and we cannot blame the writer and editor of this article for reporting what's in the film's publicity. Perhaps a little blame falls on Aunty Nona who, in old age and fond remembrance of her youth, exaggerated a bit. Most of the blame goes to PBS-Hawaii CEO Leslie Wilcox for perpetuating a falsehood through numerous rebroadcasts despite well-documented proof that it was false -- she acknowledged receiving the proof and promised to "look into it" but clearly was negligent. Perhaps it was more than negligence. PBS-Hawaii is heavily subsidized by donations from wealthy, powerful ethnic Hawaiian institutions, and has always had several race-activist leaders in its administrative ranks and board of directors. It has a long history of creating and broadcasting numerous one-sided panel discussions and "documentaries" which can best be described as propaganda.
So I say thank you to Kumu Aunty Nona Beamer and filmmaker Tom Vendetti and the editors of many newspapers and magazines for teaching us how falsehoods about Hawaiian history get spawned and perpetuated, although I'm sure it's not the lesson they intended.
----
** Note by Ken Conklin for this webpage on August 18, 2020:
The internet URL I cited in my email to Ms. Wilcox in January 2008 is no longer valid, but it's easy to find a new citation proving that the word "Hawaiiana" is in the title of a book in 1915. For example, do a Google search for "Catalogue of Hawaiiana"
And one item that pops up is a book whose title page says:
Preliminary Catalogue of
HAWAIIANA
in the Library of George R. Carter
Honolulu
Territory of Hawaii
Collected largely by
Professor H.M. Ballou
Part 1
(in all languages except Hawaiiana)
August 1915
The URL might change from time to time; for now it can be viewed at
https://books.google.com/books/about/Preliminary_Catalogue_of_Hawaiiana_in_th.html?id=D3gZAAAAMAAJ
===========
THE MAUI NEWS, AUGUST 15, 2020 [A DAILY NEWSPAPER], NEWS REPORT ABOUT TOM VENDETTI'S DOCUMENTARY FILM AND ITS BROADCAST SET FOR AUGUST 27 ON PBS HAWAII
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/08/hawaiiana-by-woman-who-gave-meaning-to-the-word/
‘Hawaiiana’: By woman who gave meaning to the word
Tom Vendetti’s documentary on Nona Beamer to air Aug. 27 on PBS
The new documentary “Hawaiiana,” screening on PBS Hawaii at 9 p.m. Aug. 27, pays homage to revered Hawaiian treasure Aunty Nona Beamer.
Directed by Maui-based filmmaker Tom Vendetti, the documentary employs rare footage and vintage interview material to paint a moving portrait of a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to perpetuating Hawaiian culture.
Among her many accomplishments, Aunty Nona challenged repressive authorities at Kamehameha School in the 1930s, who had forbidden students from dancing hula standing, at a time when only hula noho, sit down style, was allowed. She was the first Native Hawaiian to perform kahiko hula at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, and later in her life spearheaded the drive to uncover corruption at the Bishop Estate. And it was Aunty Nona who coined the term “Hawaiiana” in 1949, to describe the best of all things Hawaiian and the essence of aloha. All this while raising her two sons, Keola and Kapono Beamer, who became leading lights of contemporary Hawaiian music.
“It’s a gargantuan concept to keep this aloha in the world,” Aunty Nona told Leslie Wilcox in a PBS Hawaii interview. “And that’s what we all have to do in our own hearts, to keep this aloha.”
Born in Honolulu in 1923, and raised on Hawaii island with her parents and her grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer, Aunty Nona moved to Lahaina in 2006, and died in her sleep April 10, 2008.
While she has been portrayed in previous documentaries, Vendetti has focused on Aunty Nona “telling her own story, along with family members.”
The film includes rare black-and-white footage of her dancing hula as a child, extracts from various interviews, film of the Aloha Music Camp on Kauai, and a scene of Aunty Nona joining Keola Beamer on his classic “The Beauty of Mauna Kea,” accompanied by Moana Beamer dancing hula.
“I thought Tom was the guy to capture mom’s story in her own words,” Keola Beamer explained. “It’s really lovely. Tom has made some wonderful films in the past. I worked previously with him on ‘Tibetan Illusion Destroyer.’ I did the music for that.”
“I was honored to do it,” said Vendetti, who was so impressed, “how an individual could be so committed to the concept of compassion and aloha.”
Among scenes in the film, Aunty Nona details the dramatic story of the chant “E Manono,” relating to the battle of Kuamo’o near Kona in 1819. It was the last battle fought in Hawaii to retain the old ways.
“Mom really loved the ancient Hawaiian battlefield called Kuamo’o,” Keola Beamer said. “After she passed away, we procured the land and placed it in a perpetual easement so it will be protected. It’s where mom got her Hawaiian name from Princess Manono.
“Mom was really about love and helping aloha grow. When we were kids she always reminded us to malama ko aloha, keep your love. That way aloha proceeds you. She worked so hard at keeping that alive. It’s easy to live and practice aloha when your life is going well. It’s more difficult when things are hard. She helped me remember that, and in the darkest times of my life there was still that beautiful light of aloha. It was a gift from my mom. She was a great teacher.”
A visionary and pioneer, Aunty Nona championed Hawaiian culture from her youngest days standing up to Kamehameha School authorities.
The school had an early history of cultural suppression. When the boys school opened, Hawaiian was forbidden and students were punished if they were heard speaking the language.
The Rev. Sereno Bishop, who once lived in Hana and Lahaina and gave prayers at the opening of the boys’ school, was vehemently anti-hula. The dance, he wrote, was “one of the foul florescenses” on the “great poison tree of idolatry.”
In a 1993 Maui News interview, Aunty Nona talked about the harsh conditions of her student days at Kamehameha School.
