Joseph Nāwahī

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Joseph Nāwahī
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Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
November 1, 1892 – November 8, 1892
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
from the Hawaii district
Personal details
Born January 13, 1842
Kaimū, Puna, Hawaii
Died September 14, 1896
San Francisco, California
Nationality Kingdom of Hawaii
Political party Liberal
Kuokoa
Emmaite
Spouse(s) Emma ʻAima Aiʻi
Children 3
Occupation Newspaper publisher, lawyer, painter

Joseph Nāwahī (January 13, 1842 - September 14, 1896) also known as Joseph Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahī and as Joseph Kahoʻoluhi Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu was a native Hawaiian legislator, lawyer, newspaper publisher, and painter.

Life

Joseph Nāwahī was born January 13, 1842 at Kaimū, in the Puna district of Hawaiʻi Island. His parents were Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu and Keaweolalo.[1] As a young man, he was educated in Protestant mission schools such as the Hilo Boarding School, the Royal School, and Lāhaināluna School. He later became a member of the Hawaiian legislature, serving for 20 years (1872–1892), and was a member of the cabinet of Queen Liliʻuokalani, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1892[2] and was vice president, later elected president of the Liberal Party. He was one of the electors who made Lunalilo king in 1873. He was also one of the six electors that voted for Queen Emma in 1874 and was affiliated with the Queen Emma Party that followed the Queen's defeat in the election. He was also the President of the Hawaiian Patriotic League and opposed the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Nāwahī operated Ke Aloha Aina, a Hawaiian language newspaper. In December 1894, a search warrant was served on his Kapālama home looking for "sundry arms and ammunition." Although nothing was found, Nāwahī was arrested for treason and bail was set at 10,000 dollars. He spent nearly three months in jail until being bailed out and it is believed that this is where he caught the tuberculosis that would later take his life.

His first marriage ended in divorce.[1] He married secondly Emma ʻAima Aiʻi in Hilo on February 17, 1881.[3] He had three children with his second wife including sons Albert Kahiwahiwa Nāwahī and Alexander Kaʻeʻeokalani Nāwahī and currently has descendants living to this day.[1] He was a self-taught artist and was the first Native Hawaiian to become an accomplished painter in the Western style. Only five or six of his paintings are known to exist.[4]

Legacy

Today, a Hawaiian language immersion school is named in his honor is in Keaʻau, in the Puna district on the island of Hawaiʻi. Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu educates students from grades K-12 in the Hawaiian language.[5] In 1999, this school was one of two that graduated the first high school classes to have been educated entirely in the Hawaiian language in a century. In 2008 a crater on the planet Mercury was named for him.[6]

His painting of Hilo Bay discovered in 1984 was donated in 2007 to Kamehameha Schools.[4] A documentary film titled "Biography Hawaiʻi: Joseph Nāwahī" was produced in 2008 based on his life.[7] The premiere was on June 25, 2009 on PBS Hawaii.[8] The title role was played by Professor Kalena Silva of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and partially filmed at the Lyman House.[9]

References

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  • Forbes, David W., "Encounters with Paradise: Views of Hawaii and its People, 1778–1941", Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1992.
  • Severson, Don R., "Finding Paradise, Island Art in Private Collections", University of Hawaii Press, 2002, 85–87.
  • Sheldon, John G. M., and Puakea Nogelmeier (1988). The Biography of Joseph K. Nawahi. Translation of Ka buke moolelo o Hon. Joseph K. Nawahi. Translated from the Hawaiian with an introduction by Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society.

External links