ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 9
REMEMBERING THE LIFE AND ACHEIVEMENTS OF DONALD KEʻALA KAWĀʻAUHAU JR.
WHEREAS, Donald Keʻala Kawāʻauhau Jr. was born on April 9, 1971 to Donald Keʻala Kawāʻauhau, Sr. and Stella Kawāʻauhau, and is one of four children, including brother Kāwika and sisters Nani and Kāhea, who continue to carry his legacy in this earthly existence aloha with his partner Kalei and sons Kealoha, Malaʻe, and Cheydon; and
WHEREAS, Keʻala was a highly regarded former St. Joseph High School Basketball standout who graduated high school in 1989, and continued to represent his hometown by playing basketball at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo; and
WHEREAS, Keʻala continued the cultural lessons that began in his ʻohana through his service as a pre-school Kumu at Pūnana Leo ʻo Hilo and a physical education kumu at Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu School, and as a team member serving in the ʻAha Pūnana Leoʻs Pre-school Office; and
WHEREAS, Keʻala was an esteemed disc jockey and radio personality for 19 years at New West Broadcstingʻs KWXX-FM who anchored the Morning Lūʻau show and connected with his island and worldwide audiences through his grounding in Hawaiian language and culture, and his unwaivering commitment to normalizing and advancing ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and the Lāhui Hawaiʻi; and
WHEREAS, Keʻala was a founding member and lead performer of the musical group Sudden Rush who utilized Hawaiian language, culture, and world views as a foundation to bring to light issues and challenges facing the Hawaiian people through the mediums of hip hop and rap music, whose ability to connect to the next generation while resonating with the present is unprecedented in the ability to send out a unified call to action in each and every song while inspiring pride and positive action; and
WHEREAS, Keʻala was multi-talented and influential in multiple genres including traditional and modern Hawaiian music (both intrumental and vocal), and storytelling, and in such was a role model and example to many youth of a successful kanaka Hawaiʻi who was comfortable in both worlds; and
WHEREAS, Keʻalaʻs positive spirit, contagious energy, unwaivering dedication, and unapologetic prioritizing of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi inspired many to learn and respect the Hawaiian language and culture, and made it relevant and integral to the furtherence of the Lāhui Hawaiʻi, and the health of community in Hawaiʻi nei; and
WHEREAS, Donald Keʻala Kawāʻauhau, Jr., on August 27, 2018, at age 47, took his last breath of this earthly realm, with his spirit departing and entering into the presence of his ancestors.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, remembering the life and acheivements of Donald Keʻala Kawāʻauhau Jr.; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Mr. Donald Keʻala Kawāʻauhau Sr., Deborah Kalei Piena, Chris Leonard of New West Broadcasting/KWXX-FM, Sudden Rush, and Pelekikena of ʻAha Hui Siwila ʻo Ke Aloha ʻĀina, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
