More than 300 family members, friends, community leaders and members of Hawaiʻi’s Royal Hawaiian Benevolent Societies gathered on Saturday, September 12, for the annual ʻAha Hīpuʻu Kalani Aliʻi Awards, an afternoon devoted to honoring seven Native Hawaiians whose lives exemplify service, cultural leadership and aloha for the lāhui. Members of the Kalihi Palama HCC attended the event to honor our member, Malia Ka‘aihue, as well as the other honorees. We thank KPHCC Director, Angelique Naholowa‘a, for hosting us.
Held at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Honolulu, the luncheon banquet was at once elegant and deeply personal. Beautiful white orchids adorned the room, while photographs of the honorees placed throughout the banquet hall celebrated the people and life stories behind the awards. Numerous certificates and messages of congratulations from the Governor, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, the Mayor, the Honolulu City Council and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs added to the significance of the occasion.
Lei, Leimomi, Malia, Duane.
Among the honorees were Malia Ka’aihue, member of the Kalihi Palama HCC, and her husband Duane DeSoto. They were being honored together as two leaders whose lives demonstrate that leadership is measured not simply by personal accomplishment, but by how one uses one’s gifts to create opportunities for others.
Malia, a Native Hawaiian entrepreneur, author, educator and cultural practitioner, has built an extraordinary network of Native Hawaiian-owned and operated businesses in fields helping to shape decisions about Hawaiʻi’s land, culture and stories. Beginning with DTL Hawaiʻi, she went on to help establish eight companies spanning strategy, archaeology, planning, film, digital media and other industries. Each is led by Native Hawaiian leadership that she has helped develop and mentor. She is also vice chair of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. Her vision is not merely to succeed within existing institutions, but to build lāhui capacity so Native Hawaiians increasingly occupy the places where decisions affecting their people, ʻāina and future are made. Malia has been a steadfast, strong supporter of the Kalihi Palama HCC, often hosting lunches and other expenses for our members to the annual AHCC convention.
Duane, a proud son of Mākaha, renowned waterman, 2010 World Longboard Champion, Duke Kahanamoku Waterman Hall of Fame inductee and Polynesian Voyaging Society voyager, has similarly transformed personal achievement into service. Through Nā Kama Kai, which he founded, more than 80,000 keiki have experienced ocean safety, environmental stewardship, Hawaiian cultural knowledge and a deeper relationship with the kai. What began as free ocean clinics has grown to include Hālau Nā Kama Kai, the voyaging canoe Kūmau, school-based swimming instruction and teacher training designed to ensure that this knowledge continues into future generations.
Other honorees included:
Momi Lum, Kahuna Nui of Moʻokini Luakini Heiau, was honored for carrying the profound responsibility of caring for one of Hawaiʻi’s most ancient and sacred places. Her stewardship has helped preserve traditional protocol, protect a revered wahi pana and ensure that spiritual practices grounded in ʻike kūpuna continue for future generations.
Edna Nani Oliveira Cathcart, also a longtime member of ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu, was honored for a lifetime devoted to education and the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture. As a kumu, cultural practitioner and community leader, she has shared Hawaiian knowledge, values and traditions with generations of students and communities in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Loyola Kuʻuleinani McKeague, a devoted member of ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu, was recognized for decades of service to Hawaiian organizations and community. Her leadership, professional expertise and willingness to help wherever needed have provided guidance and stability to organizations and individuals alike, reflecting the values of aloha, mālama and kuleana.
ʻIhilani Chu was recognized for her sacred kuleana of mālama nā iwi kūpuna and her lifelong commitment to Native Hawaiian spirituality and cultural practice. Through decades of service with Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna O Hawaiʻi Nei, and as a co-founder of The Hawaiian Church of Hawaiʻi Nei, she has worked to restore dignity to ancestors while strengthening spiritual and cultural connections among the living.
Dr. Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, renowned scholar, educator and cultural practitioner, was honored for a lifetime devoted to advancing ʻike Hawaiʻi. Through her leadership and teaching at the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she has helped generations of students understand Hawaiian history, genealogy, moʻolelo and identity through a Native Hawaiian lens. Her scholarship and advocacy have helped ensure that Hawaiian voices and ʻike kūpuna remain central to the telling of Hawaiʻi’s history.
As the luncheon banquet came to a close, the Kalani Aliʻi Awards served as more than a celebration of seven extraordinary individuals. They offered a reminder that the strength of the lāhui has always rested upon people willing to accept kuleana, often quietly and without expectation of reward.
The 2026 honorees have done just that.
Through their lives, they remind us that culture endures because someone teaches it, someone protects it, someone practices it, someone shares it — and someone accepts the responsibility to carry it forward.
That is the legacy of ʻŌpū Aliʻi. That is the spirit of the Kalani Aliʻi Awards.
More photos from the event can be seen at www.kalanialii.org.