“The school was not geared towards Hawaiian,” she said. “They suppressed us. I was told when I was 12 years old that Princess Pauahi had it written into her will that we were not to chant and dance. I could not believe that a Hawaiian princess who founded a school for Hawaiians prohibited chanting and dancing.”
She reported how she was told, “there were no redeeming features in the culture, there was nothing worth studying. Our principal said we would never succeed in colleges. Hawaiians belonged in the home taking care of children.”
Kamehameha School’s kapu on standing hula was only ended in 1965.
Aunty Nona also recounts other incidents of prejudice she experienced in her early life. like one on the Mainland that’s shocking.
“It’s a gift from Akua,” Keola Beamer said about his mother’s courageous spirit. “She intuitively knew when to stand up for herself, when to call out bull—-. So many people stand on her shoulders. She had thousands of students. She made our path easier.”
After screening on PBS Hawaii (Spectrum Channels 10, 1010), the documentary will receive national distribution through American Public Television in the fall. “It will be distributed to all the PBS stations, so millions of people can see it,” Vendetti said.
Since childhood, Aunty Nona had been curious about what makes Hawaii different, and why the culture is so special, and the importance of aloha.
“Aloha encompasses all the levels of love,” she said.
When she met Tibet’s spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in 2007, she posed the question: “Love is so common why doesn’t the world get it?” The Dalai Lama advised there are many different levels of love, we just have to keep going forward.
“Never mind what’s gone on, we have to go from now forward,” Aunty Nona said.
----------------
COMMENTARY SUBMITTED TO THE MAUI NEWS BY KEN CONKLIN ON AUGUST 15, 2020; NOT YET PUBLISHED.
Headline: How a falsehood about "Hawaiiana" gets perpetuated
Byline: by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D.
Tagline: Dr. Conklin is a retired professor of Philosophy who has lived in Hawaii since 1992 studying Hawaiian history and sovereignty. His book "Hawaiian Apartheid" is available in the library.
--------------
Concerning your article on August 15 regarding the documentary film "Hawaiiana" about Aunty Nona Beamer, produced by Tom Vendetti, which will be broadcast on PBS:
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/08/hawaiiana-by-woman-who-gave-meaning-to-the-word/
I'm sad to report a falsehood at the core of the article and film; but glad we can learn a good lesson from it.
The article says "[I]t was Aunty Nona who coined the term 'Hawaiiana' in 1949, to describe the best of all things Hawaiian and the essence of aloha." The prominently displayed and publicized title of the film is "Hawaiiana." Mr. Vendetti is correct that Nona Beamer claimed to have coined the term "Hawaiiana" in 1949. She asserted that claim publicly in a 30-minute interview of her by Leslie Wilcox, CEO of PBS Hawaii, which was broadcast on October 23, 2007. The transcript is still available on the PBS-Hawaii website.
The relevant portion of the transcript says:
[Beamer] We didn’t have a term Hawai‘iana until ‘49 when I coined it. ... I wrote on the board “Hawai – glottal i – dash – ana.” So I turned around, I looked at the teachers... I said, “I’d like for us to study this word ‘Hawaiiana... Hawaiiana.’” Now the “ana” is the root word “to measure, to evaluate, to determine what is the best.” So we’re going to concern ourselves with that and teach only the best of Hawaiian culture in the classroom. And that was my reason for that word “Hawaiiana.”
[Wilcox] You made it up.
[Beamer] Yes. And I didn’t mean “-ana” like Americana, Mexicana like a conglomerate of things, you know. But I meant to measure everything that we’re going to teach, and offer the children the very best in the culture.
[Wilcox]That’s one of the many one-of-a-kind things you’ve done, firsts you’ve done.
Soon after the broadcast of that interview I sent this email to Ms. Wilcox:
"Aunty Nona might indeed have believed she was coining the word in 1949. She might be speaking the truth when she claims she invented the term using the Hawaiian meaning of 'ana.' However, the term 'Hawaiiana' was in use long before 1949, and did indeed have the meaning similar to 'Americana or 'Mexicana. ... Aunty Nona would surely have come across the term "Hawaiiana" in its usual meaning. So the best she can claim is that she took a word already in widespread use and twisted it into a kaona of itself -- a double meaning based on the Hawaiian-language meaning of the English-language suffix 'ana.' For example, there's a book published in the year 1915 entitled 'Preliminary Catalogue of Hawaiiana' ... attached to this e-mail. The pdf file of this book contains 207 pages, and the book is entirely an index of published materials, as you can see -- an index of a conglomerate collection ... commonly called 'Hawaiiana.' ... So although Aunty Nona might indeed have created the term 'Hawaiiana' out of her own mind as an original idea of her own, she most definitely was not the first person to coin the term, and the term was already in widespread use for many decades before she 'coined' it. I'm reminded of the period when I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when the Russians were claiming they had been the inventors of everything."
Ms. Wilcox replied "Thanks for the time you took in writing. I'll check this out."
However, during the 13 years since then the interview has been rebroadcast several times locally with no correction or disclaimer, and now is undoubtedly a major source of content in Mr. Vendetti's film which will be broadcast nationwide and perhaps worldwide.
This particular history falsehood is clearly no "big deal." But it illustrates something of major importance: how falsehoods about Hawaiian history get started and perpetuated despite vigorously presenting factual evidence disproving them. A sweet old lady -- a deservedly revered kupuna near the end of her life -- misremembers an event or overstates her own role; and then that initially benign falsehood grows, gets memorialized and passed down as irrefutably authoritative because "it's what my kupuna taught me." And now there's massive publicity about a beautifully made film about a beloved kupuna whose falsehood will now be widely distributed to a teary-eyed audience eager to believe it.
