KOANI FOUNDATION DIRECTOR KAI`OPUA FYFE DIES
Kai`opua Fyfe served continuously until his death as a director of the Kaua`i based Koani Foundation since being appointed by Founder John ‘Butch” Kekahu III prior to Butchʻs own passing in late 2001.
As a descendant of Hawaiian ancestors who signed the Ku`e petitions, he was a strong proponent of a Free Hawai`i and an end to the illegal occupation of Hawai`i by the US.
On behalf of the Koani Foundation, Kai`opua focused on the international arena promoting awareness, and building support for resolution of a broad range of Hawai`i issues: in Bonn, Germany, at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; in Geneva, Switzerland, before the Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Human Rights Committee, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Working Groups on Indigenous Populations and Expert Mechanism, the Human Rights Sub-Commission; and participated with the UN Institute for Training and Research on Conflict Prevention and Peace-Building.
Kai`opua was active for many years at the annual UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City, and partnered these opportunities with informational expeditions to Capitol Hill. In Brisbane, Australia, he served as the Human Rights Rapporteur for the UNPFII 2nd Pacific Consultation and, in Aotearoa, attended UN hearings on violations of Maori Foreshore and Seabed Rights.
He participated in Aloha Marches in California and Massachusetts, and was also co-host of Voices Of Truth, One-On-One With Hawai`i’s Future, the Koani Foundation’s award-winning weekly television show.
Kai’opua was a Charter Member of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, having served on the Executive Board, and as Chair of the Kaua`i / Ni`ihau Island Council. In this capacity, he participated in World Indigenous Peoples Conferences on Education in Aotearoa-New Zealand; Calgary, Canada; and Hilo, Hawai`i; and at National Indian Education Association conferences in Indian Country.
Kai’opua was also a past President of his extended `Ohana and former Chair of its Kona Heritage Committee, dedicated to the protection and perpetuation of cultural sites and traditional protocol. Both of his maternal great-grand mothers, and numerous other relatives of their era, signed the Ku`e Anti-annexation Petitions of 1897. His grandfather and mother served in the territorial legislature.
In the Hawai’i State Legislature Kai`opua served as clerk of the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee. He was the elected Lihu`e, Kaua`i Delegate to the `Aha Hawai`i `Oiwi, the Native Hawaiian Convention. He was a student, trainer and facilitator of strategic planning and collaborative leadership for Native Hawaiian community-based development.
He returned full time to Hawai`i in 1986 and lived in Lihu`e.
He will be sorely missed.
