West Maui’s own George Kahumoku Jr. was recently honored with the 2022 Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts for his lifetime of contributions to Hawaiian music and culture. PHOTO BY CINDY SCHUMACHER.

WEST MAUI — On Sunday, Dec. 4, The Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts presented West Side favorite Uncle George Kahumoku Jr. with the 2022 Na Hoku Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kahumoku was introduced by John Berger, editor of the second edition of “Hawaiian Music and Musicians,” who said, “The academy is proud to present its 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award to Uncle George for his lifetime of contributions to Hawaiian music and to Hawaiian culture as a slack key guitarist, recording artist, educator, cultural practitioner, Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning recording artist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.”

Humbled by his award, Kahumoku reflected, “My vision has always been to make a greater impact and make the world a better place through my music, teaching, art, farming, writing and documentaries. I was taught slack key guitar from my great grandpa, Willy Kahumoku, and it was passed down in our family along with sustainable farming methods.

“Grandpa taught me the traditional Hawaiian method of ‘mala,’ or dry-land style of farming, using animals and fowl in an integrated, sustainable system. My great-grandmother once told me that if I have a dream, and can smell it, taste it and feel it, that vision is mine. I have been blessed with the opportunity to draw on my visions through all the things I set my heart on. The ‘aina aloha (love of the land) has been a theme for me throughout my entire life.”

A multi-talented personality, Kahumoku graduated from Kamehameha Schools and won a scholarship to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. An excellent sculptor, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the California College of the Arts in Oakland, and earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Grand Canyon University.

Alongside his inspiring music career, he is also a Maui community leader who has worked with children in numerous programs throughout the years at Lahainaluna High School and others.

Kahumoku has an extraordinary farm and mentors those who want to learn sustainable and regenerative farming practices as a way to a better future for farming.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, he prioritized farming, growing food on his self-contained three-acre farm, hunting wild pigs, and sharing the surplus food with homeless on beaches and in shelters, as well as giving to community organizations. He still mentors students, feeds the homeless and shares his seeds and mana’o with over 200 farms in Hawaii and across the globe.

His contributions to the preservation of Hawaiian music and culture go beyond his work as a performer, recording artist, record producer and event promoter. In 1997, he presented a slack key guitar workshop on Maui that was so successful that it is now in its 23rd year.

He had an essential role in founding the Institute of Hawaiian Music at the University of Hawaii Maui College and directed it for two years before retiring.

“Presently, I am going to be concentrating on my creative side by focusing on drawing and writing to leave a legacy of Hawaiian culture and mentorship in Hawaiian farming, fishing and cooking, as well as sharing, teaching and living our kupuna’s songs, chants and history,” he noted. “In addition, I want to compose and contribute to the Library of Classical Hawaiian Music for our times.

“I would also like to mention that, in addition to my great father, Willy Kahumoku, I have been blessed to be mentored by my Tutu Koko’o, my grandmother Emily Ho’opale Dulay, Tutu Kawena Pukui, Uncle Eddie and Myrna Kamae, Uncle Bob Nelson, Aunty Irmgard Farden Aluli, Aunty Edith Kanaka’ole, Aunty I’olani Makekau, my dad George Kahumoku Sr., and my mom, Aileen Waiolama Perez.”

In all his endeavors, Kahumoku remains true to the Hawaiian values that are part of his life. He believes that we must all operate with aloha, integrity and mutual respect, treating each other the way we want to be treated.