We cannot blame Mr. Vendetti for believing a revered kupuna; and we cannot blame the writer and editor of this article for reporting what's in the film's publicity. Perhaps a little blame falls on Aunty Nona who, in old age and fond remembrance of her youth, exaggerated a bit. Most of the blame goes to PBS-Hawaii CEO Leslie Wilcox for perpetuating a falsehood through numerous rebroadcasts despite well-documented proof that it was false -- she acknowledged receiving the proof and promised to "look into it" but clearly was negligent. Perhaps it was more than negligence. PBS-Hawaii is heavily subsidized by donations from wealthy, powerful ethnic Hawaiian institutions, and has always had several race-activist leaders in its administrative ranks and board of directors. It has a long history of creating and broadcasting numerous one-sided panel discussions and "documentaries" which can best be described as propaganda.
So I say thank you to Kumu Aunty Nona Beamer and filmmaker Tom Vendetti and the editors of many newspapers and magazines for teaching us how falsehoods about Hawaiian history get spawned and perpetuated, although I'm sure it's not the lesson they intended.
----
** Note by Ken Conklin for this webpage on August 18, 2020:
The internet URL I cited in my email to Ms. Wilcox in 2007 is no longer valid, but it's easy to find a new citation proving that the word "Hawaiiana" is in the title of a book in 1915. For example, do a Google search for "Catalogue of Hawaiiana"
And one item that pops up is a book whose title page says:
Preliminary Catalogue of
HAWAIIANA
in the Library of George R. Carter
Honolulu
Territory of Hawaii
Collected largely by
Professor H.M. Ballou
Part 1
(in all languages except Hawaiiana)
August 1915
The URL might change from time to time; for now it can be viewed at
https://books.google.com/books/about/Preliminary_Catalogue_of_Hawaiiana_in_th.html?id=D3gZAAAAMAAJ
============
A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF HAWAIIAN EPISTEMOLOGY AND THE SERIOUSNESS OF RAISING DOUBTS ABOUT THE AUTHORITATIVENESS OF KUPUNA PRONOUNCEMENTS
What is knowledge? Where does it come from? What authorities or techniques can we rely upon to distinguish truth from falsity? Many "Native Hawaiians" claim to be indigenous; i.e., they and the Hawaiian islands are children of the gods, so Hawaiians are younger brothers/sisters to the land and maintain an intrinsic spiritual relationship with the gods, the land, and their ancestors whose spirits reside in the bones until the bones disintegrate and give them up to the land. Therefore, as "indigenous" people they claim to have unique ways of knowing both spiritual and material truth. The ancestors are always present inside a living person's mind and bones, and bestow knowledge through dreams, 'aumakua [animal species imbued with ancestral guardianship such as sharks, turtles, or owls], and ho'ailona [physical events bearing spiritual messages].
In ancient culture, people did not own land; rather, the land owned the people. "He ali'i ka 'aina; he kauwa ke kanaka": Land is the chief; people are its humble servants. Land was "owned" communally and governed by a chief who served as intermediary with the gods. Decisions were made by consensus, including submissive deference to the chief; not by voting.
Community consensus, ancestral wisdom, and revelation through dreams, 'aumakua, and ho'ailona were more important sources of knowledge than tangible evidence coming through seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, tasting.
Teachers of Hawaiian history and culture point out that before Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 and the arrival of missionaries in 1820 there was no written Hawaiian language; therefore native Hawaiians passed down all their stories, songs, and knowledge orally, and were very skillful at remembering and reciting verbatim important prayers, chants, genealogies, and histories. The ancient Hawaiian creation legend "Kumulipo" is a poem of 2002 lines which a Kahuna Nui (high priest) was expected to chant perfectly on solemn occasions at a human-sacrifice temple, under threat of severe punishment if he made any errors or hesitations. Ruling chiefs justified holding power because they were descended from the gods or from earlier conquerors; so they relied on their genealogists to flawlessly recite perhaps a hundred generations of ancestry. Continuing to now, ethnic Hawaiians have deep respect for kupunas (wise elders). What they say is accepted unquestioningly and with gratitude as irrefutable truth even though an elder might have some loss of mental sharpness or might be exaggerating fond memories from younger days. What a kumu (teacher) or kupuna (respected elder) shows or says is authoritative, not to be questioned. Watch your teachers and imitate them; do not ask for explanations; all will be revealed if and when you are worthy and ready to receive it.
An ethnic Hawaiian scholar wrote a Doctor of Education dissertation at Harvard University on the topic of Hawaiian epistemology. Manulani Aluli Meyer did not follow the usual procedure of starting with the theories of historically recognized philosophers or inventing something on her own. Instead, she adopted what she considers an "indigenous" methodology. Knowledge is created in the context of relationships among individuals, the environment, and the social community. The elders in an indigenous society are regarded as the repository of cultural wisdom and the authorities on what is valid. Therefore Meyer begins by asking respected ethnic Hawaiian elders to describe how they get knowledge, where knowledge comes from, how they know whether something is true or false, etc. She develops a list of types of knowledge and authority, illustrated by examples given by specific elders. The end result is her theory of Hawaiian epistemology. She seems to believe that Hawaiian ancestral wisdom is somehow passed genetically and spiritually from the ancestors to today's Hawaiians, as well as being passed through cultural upbringing. Therefore she concludes that ethnic Hawaiian children need a very different kind of schooling in a setting separate and independent from any ordinary government school system. See my webpage "Hawaiian Epistemology and Education -- A claim that anyone with a drop of Hawaiian native blood has genetically and culturally encoded unique ways of knowing and learning; and therefore ethnic Hawaiian children (and other ethnic minorities to a lesser degree) have special needs for uniquely tailored curriculum and instructional methods" at
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles2/HawaiianEpistemology.html
Within that context it is a serious matter to raise doubts about what a revered kupuna says. If too many people express skepticism about the teachings of too many kumus or kupunas, the whole basis of an indigenous epistemology will collapse. An individual with doubts might suffer inner turmoil like a Christian priest questioning his own faith. An individual publicly expressing doubts or openly questioning a kumu or kupuna might be regarded by the community as committing treason by undermining the culture and national identity of the "lahui."
