ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 – 1
REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF KAMOHA-ALI‘I WILLIS BAKER, MEMBER OF MOKU‘ĀINA A WAKINEKONA HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUB AND ENROLLED TRIBAL MEMBER OF THE PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i Willis Baker was born August 31, 1978, in Tacoma, Washington and is the second son of Benjamin Kaeha Baker and Lorna Kathleen (Garcia) Baker; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i’s name was chosen by his great-grandmother, Tutu Emma Grant Kapela Willis (Kuie‘e) Baker in honor of her father, James Willis Kamoho-Ali‘i Kapela Willis; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i is a shark god in Hawaiian mythology known to guide lost ships or people at sea back home and is one of the ‘aumakua for the Baker ‘Ohana; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i’s Grandparents are Jack Napahuelua Baker Jr. & Edna Maile (Kaneali‘i) Baker and Ellen (Brown) and Alex Garcia Sr; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i is and will always be loved by his father Benjamin and wife April, his brother Kaeha Kaneali‘i, Sr. (Yolanda), sisters Apelila Tsurukolee (Baker) Newby (Jon), and Mele Mohaialohaokalani Baker (Victor); and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i is survived by his nine children and one hānai daughter, Isaiah, Isis, Isabel (Lianne), Britani (hanai), Ilijah, Ikaika, Iterniti, Isai (Dena), Irie and IIlenna (Jackie); and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i’s Godparents are Aunty Ilene Mawae and Uncle Rodney (Moose) Stirewalt; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i became a member of Moku`aina A Wakinekona Hawaiian Civic Club on July 8, 2006; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i was an enrolled tribal member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i was loved by his many friends as well as uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces and nephews from the Baker, Garcia, Kaneali‘i, and West ‘Ohana; and
WHEREAS, as a child growing up Kamoha-Ali‘i learned the hula from his Kumu Frances Cruz and participated with the Hawai‘i 50th Club annual lū‘au, and the opening ceremony of the Keali‘i Reichel concert; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i also participated as a pū blower in the welcoming protocol for the Hokule‘a and Hawai‘i Loa when it touched upon Washington State’s shores; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i graduated from River-Ridge High School in Lacey, Washington, then worked at the Emerald Queen Casino as a card dealer and also part-time maintenance for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i passed away on February 2, 2019, in Tacoma, Washington; and
WHEREAS, Kamoha-Ali‘i last quoted on his Facebook profile “WHEN U SEE ME DO U SEE OR IS WHAT U’VE SEEN AN ILLUSION LIFE’S BEEN DEFUSED N WILL END WITH KONFUSION.”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, remembering the life of Kamoha-Ali‘i Willis Baker, member of Moku‘āina a Wakinekona Hawaiian Civic Club and enrolled tribal member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a moment of silence be held by the delegates in honor of Kamoha-Ali‘i at this Convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Benjamin K. Baker, Moku‘āina A Wakinekona Hawaiian Civic Club, Tribal Council Chairperson David Bean of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, 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 subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on 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 Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President
