DENNIS KEIKI "BUMPY" KANAHELE

Since Friday is July 4, 2008, Independence Day in America, our guest will be one of the most Hawaiian of Hawaiians that I know, Bumpy Kanahele.

He can trace his ancestry back to before King Kamehameha The Great, through generations of the Polynesians who first inhabited these Islands. Bumpy's great-grandfather, Frank Samuel Keiki was a member of the delegation that traveled by ship, then by rail, to Washington, D. C in 1894. The group went to the U. S. Capital, seeking to return Queen Liliuokalani to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii. They were denied by President Grover Cleveland and the congress. It is a matter of record that the sovereign state of Hawaii was overthrown, without a shot being fired, by members of the U. S. Marines, who marched up the steps of Iolani Palace and imprisoned the queen in the palace attic. This was done at the behest of the haole (Caucasian) plantation owners, anxious to protect their land holdings. Since then, native Hawaiians have claimed that their land was illegally taken from them. 

On the original "Day of Infamy," December 7, 1941, Bumpy's grandfather, ???, was on Niihau, an island occupied only by pure Hawaiians. A stray Japanese kamaze pilot, straying west of Oahu and Pearl Harbor, crash landed on the small island, off Kauai. The pilot got out of his Mitsubishi=powered suicide plane and pulled out his .45 pistol. Kanahale marched towards him, unarmed, wearing only a malu around his waist. Five bullets later, though seriously wounded, the Hawaiian had wrestled the invader to the ground and bashed in his head. For this, Kanahele was awarded the first medal given to a civilian in World War II.

Dennis got his nickname from his dad. His father was a "tough guy" who hung out in the downtown section of Honolulu, by the docks. Legend has it that one day while in the street he was hit by a car. The result, according to local lore? The automobile bounced back. Thus, "Bumpy" Kanahele, senior.

Bumpy was born on July 1, 1954. He attended several local schools, played football, but was also "very independent." After working several jobs, but frustrated by the lack of progress by the Hawaiian people for100 years, Kanahele formed a group of 300 that inhabited the Makapuu area of Oahu, on the beach near Waimanalo. This was controversial, to say the least. But it was Kanahele's way of expressing the freedom and resistance to the status quo that had erupted throughout the mainland. The 15-month seige ended when Kanahele was offered a parcel of land in Waimanalo mauka (in the mountains.) There, he and his followers built Pu'honua 'O Waimanalo, a 45-acre Hawaiian cultura village. Kanahele and his ohana (extended family), starting with nothing, built a habitable area from the ground up. There is no more Hawaiian place in these islands.

A full biography of Bumpy Kanahele, his achievements and goals, is located at his website. We have the link to the right of this column. There you will read of Bumpy's tireless efforts on behalf of Hawaii's people and his fight to bring them fair and equal justice.

Once, during one of my interviews with the late Don Ho, we discussed the issue of Hawaiian independence. The issue: Hawaiian lands in native hands. Don was a wholehearted supporter of such efforts, always working steadfastly, albeit behind the scenes. He was not optimistic about the prospects of his people coming together, unified in their efforts to gain back some of their land. Don Ho saw the problem as infighting amongst the groups striving for Independence. He cited as a metaphor hukihuki, crabs clawing at one another to climb out of a container, in so doing, preventing a single one to reach the top.

Buimpy Kanahele has tried in several ways to overcome this obstacle. Last month he made headlines in Honolulu papers, announcing a call for a ballot vote that would allow for the formation of a group to pursue the goals originally sought by his great=grandfather and the generations of native Hawaiians who followed. "We must act now," Kanahele proclaimed. He then listed his reasons for caling together a Hawaiian Constitutional Convention. The details of this are among the many items documented at BumpyKanahele.com.

President Bill Clinton was one of many international leaders who have recognized the leadership abilities, the integrity and the motives of Bumpy Kanahele. And I, for certain, are proud to call him my brother and friend. Today we begain producing our own Independence Day Special. On it, I will discuss candidly with Bumpy his life and future goals. In the spirit of the American Revolution, Hawaii's fight for equality fostered its own music. This began in the "Hawaiian Renaissance" of the early 1970s. During our show we will play some of the anthems, which have become the enduring call for "Hawaii Loa Ku Liki Kakou" (All Hawaii Stand Together.)

I hope you have a chance to listen during the Fourth of July holidays. You will hear the story of the real Hawaii: How it began and, hopefully, where it is headed.