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CITATIONS TO WEBPAGES DEBUNKING OTHER HAWAIIAN HISTORY FALSEHOODS
The falsehood alleging that Nona Beamer invented the term "Hawaiiana" is not very important by itself. There are only two reasons which make it worth studying: (a) its genealogy is short and simple: i.e., it has existed only since 2007, its origin is known precisely, and the track whereby it became widespread is easy to follow; (b) it provides a clearcut example where disproving falsehoods asserted by revered kumus or kupunas can undermine a core element of Hawaiian culture in general and epistemology in particular. If they lie too much, the authenticity and credibility of the culture will die.
Below are a few of the many webpages debunking Hawaiian history falsehoods. These falsehoods are important because they have persisted for a long time, it's sometimes unclear how they originated, and if true they would have major impact on our understanding of Hawaii's history and what actions would be pono going forward.
In 1909 ex-queen Lili'uokalani sues the United States for money for "her" crown lands which she says were illegally taken by the U.S. as part of the lands ceded to the U.S. at annexation. In 1910 the court cites the Treaty of Annexation as evidence that the court has jurisdiction and that the lands were properly ceded to the U.S. And the court cites a law passed by the Kingdom legislature in 1865 and signed by the King transferring ownership of the crown lands to the government; thus Lili'uokalani had never been the owner of the crown lands and is not entitled to any payment for them. Analysis of the case, with full text of Lili'uokalani's complaint and court's decision.
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/liliucrownlands.html
Was Hawaiian Language Illegal? Did the Evil Haoles Suppress Hawaiian Language As A Way of Oppressing Kanaka Maoli and Destroying Their Culture?
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/hawlangillegal.html
Holding the State of Hawaii Department of Education accountable for propagating the lie that Hawaiian language was banned.
https://www.angelfire.com/big11a/DOEHawnLangBan.html
Treaty of Annexation between the Republic of Hawaii and the United States of America (1898). Full text of the treaty, and of the resolutions whereby the Republic of Hawaii legislature and the U.S. Congress ratified it. The politics surrounding the treaty, then and now.
https://www.angelfire.com/big09a/TreatyOfAnnexationHawaiiUS.html
Is there a Treaty of Annexation between Hawaii and the United States? Dialogs between Williamson Chang and Ken Conklin
http://big11a.angelfire.com/DialogsChangConklinTreatyAnnex.html
Lies told on the U.S. Senate Floor by Senators Inouye and Dorgan Regarding the Akaka Bill [Senator Inouye said: "I think it is about time that we reach out and correct the wrong that was committed in 1893. Yes, at that time the representative of the people of the United States directed a marine company on an American ship to land and take over the government. They imprisoned our queen. ..."
https://www.angelfire.com/planet/big60/AkakaInouyeDorganLies.html
Hawaiian sovereignty scammer Keanu Sai says that because the overthrow of the monarchy was illegal, every land title transferred since 1893 is not valid; and because of a process he has followed under Kingdom law he is acting regent of the Kingdom and has authority to condone and legitimize those titles (which he does for a substantial fee). Detailed compilation of years of news reports and commentaries. Sai convicted of a felony but small fine and no jail time. (1995 - 2011)
https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/fraudperfecttitle.html
So-called executive agreements between Hawaii Queen Liliuokalani and U.S. President Grover Cleveland -- the new Hawaiian history scam by Keanu Sai (2011)
https://www.angelfire.com/big09/SaiExecutiveAgreementsScam.html
Abusive disparate treatment of ethnic Hawaiians by the judiciary and the criminal justice system? Rebuttal to a report by the Hawaiian grievance industry released September 28, 2010.
https://www.angelfire.com/big09a/DisparateTreatmentCriminal.html
Twisting History -- Reverend Kaleo Patterson knowingly used a fake Grover Cleveland proclamation from 1894, cited it as fact, and used it as the basis for a media blitz in 2006 in Hawaii and on the mainland calling for a national day of prayer for restoration of Native Hawaiians and repentance for the overthrow of the monarchy. He repeated his local and mainland propaganda campaign in 2007 and pushed a resolution through the Hawaii legislature citing the joke proclamation as real. In 2008 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin published a story describing the Cleveland proclamation as a fact and refused to publish a correction. In 2010 Patterson made a trip to Caldwell N.J. in furtherance of his hoax, where the town council gave him a check for $2920 to defray his expenses.
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/fraudpattersoncleveland.html
Native Hawaiian Victimhood Claims -- What Are They? Why Are They Being Asserted? How Can the Bad Statistics Be Explained? (detailed analysis)
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/HawnVictimClaimsDetailAnalysis.html
Native Hawaiian victimhood -- malpractice in the gathering and statistical analysis of data allegedly showing disproportionate Native Hawaiian victimhood for disease and social dysfunction. How and why the Hawaiian grievance industry uses bogus statistics to scam government and philanthropic organizations, politicians, and public opinion.
http://big11a.angelfire.com/NatHwnVictimhoodStatScam.html
Dialog: Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D. vs. Bill Fernandez, retired judge and mayor, regarding a list of Native Hawaiian historical grievances asserted as reasons why a project to construct a 30-meter telescope on Mauna Kea should be cancelled
http://big11a.angelfire.com/DialogConklinFernandezHistoricalGrievances.html
Correcting the falsehood that women had voting rights during the Hawaiian Kingdom
[August 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Some ethnic Hawaiian sovereignty activists, or social justice activists, are using the occasion to assert the falsehood that women had voting rights in the Hawaiian Kingdom long before they got voting rights in the U.S.]
https://www.angelfire.com/big11a/WomenVotingKingdom.html
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WHO DESERVERS THE BLAME FOR SPAWNING AND PERPETUATING THE FALSEHOOD THAT NONA BEAMER INVENTED THE TERM "HAWAIIANA"?
