One of President Joe Biden's last official actions was an acknowledgment of the sacrifices of a group of 135 young Native Hawaiian men who helped secure a handful of remote Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction in the 1930s.
The story was captured in a 2010 documentary, “Under a Jarvis Moon,” co-produced by Heather Giugni and Noelle Kahanu.
Kahanu just returned from Washington, D.C., after taking part in a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday. It was part of the president's message, reflecting on his accomplishments during his term in office, and it included official acknowledgment of the story of Hui Panalā’au — which essentially translates to holders of the land.
"There was a Senate resolution that was passed in 2015, U.S. Senate to recognize them, but this is the first official administrative action by any president to recognize them," Kahanu said.
Kahanu shared that her grandfather George Kahanu Sr. was part of Hui Panalāʻau.
"He was 17, actually, when he first went, so it blows my mind, but many of these in the early years they were actually Kamehameha School students," she said. "But in those days, Kamehameha Schools was a boarding school, and families entrusted the care of their sons and daughters to Kamehameha Schools, and so they didn't ask for parental consent."
Kahanu said Biden's ceremony was bittersweet as the members of Hui Panalāʻau are now long gone. Her grandfather died in 2015.
"He may be gone, but we're not. So the extent that all of these families and their legacies are tied up with this and that every action of recognition continues to be important and adds to this story," she said. "It's a growing story that we continue to add to ensure that they're never forgotten."
The young men lived for six weeks to several months at a time on the remote islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Enderbury and Canton for the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project.
According to a Biden press release, several Hui Panalāʻau members died on the islands, including in a Japanese attack the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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This interview aired on The Conversation on Jan. 17, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
