Name Akaiko Akana Resting place Haleiwa | Alma mater Hartford Seminary | |
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Born December 24, 1884 ( 1884-12-24 ) Kaihuwai, Waialua, Oahu Known for First Hawaiian Kahu (pastor) of Kawaiahaʻo Church Died February 16, 1933, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Books Light Upon the Mist: A Reflection of Wisdom for the Future Generations of Native Hawaiians | ||
Akaiko Akana (1884–1933), became the first Kahu (pastor) of Hawaiian ancestry at Kawaiahaʻo Church in 1918. He served in that capacity until his death in 1933.
He was born December 24, 1884, in the Kaihuwai district of Waialua on the Hawaiian island of Oahu., in the Territory of Hawaii. Akana was of Hapa (mixed) ancestry, with a Chinese father and Hawaiian mother. He earned a bachelor's degree in pedagogy at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, where he was president of his graduating class.
At the October 1906 annual meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Akana delivered a speech in which he stated that his decision to enter the Christian ministry was a direct result of the groundwork laid by the Christian missionaries who set up churches in Hawaii decades before his birth. In encouraging the board to continue its work in Hawaii, the twenty-two-year-old Akana cited the Sabbath being broken in Hawaii by baseball and golf.
In 1921, Akana appeared before the United States House of Representatives hearings on "Public Protection of Maternity and Infancy", where he delivered a lengthy report on the subject matter as it related to the Territory of Hawaii.
Death
He died February 16, 1933, and was buried at Liliuokalani Church Cemetery in Haleiwa, Hawaii.