The Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana has held events throughout 2026 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
On Friday, Nov. 13, the celebrations will conclude with a "50 Years of Aloha ʻĀina" concert at Bishop Museum.
The concert will feature the classic sounds of Hawaiian soul as well as new music created by young musicians inspired by the spirits of those who first set forth on the path to mālama ʻāina.
University of Hawaiʻi historian Davianna McGregor and Hawaiian musician Kimié Miner joined HPR to talk about the milestone and its musical celebration.
McGregor began by explaining the origins of the movement, which began with the Hui Aloha ʻĀina, which formed in response to the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
"It was a movement of those who love the land or those who are the patriots for the land," she told HPR.
"It's the love for the land. It's nationalism and working for the self-governance and sovereignty for Native Hawaiians over the land, and then it's also Aloha ʻĀina. It's honoring the akua, our natural elemental life forces, that are the land."
And as Miner explained, music has been a part of the movement since the start, which makes it the perfect way to celebrate.
"The beginning of the movement of Aloha ʻĀina, it was through Mele," she told HPR. "It's through music that people can relate, no matter what they might know. You can feel through music, and so this is a time for us to come together at Bishop Museum."
The songs that will be played at the Friday concert have already been released in a compilation album that can be found and streamed online. Music from the album was also shared in a performance in HPR's own Atherton Studio.
More information about the concert and the past 50th anniversary events organized by Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Nov. 10, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
