Ulu Garmon The story of Ulu Kanakaʽole Garmon is the story of the resilience and wisdom of Hawaiian spiritual cultural practices through the legacy of the Kanakaʽole family. Daughter of Aunty Edith Kanakaʽole, Garmon grew up in Keaukaha, immersed in the natural world and surrounded by family.
“The ocean was my front door. You could smell it, you could hear it, you could feel it,” says Garmon. “There were a lot of trails between the streets and that's how we went to school. We had relatives on every road and so we would make trails to their houses,” she adds.
Born in 1934, Garmon’s insulated life was abruptly shattered with the onset of World War II. “The war started and they built an army base in front of my grandmother's house. And then they built a naval base in front of our house. That was Keaukaha for a few years with the military influx. Our ocean was barb-wired and we had to learn how to crawl through to go swimming” says Garmon.
Much like her mother and two sisters, Nalani and Pualani, Garmon became adept at maintaining cultural roots while traversing the Western world. “By the time the war was ended, we had to go outside of Keaukaha to go to intermediate and high school. A larger introduction to people other than Hawaiians,” says Garmon. Singing became her focus. “I had no time to do other things. I belonged to a quartet and then the district choir and the church chorus,” Garmon says.
After graduation, Garmon discovered how far she could stretch her roots when she was sent to Rexburg Junior College in Idaho. “I came home in December. I could not live away from the ocean. It was the worse kind of ache,” says Garmon.
“The ocean was my front door. You could smell it, you could hear it, you could feel it,” says Garmon. “There were a lot of trails between the streets and that's how we went to school. We had relatives on every road and so we would make trails to their houses,” she adds.
Born in 1934, Garmon’s insulated life was abruptly shattered with the onset of World War II. “The war started and they built an army base in front of my grandmother's house. And then they built a naval base in front of our house. That was Keaukaha for a few years with the military influx. Our ocean was barb-wired and we had to learn how to crawl through to go swimming” says Garmon.
Much like her mother and two sisters, Nalani and Pualani, Garmon became adept at maintaining cultural roots while traversing the Western world. “By the time the war was ended, we had to go outside of Keaukaha to go to intermediate and high school. A larger introduction to people other than Hawaiians,” says Garmon. Singing became her focus. “I had no time to do other things. I belonged to a quartet and then the district choir and the church chorus,” Garmon says.
After graduation, Garmon discovered how far she could stretch her roots when she was sent to Rexburg Junior College in Idaho. “I came home in December. I could not live away from the ocean. It was the worse kind of ache,” says Garmon.
Daughter Leiola holding a family photo In August of the following year, Garmon was married and living on O'ahu with her husband, Ezra, who was in the Marines. Marine life meant moving many times in the following years between, California and Hawai'i and as far away as North Carolina. During this time Garmon had six children, who became some of her best teachers. “It provided me what I needed to learn about people when I did go to work. When I went back to school in Hilo, the best papers that I ever wrote had to do with my kids,” says Garmon.
Eventually the family was able to return to Hawai'i Island and moved to Waimea in 1978. In 1982 Garmon became Waimea School’s Kupuna or cultural practitioner. “I felt it was necessary for them to learn about being Hawaiian, the birth of the islands and Pele. As a story teller, I wanted them to be their own story teller. Each table would come up with a story about what they had learned and they were wonderful,” says Garmon.
Next Garmon worked with OHA from 1985-1990. “Aunty Betty Jenkins on O'ahu came here for a workshop and she asked if I would be interested in coming to O'ahu and working on a curriculum. I went as a member of a cultural team,” says Garmon.
Eventually the family was able to return to Hawai'i Island and moved to Waimea in 1978. In 1982 Garmon became Waimea School’s Kupuna or cultural practitioner. “I felt it was necessary for them to learn about being Hawaiian, the birth of the islands and Pele. As a story teller, I wanted them to be their own story teller. Each table would come up with a story about what they had learned and they were wonderful,” says Garmon.
Next Garmon worked with OHA from 1985-1990. “Aunty Betty Jenkins on O'ahu came here for a workshop and she asked if I would be interested in coming to O'ahu and working on a curriculum. I went as a member of a cultural team,” says Garmon.
