#National Heritage Fellows

Hundreds honor life, legacy of beloved kumu hula Nālani Kanakaʻole

Esteemed kumu hula Nālani Kanakaʻole, whose life’s work transformed Native Hawaiian cultural traditions globally, was honored in a traditional Hawaiian ceremony, underscoring her far-reaching influence in hula and Hawaiian values.

Nālani Kanakaʻole, revered Kumu Hula and cultural matriarch, passes at 79

Nālani Kanakaʻole, a fifth-generation loea hula whose life work preserved and perpetuated the ancient traditions of Hawaiian chant and hula kahiko, died peacefully on Jan. 3, 2026, in Hilo. She was 79.