We cannot blame Mr. Vendetti for believing a revered kupuna; and we cannot blame the writer and editor of the newspaper articles for reporting what's in the film's publicity. Perhaps a little blame falls on Aunty Nona who, in old age and fond remembrance of her youth, exaggerated a bit. Most of the blame goes to PBS-Hawaii CEO Leslie Wilcox for perpetuating a falsehood through numerous rebroadcasts during 13 years despite well-documented proof from the beginning that it was false -- she acknowledged receiving the proof and promised to "look into it" but clearly was negligent.
Perhaps it was more than negligence. PBS-Hawaii is heavily subsidized by donations from wealthy, powerful ethnic Hawaiian institutions, and has always had several race-activist leaders in its administrative ranks and board of directors. It has a long history of creating and broadcasting numerous one-sided panel discussions and "documentaries" which can best be described as propaganda. For several weeks before the broadcast PBS Hawaii ran brief announcements during station breaks between programs. The announcements displayed the title of the film with its broadcast date and time, and prominently showed "Sponsored by Kamehameha Schools"!
Leslie Wilcox and PBS Hawaii deserve the blame for spawning and perpetuating this falsehood. Therefore they have earned the following Goebbels Award.
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GOEBBELS AWARD TO PBS HAWAII AND ITS CEO LESLIE WILCOX
AUGUST 18, 2020
WHAT IS THE GOEBBELS AWARD?
The Goebbels is an award especially for mainstream news media and powerful institutions in Hawaii. Media awards often have a single name, like the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy, and the Pulitzer.
The Goebbels is named in (dis)honor of Joseph Goebbels, who was propaganda minister for Adolph Hitler. He was known for using the media to tell small lies repeatedly until people came to believe them; and for telling big lies that were so outrageous, with such authoritativeness, that nobody dared to challenge them. The lies told by Goebbels, presented as facts, usually concerned governmental policy and often were directed in favor or disfavor of selected racial groups. Thus his name is especially appropriate for use in Hawaii.
The icon for the Goebbels is a pile of steaming crap.
The inaugural Goebbels
http://bigfiles90.angelfire.com/GoebbelsAwardHonStarBull042308.html
was awarded in 2008 to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for a feature article falsely stating that
"President Grover Cleveland signed a proclamation in 1894 that set April 30th as a day of prayer and remembrance for Queen Liliuokalani and the overthrown monarchy of Hawaii."
The article was accompanied by photos of ethnic Hawaiian activists praying at the Royal Mausoleum chapel ahead of a highly publicized 5,000-mile trip to lay flowers on the tomb of Grover Cleveland. Emails were sent to 9 reporters and editors at the newspaper demanding that a correction be published. The emails contained proof that President Cleveland never issued such a proclamation, and that the alleged proclamation was not in a news report but was in fact a sarcastic editorial against Cleveland (a Democrat) in a New York Republican-oriented newspaper in 1894. But the Star-Bulletin people ignored the evidence and the demand for correction. The legislature later passed a resolution establishing April 30 as a permanent Hawaiian Restoration Day state holiday, relying on lies told by Hawaiian activists who requested the resolution and despite written testimony containing the same proof given to the Star-Bulletin.
WHY THIS NEW GOEBBELS IS BEING AWARDED ON AUGUST 18, 2020?
On OCTOBER 23, 2007 PBS Hawaii first broadcast a half-hour interview of Aunty Nona Beamer by CEO Leslie Wilcox. During that interview Ms. Beamer claimed that she had coined the term "Hawaiiana" while teaching a class at Kamehameha School. An extended discussion ensued in which Wilcox confirmed that Beamer was claiming to have invented the term, and Beamer explained the meaning of the Hawaiian suffix "ana".
After some time for research Ken Conklin sent an email to Ms. Wilcox in mid-November alerting her to the falsehood wherein Beamer had claimed to have invented the term "Hawaiiana." Conklin's email to Wilcox provided a URL for a Google digital copy of a book published in 1915 whose cover and title page said "Preliminary Catalog of Hawaiiana."
On January 12, 2008 a reply email from Ms. Wilcox said "Thanks for the time you took in writing. I'll check this out." But either Wilcox negligently never did check it out, or else she knowingly chose to ignore the evidence.
From 2008 through 2020 the same interview with Nona Beamer (who died in 2008) continued to be occasionally rebroadcast, with no deletion of the falsehood and no notice about the falsehood anywhere onscreen or in program notes or publicity.
PBS Hawaii has become a propaganda agency for Kamehameha Schools, OHA, and other powerful race-focused institutions seeking to mold public opinion to support racial entitlement programs and race-nationalist political sovereignty. This TV corporation has powerful Hawaiian race-activists in its administrative ranks and on its board of directors, and accepts large subsidies from such institutions as shown by the prominently displayed credit for the Vendetti film "Sponsored by Kamehameha School."
This is not the first time PBS Hawaii and CEO Wilcox have either negligently or intentionally perpetuated a falsehood utilized to tout ethnic Hawaiian victimhood claims or to portray Hawaiian culture as especially and disproportionately worthy of reverence. A previous Goebbels was awarded to PBS Hawaii and Leslie Wilcox on March 28, 2019 for their panel discussion perpetuating the falsehood that Hawaiian language was made illegal after the overthrow of the monarchy; see the award at
http://big11a.angelfire.com/GoebbelsAwardPBSLeslie032819.html
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Leslie Wilcox' interview of Nona Beamer was first broadcast on October 23, 2007
YouTube video is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6QeIg5tONQ
On August 18, 2020 the transcript remains on PBS Hawaii website at
http://www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/longstory_transcripts/LSS%20102%20Transcript%20-%20Nona%20Beamer.pdf
That transcript is copied below, in case it somehow gets lost whenever PBS does its digital housecleaning.
http://www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/longstory_transcripts/LSS%20102%20Transcript%20-%20Nona%20Beamer.pdf
GUEST: NONA BEAMER
LSS 102 (LENGTH: 26:46) FIRST AIR DATE: 10/23/07
Aloha! And mahalo for joining me for another wonderful conversation on Long Story Short. I’m Leslie Wilcox. We’re about to sit down with Aunty Nona Beamer whose life as an educator and composer began simply enough – teaching hula to young, local girls in Kaka‘ako and to America’s first movie star, Mary Pickford. But, as a student herself, young Nona would be expelled from school – for chanting in her beloved language. And it was her love for that school – Kamehameha – that would lead her to write a letter as an adult demanding reform of... well, let’s let Aunty Nona tell her stories herself. We got together with her at her friend’s house at Diamond Head.
