Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 11, 1 November 1985 — Resolution Honors "Unsung Hero" [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Resolution Honors "Unsung Hero"

One of Hawaii's "unsung heroes" was honored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs at its Sept. 27 board meeting in the Lihue Library conference room. T rustees unanimously adopted a resolution " Acknowledging the Achievements of the late John Henry Wise in Modern Hawaiian History." Wise, the son of a German father and a Hawaiian mother, was a familiar and controversial figure in Hawaiian politics. An avowed royalist, he participated in the unsuccessful attempt to restore Queen Lili'uokalani to the throne in 1895 and served time in prison for his efforts. He was subsequently elected to the Territorial Senate and as a delegate to two nahonal political conventions. Wise was a recognized expert on Hawaiian land systems and tenure, water rights, language, food use and native nutrition. He taught at the Kamehameha Schools and held the Hawaiian language chair at the University of Hawaii. Perhaps his most far reaching, yet least known contribution, involves his efforts to rehabilitate the Hawaiian people by returning them to the land. It was Wise who first introduced legislation asking Congress to make public lands available for lease to Hawaiians. His efforts, combined with those of Prince Jonah Kuhio

Kalanianaole, eventually resulted in the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. The educational legacy of Wise continues today in the generations of his students who have themselves become teachers continuing to share his values and knowledge. Wise was also a founding member of the Hawaiian Civic Club movement in 1917 and held important offices in such other Hawaiian organizations as Hale O Na Alii and the Order of Kamehameha. Wise married Lois Kawai in Waimea on the Big Island in 18% and they had 11 children, two of whom are still living. They are Daniel Kawai Wise and Tepa Wise Arruda. Danny, along with brothers Wiliiam (Doggie) Wise and Jonah Wise, were outstanding football players on the loeal prep scene and also at the University of Hawaii. William served as football eoaeh and athletic director at McKinley High School for many years. Wise also held the distinction of being in the first graduating class of the then Kamehameha Schoo! for Boys in 1887 and went on to further study at the Oberlin Theological Seminary in Oberlin, Ohio. He died in August, 1937, at age 68 and is buried in the Kawaiahao Church Cemetery.

The Office of Hawaiian AffairsBoardofTrustees holds its Kauai meeting in the conference room of the Lihue Library.They acted on a number of items on the agenda, including unanimous acceptance of a resolution recognizing the achievements of John Henry Wise. From left to right, starting in the immediate forground are Barbara Ann Yuen, secretary (back to camera), Trustees Moanikeala Akaka, Joseph Kealoha (chairman), Gard Kealoha, Moses K. Keale Sr., Rodney Burgess, Thomas K. Kaulukukui Sr., Louis Hao and Hayden Burgess.