She was a teacher, dancer and a storyteller but above all, Winona "Auntie Nona" Beamer was a fervent guardian of Hawaiian culture.
At Kamehameha Schools, where Beamer taught for nearly 40 years, she established a curriculum that embraced Hawaiian culture. In the 1960s, she helped reintroduce standing hula for women at the school.
Beamer was 3 when she started learning hula, and she taught its graceful movements for 30 years in Waikiki. She would become a relentless promoter of ancient forms of hula and inspired worldwide interest in the dance.
Beamer, who coined the term "Hawaiiana" in 1948, dedicated her life to sharing Hawaiian culture, but said it was often a struggle to bring it to the forefront of a Hawai'i dominated by modern influences.
But she was not afraid to speak up.
In 1997, Beamer lent her voice to the simmering frustrations that Kamehameha Schools 'ohana — students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni — felt about the way the school's five trustees managed the institution. In an angry letter to the state Supreme Court, which at the time appointed the trustees, Beamer challenged the authority and motives of the trustees.
Beamer's letter sparked an unprecedented protest movement that led to widespread reform of Kamehameha Schools and the ouster of its trustees.
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
View map »