Edith Kanaka'ole In 1990 the Kanakaʽole / Kanahele families came together to form the Edith Kanakaʽole Foundation (ETF). “We decided that we needed a 501 c3 and raised monies to put into that. That's how the Edith Kanaka'ole Foundation was born. We crash-coursed all the kids on different parts of the culture and they had to turn around and bring it to the very first group that we serviced in 1992,” says Garmon.
Garmon then began her work with veterans suffering from PTSD, taking the first groups to Waipi'o Valley. “I did a cultural component with Vietnam Veterans down in Waipi'o Valley because it’s identical [to Vietnam]. The whole idea was to take them back in order for them to come forward,” says Garmon.
Looking to nature for life lessons, Garmon took groups to Pua'ulu in Volcano. “I want them to look at a tree that appears to be dead, to really look close because this tree has been surviving like that all of the years I have known it. It has a couple of leaves. The roots down below are not doing well but the aerial roots are catching the moisture from the air and giving life to this plant. I want them to know that there is this part in them that will be able to catch from other places,” says Garmon.
Garmon then began her work with veterans suffering from PTSD, taking the first groups to Waipi'o Valley. “I did a cultural component with Vietnam Veterans down in Waipi'o Valley because it’s identical [to Vietnam]. The whole idea was to take them back in order for them to come forward,” says Garmon.
Looking to nature for life lessons, Garmon took groups to Pua'ulu in Volcano. “I want them to look at a tree that appears to be dead, to really look close because this tree has been surviving like that all of the years I have known it. It has a couple of leaves. The roots down below are not doing well but the aerial roots are catching the moisture from the air and giving life to this plant. I want them to know that there is this part in them that will be able to catch from other places,” says Garmon.
Leiola and Ulu Garmon then brought her cultural knowledge and wisdom to bear with drug treatment where she worked with addiction groups such as Big Island Substance Abuse Council (BISAC), providing culturally based workshops for clients and service personnel. “It has nothing to do with addiction. It has to do with giving them back who they are as a Hawaiian. You cannot just go by the book. That’s the difference in the kind of work we’re doing,” says Garmon.
From 1998 until 2009, Garmon moved to the coral reefs of Laehala in Hilo to work with Kamehameha School children through the EDF. “For the coral pond, I used the first 45 lines of the Kumulipo to take them back to this place. Not to look at the Kumulipo as something way out there. It's within your reach. I give them little stories that belong to some of the creatures that live there,” says Garmon.
Most recently, with the assistance of her daughter Leiola Mitchell, Garmon is working with grief and loss groups through the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust. Again, Garmon called on her cultural roots with the story of a park the Queen gave to the people of Pauoa Valley. “They grew shrubs that spelled out the word Uluhaimalama. It’s a metaphor for this whole idea that Liliu talked about [coming] out of the darkness. You plant a seed in the darkness and no matter what, this seed will always reach towards the light and it will puka (make a hole) through,” says Garmon.
The work of Ulu Garmon and her family provides a portal into the ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian ancestors, who were of the land and drew wisdom from their connection with it and each other.
From 1998 until 2009, Garmon moved to the coral reefs of Laehala in Hilo to work with Kamehameha School children through the EDF. “For the coral pond, I used the first 45 lines of the Kumulipo to take them back to this place. Not to look at the Kumulipo as something way out there. It's within your reach. I give them little stories that belong to some of the creatures that live there,” says Garmon.
Most recently, with the assistance of her daughter Leiola Mitchell, Garmon is working with grief and loss groups through the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust. Again, Garmon called on her cultural roots with the story of a park the Queen gave to the people of Pauoa Valley. “They grew shrubs that spelled out the word Uluhaimalama. It’s a metaphor for this whole idea that Liliu talked about [coming] out of the darkness. You plant a seed in the darkness and no matter what, this seed will always reach towards the light and it will puka (make a hole) through,” says Garmon.
The work of Ulu Garmon and her family provides a portal into the ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian ancestors, who were of the land and drew wisdom from their connection with it and each other.
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