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John "Butch" Kekahu III, who organized two marches upon Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of the plight of native Hawaiians, died Thursday at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue after a battle with diabetes. Hawaiian rights activist,
57, succumbs to diabetesJohn Kekahu III / 1944-2001
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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comKekahu, 57, organized the first Aloha March in 1998 to publicize Hawaiian issues, including the return of control of the islands to native Hawaiians. Two years later, a second march was held. Both events attracted participants from Hawaii and the mainland, and included a symbolic tossing of ti leaves into Boston Harbor.
Kekahu, the founder of the Koani Foundation, an Anahola-based native rights organization, was arrested in 1993 for his six-year occupation of Hawaiian home lands. Despite his lack of a formal education, he lectured on Hawaiian self-determination before the U.S. Congress and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His mother, Rebecca Mikala Kekahu, marveled at her son's physical strength and determination to continue his advocacy in the face of advanced diabetes.
"I have not seen anyone suffer so much and struggle just to get through each day," she said. "My son touched so many lives. He was indeed a patriot for our people."
Kekahu was born in Hanapepe and spent the 1960s in Los Angeles as a musician and entertainer. He returned to Hawaii in 1971, when he began fighting for native rights.
"Like a lot of us native Hawaiian brothers and sisters, I am the poster boy for how we have fared under the American way of life," Kekahu said recently. "It is with great sadness that I have seen too many of my people die while waiting for our lands to be returned."
Along with his mother, Kekahu is survived by sons John, Aaron, Charles and Danny; daughters Ruby and Merlene; brother Kawika; and sisters Rowena and Rhonda.
Memorial services are pending. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Koani Foundation, P.O. Box 510-182, Kealia, HI 96751.