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Mainland
monument
dedicated to
isle-born student
Manoa Alcantara Jojola
By Rod Ohira
died in a traffic accident
in New Mexico Jan. 27
Star-BulletinHe was born in Hawaii and proud of his Filipino-Isleta Pueblo Indian heritage, all of which are reflected in his name: Manoa Alcantara Jojola.
A "medicine wheel" monument was dedicated yesterday at a private high school in Albuquerque, N.M., in the memory of the 18-year-old senior, who was killed Jan. 27 when his pickup truck was broadsided by a motorist who ran a red light while fleeing police.
"This will be a place of healing and meditation for the whole community," Ted Jojola said about the monument, which is 100 feet in diameter and features four monolith cornerstones, each weighing about one ton.
The cornerstones each represent one of the Tiwa-speaking clans in the Isleta Pueblo village.
"It symbolizes a depiction of world view from four sacred directions," said Jojola, a full-blooded Isleta who is a professor in the School of Architecture at the University of New Mexico.
The monument is prominently displayed on the 230-acre campus of Albuquerque Academy, a private high school that Jojola compares to Punahou.
"The support from the school and community represents to us how enormous Manoa's legacy was and how he reached out to so many people," said Jojola, who met his wife in 1975 while they were studying at the East-West Center.
During graduation ceremonies tomorrow, Albuquerque Academy will award Manoa a diploma.
Ted Jojola and his wife, Adelemar "Dely" Alcantara, asked three people who taught their son -- band instructor John Truitt, Algene Herrick of Montessori School of Albuquerque and Emma Abeita of the Isleta Headstart program -- to accept the diploma for them.
At the beginning of the school year, the "Class of 2000" decided to wear plastic flower leis for their "senior tradition," Jojola said.
But Jojola and his wife arranged for a family friend, Lena Low, to bring 155 real flower leis to Albuquerque from Hawaii. The leis will be presented to the 141 seniors tomorrow.
"Eighteen years old and not a second wasted."
The phrase, written in chalk at the crash site, is a good description of his son's life, Jojola said.
Manoa, who moved from Hawaii to Albuquerque when he was 3 years old, was an award-winning student, athlete and martial arts practitioner of swanda, and a talented musician, singer and actor.
His mother says "he was almost the perfect child."
Truitt told the Albuquerque Journal, "I've never seen a student with such potential for greatness as Manoa Jojola."
Identity was an important self-study for Manoa. In an essay explaining his senior project on the subject, he wrote:
"Identity may be more of a challenge to some people than others. Being of both Native American and Filipino descent, it is paramount that I understand and am exposed to the ideas and traditional beliefs of each culture.
"At the same time, I must cope with contemporary mainstream culture. The problem I see is how to maintain the integrity of each one."
Jojola and his wife, who is a demographer for the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, watched Manoa perform in a school play on Jan. 27 and were on their way home from dinner when they passed the crash site.
Manoa's pickup truck was not visible.
They got word of his death soon after arriving home.
"We're still learning to cope with it," Jojola said. "It just doesn't go away.
"Focusing on the graduation represents a transition point for us. We're hoping this benchmark will help us to bring closure."
Jojola and his wife are working to turn their tragedy into something meaningful by pushing for state legislation to curtail high-speed police pursuits.
In addition, Jojola and Alcantara have set up the "Manoa Endowment for Diversity" at Albuquerque Academy and are planning for a "global charity" that will be dedicated to supporting identity and the expressive arts.
Manoa, named for the area where his parents met, last visited Hawaii about four years ago.
His father recalls that while growing up in Albuquerque, his young son became frustrated when people mispronounced the Hawaiian name.
"The tendency was to call him Manda," Jojola said. "His act of rebellion was this long fight with a teacher who insisted the students write their full names on papers they turned in.
"One time he got so frustrated with writing his full name that he told her, "I'm the only Manoa in all of New Mexico.'
"He identified with Hawaii to a great degree and his name represented his uniqueness."
Until about 10 years ago, the couple had to endure long-term separations due to their jobs. The unique relationship was the subject of a October 1981 Star-Bulletin story that followed the September birth of their only child.
"We had 18 wonderful years," Jojola said of his son. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have learned everything we did about parenting. He did a lot for us and we know he's still moving us spiritually."
