Wahine Noa: Hawaii author features women with freedom for the life of their country

HAWAII ISLAND—Keahi Felix was born on Maui in 1935—she lost her mother at the age of four, and at 10 years old, she was put in an orphanage.

In the sixth grade, Felix’s grandmother took her to Oahu where she continued her education. It was during this time that she found an interest in writing. She wrote articles in her high school newspaper and The Honolulu Advertiser.

Felix later juggled being a teacher, waitress, and salesperson in a lumberyard. Felix was eventually dismissed from the lumberyard job because her boss said she couldn’t handle it—but despite the busy life she had, writing was still her passion.

At age 54, a car struck Felix while she was walking along the street. Felix spent two and a half months in the hospital. Both of her legs were broken and her pelvis was fractured. During that period she had a lot of time to think about her life and realized that she was not where she wanted to be in her writing career.

After her accident, Felix began writing a book that would talk about the illegal overthrow of the last alii nui, Queen Liliuokalani, and the Kumulipo chant. Through her research, she learned a lot about Hawaiian history, and also gained inspiration from public gatherings she attended; including one which she remembers vividly. “Keep Hawaiian lands in Hawaiian hands” was a statement she heard over and over again, and it stuck with her.

As she wrote, Felix became more and more involved in her subject, even getting arrested for supporting Hawaiians who were hoping to build a cultural center on Kauai. The Hawaiians were protesting the bulldozing of their structures.

The process of writing her book took a long time and a lot of things happened on the way, shaping the things Felix wrote about in her book. In June 2010, Wahine Noa: For the Life of My Country was finished.

Felix writes in the introduction: “Dear Reader, Aloha. You are invited to engage in a new thought, in new thoughts of what the words Wahine Noa may mean using the explanation given above as a starting point, and the context of this book as a larger universe of ideas.”

She expands on a Hawaiian phrase meaning “women with no restrictions” and takes the definition further in her book by phrasing it: “women with freedom for the life of their country.”

So far, Felix has printed 1,570 copies of the book. She wants to write another book, based on her poetry. At 128 pages, Wahine Noa is an easy read, which is exactly the way she wanted it.

For more information on Keahi Felix and her publications, visit http://www.kipukapresshawaii.com/Site/Homepage.html.