(Nona chants)
You wanted to do this interview near Kamapua‘a. What’s the significance?
Well you know, we are not here very often. And so much of our family background is mythology and legends and history and the Pele family and the love affair between Kamapua‘a and Pele you know, and all that exciting passion going on. Here’s a chance to see a replica of that symbol of the legends of the story; so I don’t like to pass up the opportunity to come and say, ‘Thank you!” We are so happy to have the myths and legends to pass on to our children and have my daughter with me, and you know.
You mentioned passions. Look at you. You still have such a passion for life. Have you slowed down at all? I mean, I know you were sidelined in the hospital for four months. But there you are back at it again.
You know, I’m having so much fun and I am so grateful and I think, look where we are in all of this beauty and no matter where we look around us it is glorious. How lucky can we be? How lucky?
You’re in your mid 80’s now.
Sweetheart, I was 84 last week. Is that mid?
And a couple of years ago you where in the hospital for 4 months. You had a bypass surgery, you had a stroke and lots of people were very worried about you.
Bye bye Nona (laughs). I guess God had another plan for me and I thought, well I better get off my arse and do something. So I am trying to do something. Yeah, life is so beautiful. And it’s so beautiful because of each other, you know? Our kindness with each other, our voices, our smiles, the way we touch each other’s hands. It seems so corny but it works.
And you saw some of that when you were ill in the hospital.
Yes, and people that I did not know, reams of cards, school children. And I’m reading them and I had no idea who these people were, but the healing vibes were just so powerful and all the prayers. They’d come to the door and say a prayer standing in the doorway, and I’d look and couldn’t make out who they were. And sometimes I couldn’t hold my head up and somebody would be chanting at my door. I thought, isn’t that wonderful that people would give up themselves and their healing energy is healing me, you know? This business of kindness and love, it’s so, so real. And it works Leslie, in every aspect of your life. And we say to live pono. That’s not very easy, pono spiritually, pono emotionally, pono physically in every aspect of your life. Moderato, you know? So you don’t overeat, you don’t get overemotional, so your blood pressure doesn’t go, you do things moderately and that’s a pretty good recipe for us, you know?
And that’s exactly what you’re doing with management of your diabetes. You are, you are, talk about structure, you are using structure to keep healthy.
My dear hanai sister has taught me how to do that. Yeah. And I have felt so much better since I’ve known the alternative, I keep to this rigid regimen because I know it’s keeping me healthy. So there’s no, no possible way to cheat. And I feel badly with so many Hawaiians, wonderful talent, beautiful people, stuffing their mouths, drinking the sodas. Oh the big uh, I forgot what you call them, with the rice, egg, hamburger, gravy. Loco moco, oh loco moco and I think so unhealthy, oh dear, if we could just get the Hawaiians to eat sensibly, they won’t all die of diabetes before they’re 20.
You are really watching yourself, you’re measuring your water intake even.
Yes, because the kidneys are not happy if you don’t give them enough water. Then I swell up if I give them too much water. So you just have to learn what that balance is, you know.
On the other hand, you were telling me that yours is now a life without laulau.
Yes, but I can have a half a cup of poi twice a week. So I’m happy about that. But no laulau. We make it with won bok. It’s the luau leaves – that has too much potassium for the kidneys.
So you are motivated just to keep going. Your body may be slipping up a bit but you’re all there in every other way.
I’m having a good time. But I’m looking for some mischief to get into. Do you have a grandfather for me? (laughs)
Having a good time and waiting for some mischief at age 84. You gotta love Aunty Nona. And there’s much more to her story. Did you know that it was none other than Nona Beamer who coined the term “Hawaiiana” back in 1949? We’ll find out how – and why – next.
You know, you’ve done so many things in your life. I mean it’s, you’re one of those “hyphen” people: educator, storyteller, hula choreographer, composer. How did all that happen?
Well of course we’re a big family. So that we had to take care of the children, telling them stories so they would go to sleep. And then my mother was ill one summer. I was 12 and getting ready to come to Kamehameha. And my father said that your mother can’t go to the studio, Nona. You have to go and your sister will go and help you, you know. I think my sister was 10 or 9, somewhere around there, so she was going to answer the phones. And I looked on the appointment book and the first student was Mary Pickford. And I said to my father, “Oh I can’t teach this lady. She’s a very important movie star. My father said, “Get in there.” And she came with Buddy Rogers. I think they were on their honeymoon and he was so nice. She was tiny – she was smaller than I was. And her little hands, little feet, she was completely charming. Got me over the fear of teaching because we were talking and singing and doing lovely hula hands, graceful as the birds. And I got over my fear. Well I get to Kamehameha in September and there’s a notice on the board. “Any girls interested in teaching at the Kaka‘ako Mission, sign up.” I thought, I taught, I know how to teach, so I signed up. And here were little preschool children at Kaka‘ako. It was a very deprived area, you know? And they didn’t know about soap and water. So the children had sores all over their legs. And they smelled bad. And ah, so the first thing we did was get big washtubs and bathe the children with tar soap, smelly brown tar soap. And I’m crying and trying to sing and then the children would say, “Oh, come to the singing lady. Come to the...” So my line gets long as the children were waiting for their baths and nobody at the other tubs. I thought, “Hmm, singing is the way to interest children,” you know? So the first class I faced I started telling them stories and then began chanting about the kahuli and the kolea birds (sings a bit). “Spooky, spooky, spooky!.” And they were frightened. So then I put one note in the song (sings a bit more). And they smiled and weren’t frightened anymore. I thought, “That’s how I’m going to teach. I’m going to teach them little songs, tell them the history and they’ll be smiling and learning their history all in one fell swoop.”
