6 named 'living treasures' for preserving island culture
Star-Bulletin staff
SIX island residents have been named "Living Treasures" for contributions to preserving the traditions and teaching of cultures in the islands.
They join a list of more than 100 island residents recognized for perpetuating the traditions, spirit and values of Hawaii since the program was begun 30 years ago by Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
They will be honored at a Feb. 3 banquet at Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel. Tickets are $50. For reservations, call Ethel at 522-9200.
The honorees are the following:
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Richard Paglinawan lectures and writes on Hawaiian traditions and works to perpetuate Hawaiian culture in the modern social environment. He has presented programs for the University of Hawaii, state Department of Education, Chaminade University and for several Hawaiian organizations. He has taught in the kupuna series at Bishop Museum, and produced papers and documentaries on Hawaiian culture at the museum. Paglinawan was a founder of a biannual cultural exchange gathering for Pacific nations and a consultant on establishing the Hawaiian Learning Center in the UH School of Social Work. He works to preserve and offer training in the Hawaiian martial art of lua. He was presented a 2004 award for outstanding leadership in education for Asian and Pacific islanders.
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Dr. Terry Shintani, a physician specializing in nutrition-related health issues, created the Hawaii Diet Program and Waianae Diet Program. He was the founding director of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, which incorporates healing arts from different disciplines including chiropractic, acupuncture and traditional Hawaiian healing. He has written several books about diet and health, and has spoken on the subject before local and national professional health organizations, community organizations, network television programs and as a radio show host. He holds an associate Chair of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the UH School of Medicine. He was founding president of Hawaii Health Foundation, which promotes a healthy lifestyle integrating traditional Hawaiian healing principles and modern medical science. His past honors include the Secretary's Award for Excellence in community health from the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and Hawaii Wellness Institute's Integrative Medicine Award.
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James Kunichika is one of the best-known performers of Japanese folk music seen during obon season in Hawaii. He is co-founder and lead singer of Iwakuni Odori Aiko Kai dance group and has performed on tour in Japan. He performed in "Music of Hawaii: It Comes from the Heart," an anthology of musical traditions in Hawaii produced by the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, and in the "Talking Story" taping project by Waipahu Cultural Garden Park, now on file in the Smithsonian Institution. He is a master artist for the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Awards program. He is the founder of the James Kunichika Painting Co., which he operated for more than 50 years.
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Walter H. Paulo lives in the Hawaiian fishing village Milolii on the Big Island. "Uncle Walter" is an internationally recognized authority on traditional and contemporary fishing methods. He has spent several years in Third World countries educating people on Hawaiian fishing techniques. He was a consultant in the establishment of an aquaculture project that grew into the Waianae Coast Community Alternative Development Corp., and aboard the research vessel Charles H. Gilbert for the National Marine Fisheries Service. He demonstrated traditional fishing methods in a documentary, "The Kupuna of Milolii."
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Edward Kaanana uses the loi, the taro patch, to teach traditional Hawaiian values about the environment. "Uncle Eddie" works with UH students as a manaleo, native speaker, and created a curriculum for teaching taro cultivation. He serves as the kupuna at Anuenue School, a Hawaiian immersion school in Palolo. He advises faculty on cultural and protocol issues. He serves as an adviser to several cultural organizations including Bishop Museum, the UH Hawaiian studies department, the statewide Taro Farmers' Association and other groups.
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Carol Yotsuda has taught art for more than 30 years and works in many art forms, including painting, sculpture, papermaking and stage set design. She designed a glass mosaic mural for Eleele Elementary School library, ceramic murals for Wilcox Elementary School, and wall murals for the Kauai Hilton Hotel and Lihue Airport. She is executive director of the Garden Island Arts Council and served on the steering committee to build a Kauai community center. The Kauai Peace Project named her 2004 Peacemaker of the Year and she was given the 2000 Governor's Kilohana Award for Outstanding Volunteer in the Arts.