Herb Kawainui Kāne
“Perhaps only when people can enjoy their differences as a resource of cultural enrichment do they become truly civilized” -Herb Kawainui Kāne
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Herb Kawainui Kāne is a 20th century artist-historian and author best known for his contributions to the Hawaiian Renaissance, a resurgence of interest in the Hawaiian arts, music, dance, and culture. His artwork is featured on US stamps, among many other places, and he pushed to revive voyaging and navigation relics tied to Hawaii.
Kāne was born in 1928 in Minnesota and grew up in Wisconsin and Hawaii. After serving in the US Navy, he studied art in Illinois and eventually got his masters in arts at the University of Chicago. Thereafter, he ran an advertising company, where he was a successful illustrator and artist. Kāne was an avid sailor and often spent time researching Hawaiian canoes while still pursuing his career in art. One of his breakthrough works, which allowed him to move back to Hawaii, was a set of 14 paintings of Polynesian canoes that was purchased by the Hawaiʻi State Foundation of Culture and the Arts.
Upon moving to Honolulu, he continued his studies in Polynesian navigation. He eventually founded the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which “seeks to perpetuate the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration”. One of this society’s most notable works is the construction and demonstration of the Hōkūle‘a, a replica of a voyaging canoe that successfully sailed from Hawai’i island to Tahiti. The voyage was successful without the use of any navigation instruments and relying solely on Polynesian voyaging principles. The canoe has since sailed throughout the Pacific Ocean, from Hawai’i to French Polynesia to Okinawa, Japan.
Kāne’s vision and contributions to Hōkūle‘a ignited a sense of cultural pride in Hawaii and Polynesia. In fact, what was long thought to have been lost to anthropological papers and historical writings has since been revived because of Kāne’s work. It is important to note that this history and cultural identity is not passed down from generations but rather from research and studies of Polynesian culture. Regardless of its origins, Kāne’s contributions not only helped restore a movement in Polynesian navigation, but it inspired the Hawaiian Renaissance that renewed an interest in Hawaiian language, Hawaiian music, and hula. For some, Kāne also laid the groundwork to embrace biodiversity and sustainability in the modern age. The Hawai’i Conservation Alliance believes that there is a need to apply Native Hawaiian techniques with modern, cutting-edge technology to maintain ecologically-conscious sustainability in the coral reefs of the Pacific.
In 2011, 36 years after the first voyage of Hōkūle‘a, Kāne passed away. However, his work and legacy lives on. The Polynesian Voyaging Society continues to be active, and the Hōkūle‘a completed a worldwide voyage that completed in 2017. His artwork is still celebrated, and arguably most importantly, the cultural identity of Hawai’i continues to flourish in its music, dance, art, and voyaging.
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