You composed music that stands forever. Every school kid, virtually, in Hawaii knows Pupu Hinuhinu. You wrote it. How does that feel? I mean, virtually every child grows up knowing your song.
Well it’s a sweet little simple thing, you know. But I think that it’s appealing to all levels, children and grandparents, just the sweetness of it, you know? I think we are very lucky, if we can sing sweet little songs it kind of calms us down and maybe we’re not raising our voices, maybe there is more calmness in the family, you know? So I think it has a lot of uses.
So storytelling is really the basis of so much of what you’ve done and what your family has done as well.
It is, yes. Well we didn’t have books, we didn’t have you know, lot of authors writing about Hawaiian culture. In fact, I didn’t even know about the overthrow until I was on the Native Hawaiian Study Commission. I didn’t even know about the politics of those times, you know?
Where do you get your knowledge of Hawaiianess? From your family experience?
Yes, well it was from grandparents, grandmother.
But you don’t speak fluent Hawaiian?
No, no. We were not allowed to. And then the suppression at Kamehameha. I think psychologically it caused a lot of damage among a lot of Hawaiians in my age group, you know? Because we were forbidden, we were punished. Yeah, it was a psychological block.
And yet, as a teacher you had to have structure?
Well you know we didn’t have textbooks. We didn’t have curriculum, you know? We didn’t have a term Hawai‘iana until ‘49 when I coined it. And it was at a workshop with the department of education teachers. Well it was called Department of Public Instruction then - D.P.I. So I wrote on the board “Hawai – glottal i – dash – ana.” So I turned around, I looked at the teachers.. I said, “I’d like for us to study this word ‘Hawaiiana... Hawaiiana.’” Now the “ana” is the root word “to measure, to evaluate, to determine what is the best.” So we’re going to concern ourselves with that and teach only the best of Hawaiian culture in the classroom. And that was my reason for that word “Hawaiiana.”
You made it up.
Yes. And I didn’t mean “-ana” like Americana, Mexicana like a conglomerate of things, you know. But I meant to measure everything that we’re going to teach, and offer the children the very best in the culture.
That’s one of the many one-of-a-kind things you’ve done, firsts you’ve done. What about when you were a student at Kamehameha Schools and got briefly expelled?
(Nona holds up two fingers)
Twice you got expelled?
Well it was strange. The first time, the President of the Trustees, Frank Midkiff, was having a tea in the pink garden, in the bougainvillea garden - so pretty. And so he asked me, I had started the Hawaiian Club and it was simply because my friends had said, “Can we learn a song? Can we learn a chant? Tell us a story.” So we’d gather Monday after school and we would learn a chant. Unbeknownst to anybody else, but Mr. Midkiff was a champion of mine, a personal friend and hero. So for him I would do anything. So we came into the garden chanting (sings the chant). And we finished our chant and we bowed to everybody and we walked out. And then my principal said, “Winona you may pack your bag and leave this campus.” It was a sacrilege that
I committed – to chant and do motions as we were walking.
Because?
Because it wasn’t allowed. No language, no chanting, no dancing, no nothing.
But you could do western dancing?
Oh yeah, we could do anything else, yeah.
But that’s how it was in those days at Kamehameha Schools.
Absolutely.
Because everyone was on this western path.
Well, it was just the mindset of the time, I think, you know? They were there to school good and industrious men and women, you know? And there was no further look about advancing us, as students or Hawaiians! I wanted to go to college. “Winona, there’s no reason to go to college.” I mean, my principal! I though, what kind of principal would tell you not to think about going to college? So it kind of hurt me that they wanted to keep us so subservient.
Have you had kind of a love-hate relationship with the school since you were a kid?
You know, I’ve loved them all my life, all my life. In 1927 my grandmother took me to the old chapel where Farrington School is now and I heard the voices of the Kamehameha men. Oh, the stone walls were just vibrating with these wonderful voices and I fell in love with Kamehameha. Didn’t know anything about it except just a name, you know? And I knew later on about the campus where my father had lived as a child. And then later on when I was hired we were given living quarters there where my father was when he was 6 years old. He was in his dormitory, you know? So there was a lot of joy in my heart for Kamehameha just from that initial love of the sound of their voices, the men singing. Of course, my grandmother was a graduate and my parents had attended. Of course all of us in our family had attended. And now it was time for the grandchild, and you know, they have been as close to me as my own blood family.
The school which expelled you twice was the school where you dedicated 40 years of your teaching life.
And $87,864 scholarship money I have raised in 35 years for scholarships for Kamehameha. Yes, I love them like my family. Well now they’re coming into the sunlight.
And you were part of that. You were part of bringing back the Hawaiianess into the school.
I like to think I was, but there’s a whole faction of us. Class members, students, they were asking. Why can’t we have Hawaiian? Why can’t we be what we are? Why do we have to be who we are not?
And the school was acting in what it thought was your best interest?
Yes, and yet they said Princess Pauahi, in her will, stated that we were not to speak, we were not to chant, we were not to dance. So when they hired me, the first thing I did, “Could I see the will? Please may I see the will?” Nothing in it about Princess Pauahi saying there would be no language, there would be no dancing, there would be no – they lied to me, they lied to me all those years. So my estimation of administration went (motion of hands going down).
