Bumpy Kanahele

From dKosopedia

Categories: Hawaii people | Native Hawaiians

Dennis “Bumpy” Pu’uhonua Kanahele, a Hawaii sovereignty activist, is a descendant of King Kamehameha I and leader of the group Nation of Hawaii. In the late 1980s and early ‘90s Kanahele was a militant sovereignty activist publicly resisting federal and state laws.

In 1993, the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. takeover of the islands, Kanahele led 300 people in an occupation of Makapuu Beach

After 15 months, Gov. John D. Waihee III proposed a deal: If Kanahele and his group left Makapuu beach peacefully, the state would give them a 45-acre parcel above Waimanalo in the foothills of the Koolau Mountains. Pu'uhonua o Waimanalo ("Refuge of Waimanalo") or "Bumpy's Town", was born in June 1994. Kanahele's group signed a renewable 55-year lease at a cost of $3,000 a year.

In 1998, Kanahele was sentenced to four months in prison for interfering with U.S. marshals seeking to arrest a federal fugitive. The judge gave Kanahele credit for the three and a half months he spent in prison without bail. The judge also fined him $500 and ordered him to spend another four months under electronic monitoring at his Waimanalo home.

In 2002, Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano granted Kanahele a full pardon. Kanahele vowed to avoid all violence, choosing instead a Gandhian path of "passive civil resistance".

External Links

• Foes share opposition, little else (Honolulu Advertiser, 8-14-05)