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With Jan. 17, 2013, marking the 120th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, we asked Hawaiians, “In your eyes, what is Queen Lili‘uokalani’s legacy?”
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Interviewed by Francine Murray
Oswald Stender trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs “The queen’s legacy I was a beneficiary of was the Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust, which she set up for orphaned and indigent Hawaiian children, and that was equal to what Pauahi’s legacy did for education. Because I was a beneficiary of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust, they helped me with attending Kamehameha Schools. For me that was a major thing because I had no parents. What they did for me was they provided material things like money or clothes and that sort of thing. But the greatest benefit that I had was counseling. They had somebody that would sit with me every other week to keep me focused on what I was doing and on grown-up issues. The counseling was the greatest thing they provided. Growing up without a family, I think the Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust bridged that gap for me. There are many kids that have no parents. The counseling and the foster care that they provide is very helpful.”
L. Kaipoleimanu Ka‘awaloa William Richardson School of Law student and Kamehameha Schools graduate “When you hear about the overthrow, the Queen signed over her power, but the whole reason was because she wanted to protect her people. She didn’t want anyone to die. She showed me the importance of putting one’s people first, putting the Native Hawaiian people before anything. She put them before her power. She put them before her kingdom. I think that is an important thing to take, not only as a Native Hawaiian, not only as a Native Hawaiian woman, but it is important to always keep our community and other people in mind. We have got to do what we can to help other people. That is what I take from that.”
Karl Baker kumu hula of Hälau I Ka Wëkiu, which helped restore and now maintains Queen Lili‘uokalani’s garden, Uluhaimalama, on the slopes of Punchbowl “I thought that she (the queen) was a very intelligent woman that understood the western ways, yet understood the traditions of Hawai‘i. Most important she loved her people. I like the idea of how she would deal – even in the most trying times she believed in diplomacy and not violence. I think all of those things are important because we live in a Western society and we all have our Hawaiian-ness that is important to us. Many of us are practitioners, and we have to make both work. The only way we can make both work is not be violent. I think people around the world could have learned from the Queen.”