The University of Hawaiʻi is mourning the death of Faith Nālani Kanakaʻole, a revered kumu hula, cultural leader and UH Hilo alumna who also served as a former faculty member at Hawaiʻi Community College, and whose life’s work profoundly shaped Hawaiian cultural practice and Indigenous education across Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Born on March 19, 1946, and raised in Hilo, Kanakaʻole died peacefully at her home on January 3, surrounded by family. She leaves behind a legacy deeply rooted in ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge), artistic excellence and an unwavering commitment to ensuring Hawaiian culture remains a living, evolving practice.
Kanakaʻole was part of an extraordinary lineage. The daughter of Luka and the legendary kumu hula and educator Edith Kanakaʻole, she stood in the fifth iteration of a direct line of kumu hula within a family whose hālau traditions span eight generations. As the youngest of six siblings, she was part of an ʻohana whose influence on Hawaiian studies and cultural preservation is unparalleled.
She stepped into the kuleana (responsibility) as kumu of Hālau o Kekuhi alongside her sister, Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, and later with her niece, Huihui Kanahele-Mossman. A guardian of the ancient ʻai haʻa (hula danced with bended knees) style, Kanakaʻole helped elevate hula as a classical art form while grounding it firmly in ʻāina, genealogy and ceremony.
Hilo roots
A graduate of UH Hilo, Kanakaʻole studied art history in the early 1970s during the same period her mother was pioneering Hawaiian studies courses on campus.
Together with her husband, Sig Zane, Kanakaʻole co-founded Sig Zane Designs in 1985, helping build a globally recognized brand rooted in Hawaiian values and cultural integrity.
After years devoted to family and co-founding one of Hawaiʻi’s most recognized fashion lines, she returned to UH Hilo and earned her bachelor’s degree in art in 2001.
“Nālani was an extraordinary cultural leader and UH Hilo alumna whose dedication to perpetuating Hawaiian knowledge touched countless lives,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “Her work elevating hula and Hawaiian cultural practices helped shape the broader movement toward indigenous education — a movement that has profoundly influenced our university’s mission.”
Merrie Monarch icon
Kanakaʻole’s leadership extended far beyond campus. In 1993, she and her sister were named National Heritage Fellows by the National Endowment for the Arts, the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. She was also deeply connected to the Merrie Monarch Festival, serving as a respected judge for more than two decades.
“It’s a sad day for hula,” said Luana Kawelu, Merrie Monarch Festival president and UH Hilo alumna. “She was reviewing plans for this year’s presentation just three days before she passed. That’s how committed she was to hula and to Merrie Monarch.”
Kanakaʻole
The Kanakaʻole family legacy is visible throughout UH Hilo, from Edith Kanakaʻole Hall and its iconic mural to the Hale Kanakaʻole Fund, established with the UH Foundation to support Native Hawaiian students across the UH System.
- Related UH News story: Hundreds celebrate Edith Kanakaʻole at UH Hilo, May 9, 2023
“Our ʻohana has lost a treasured kumu and cultural icon,” said ʻohana member and Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lei Kapono. “Through generations of haumāna—many of them UH Hilo students—Aunty Nālani ensured that traditional knowledge thrives as lived practice, not merely performance.”
