Big Isle woman
killed on ‘quest’
in Colombia
Lahe'ena'e Gay, reportedly killed
By Rod Thompson
by revolutionaries, was committed
to preserving Hawaiian culture
Star-BulletinPAHOA, Hawaii -- Big Island resident Lahe'ena'e Gay was an astute woman who worked to preserve Hawaiian culture and the environment, says Hawaiian cultural expert John Keola Lake.
Gay, 39, and two other Americans were shot and killed Thursday while on a mission to Colombia to provide similar assistance to native people in the South American country.
Gay was a member of the Kauai family of the same name, but a branch that had moved back to the mainland some time ago, Lake said yesterday.
Newspaper articles in 1992 gave Gay statewide exposure when Bishop Museum agreed to display 66 photographs by her of variously shaped Hawaiian stones with particular uses or spiritual significance.
"She was quite a photographer," said Lake, who chanted at opening ceremonies for the exhibit.
In Colombia, U'wa tribesmen say members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia kidnapped the three Americans on Feb. 25 while the tribesmen escorted the Americans to Saravena's airport. The rebels have not claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Gay was on a mission of the Pacific Cultural Conservancy International, which she formed in 1989. Larry Brown, a conservancy staff member, declined to comment, citing the wishes of the families involved.
Lake described Gay's work as a "quest," one which he warned her had to be conducted with respect and the permission of the people associated with the Hawaiian stones she photographed.
"She was careful not to step on people's feet," Lake said.
But when Gay led a television crew to produce videos of bones in a Hawaiian burial, she was sharply criticized. Big Island Burial Council member Punahele Lerma was among the critics.
"What she did was not what we would call respectful," he said.
Maui cultural expert Sam Ka'ai said Gay, named Rebecca at birth, made herself known in Hawaiian circles in 1991.
She was named an official photographer for the Ho'oku'ikahi (unification) ceremonies at Puukohala Heiau that year.
"She became very pushy," he said. After the event, she provided no photos, he said.
In 1993, Ka'ai visited her home in Mountain View. She showed him a piece of tapa cloth, saying it was her "genealogy." Ka'ai recognized it as tapa from Fiji.