Well and then what happens many years later, your idea of the administration had again fallen. You wrote a letter to the State Supreme Court in the late 1990s, in which you said, “Mrs. Lindsey, Mrs. Lokelani Lindsey, a trustee’s micromanagement methodology is an utterly diabolical plan of a self-serving egoist.”
Oh, I didn’t know her at all. But it was just an abomination that had happened.
In your letter, you were expressing what had been an inner angst, many people upset with what was happening at the trustee level at the old Bishop Estate. But so many people didn’t want to lose what they had and you were the one who brought it out.
Well, you know they were afraid of their jobs. The students were afraid of their scholarships. I didn’t have anything to lose. I had no children in school. I had retired. And I thought this was just not right. So when my hanai son Kaliko Beamer Trapp came home and told me that Lokelani had sent a directive to the University Language Department that the vocabulary they were developing could not be taught at the Kamehameha Schools, you know? So I just felt that because if it was spoken during Pauahi’s time we could have spoken it. But I thought ah, we’re back to the middle ages. We can’t speak it ‘cause Pauahi didn’t speak it 50 years ago. Something’s wrong, you know? So that really sort of capsulated it from there. We had to do something about it. That was the straw.
And there was a firestorm after you wrote the letter.
True. Well, I think it gave other people the courage to speak up too.
And that triggered an overhaul, a reform of the old Bishop Estate.
It was about time, about time. Well, I wish it were as lasting and as meaningful now. But they aren’t there yet, they aren’t there yet. I think they have to do more on campus with the old guard. I love them dearly. We’re all good friends. But they have to be more mindful of Hawaiianess, you know? Not to be thinking of all the business and the dollars and the cash register. Think about the students. That’s why we’re there – for the students. Not to amass fortunes in the bank.
The woman who coined the term “Hawaiiana” – lives it. Aunty Nona Beamer stands up for what she thinks is right – what she feels is pono. We don’t have much time left, so we’ll make the rest of this long story, short. Stay with us as we continue “talking story” with the irrepressible Nona Beamer.
Are we going to see you in future years standing up again, doing the kind of things that got you expelled, that triggered reform in the old Bishop Estate?
(Laughs) You know I am getting a little more outspoken and Keola says, ”Ma, you’re swearing more these days.” I used to say dammit, but now I say dammit to hell.
(Laughs) Well I think that’s one of the perks of the elderly – that we can speak up, that we’ve been there and we have the courage ‘cause we know what it feels like to be denied your language, denied being a Hawaiian. So there’s no, I don’t think there’s any guilt. It’s just positive affirmations.
You’ve done it before and perhaps you’ll do it again.
Do it again? (laughs) Thank you honey.
You know, you have so much love, so much aloha and yet you believe in principles and standing up even if it ruffles feathers and makes people lose their jobs.
Yes. Well it seems, if it’s right, if it’s reasonable, it’s good you know, you should try to keep as much goodness as you can. And sometimes we just need a little help from one other. Just hang on to one another and make it better.
But I think what you’re telling us is it’s not just about being nicey nice. It’s about following principles, and values.
True, true, yeah.
Let me ask you one question – this may be dicey so let me know. One of the things that we do is we ask viewers what would you like to ask Aunty Nona? One of the questions that people always ask about and you may not want to talk about it, I understand. A viewer in Hilo would like to know if you see any mending between your sons Keola and Kapono Beamer?
Well you know there doesn’t need to be mending. They have diverse careers.
So your sons had a personal and professional parting of the ways. Does it hurt or is it something a family deals with?
Well I miss them together, I miss the sound of their singing. At my father’s funeral I was just weeping because I heard them singing together when I hadn’t heard them for a while. I miss the mellowness of their sound. But I see it coming in my grandson now. And I think of all the good things we’ve done. So if their direction is different, so be it. We can’t just stagnate in our same place. We got to grow or we die. So I don’t see that there’s a lot of mending because the love is still there. I don’t know that they’ll sing Honolulu City Lights together again. I don’t know.
But they both came to see you when you were in the hospital?
Yes they did.
Must have been nice to see both of them at once?
The same room – we were all talking together. Yes, yes. And I’m glad that it happened before I “make die dead”! (Laughs) Well I do think that they have a lot to contribute. I don’t know what direction. But I think we’re going to see something through Kamana. And his generation will probably mend the fences that their parents have knocked down.
They’re the next Beamers.
I think so. I think we are going to see some interesting things from him.
So what do you, what do you look ahead to? What’s ahead for you?
Well you know, I want to keep the Hawaiianess in things as much as possible. And it doesn’t seem as though it’s that important. In fact, it’s kind of corny when you say, “What is the Hawaiianess?” you know? It’s this aloha feeling – the kindness between people. You know, speaking nicely, looking at each other smiling, you know. Oh, it seems like so little. But it’s a gargantuan concept to keep this aloha in the world. And that’s what we all have to do in our own hearts – to keep this aloha. Not easy.
You know when people who’ve known you a long time and know you well describe you, the personal qualities they tend to talk about are: courage, stubbornness – and they say you’re full of aloha. Are they right?
Well, you know I’m very grateful and that’s a big stabilizer in my life – that I’m so grateful for all the things, the goodness of family and everything you’ve had behind you, you know. But you’re not here by yourself. Oh, my great-grandmother’s here, my grandmother’s here, everybody’s here behind me. And I think oh this is part of our aumakua, our belief in our guardians that are around us. But we have to listen. We have to be in tune because they’re all here to help us. But sometimes we get so busy we just run rough shot over everything. And life has so much beauty underneath it. If you just be quiet enough to listen to it.
Passionate, intelligent, talented and truly “Hawaiian”... just a few words that describe Nona Beamer. It was a pleasure sharing stories from Aunty Nona – and sharing them with you. I wish we had more time. But we have to make this Long Story Short. Mahalo for joining me. I’m Leslie Wilcox. A hui hou kakou!
(Nona sings and plays the ukulele) Silly, but good fun!
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