Keōpūolani
Written by Anni Caporuscio on August 16, 2024
If you haven’t yet listened to Pilikia O Pono, which airs at 7am on the Second Wednesday of every month, I get you, on account of 7am being beach walking time or yard-work-before-it-gets-hot time. However, my recommendation of the day is to check out the archives of Pilikia O Pono. Mauna Kea and Makaala are gearing up to talk about Haunani-Kay Trask and her legacy as a Native Hawaiian activist, scholar, and island change-maker, but before they get to her, they’re talking about her forbears in Hawaiian feminism and power, so they’re stepping back in history and highlighting some choice change-makers of the past.
Which is how I heard about Keōpūolani. I engineered the pre-recording of Pilikia O Pono and Mauna Kea called in and Makaala hosted the show. I was mesmerized. Mauna Kea casually dropped history lessons and weaves them into current real world concerns. He spoke of the recent ancients with reverence and relate-ability. So I’m hooked.
I don’t want to give anything away, but Keōpūolani, through ancestral lineage the highest ranking Hawaiian ali’i, having lived a life that sacrificed her personhood for her devotion to State (these are my sensibilities as a modern woman), made the boldest move to ever touch the Hawaiian people. It was a supremely feminist act and changed society forever.
But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the archives from this website and use it as a stepping stone for more research. Catch Pilikia O Pono next month for more on this story.