Debbie remembered by Nicholas Bellantoni

I will be posting a series of articles focusing on Deborah “Debbie” Lee and her advocacy for ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia.

Deborah Li‘ikapeka Lee passed away in December in her home town of Hilo on the windward side of Hawai‘i Island. Best known to me as Debbie, she influenced my life, my knowledge of Hawaiian ways, and in my knowledge of the life, times, and heritage of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia – Henry Obookiah. I first met Debbie in August 1993, on the very day the remains of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia were landed at the wharf at Napo‘opo‘o along Kealakekua Bay in Kona. I along with my friend book editor Scott Tompkins attended the burial service held at the Kahikolu Church mauka of the landing. I had recently posted my obookiah.com website in the early days of online websites, with the full text of the Memoirs of Obookiah available. In 1993 I soon added information about Debbie’s Ka ‘Ohe Ola Hou Inc. – the Bamboo Lives Again foundation. Our connection began that day, flourishing and enduring through great, good, and troubling times for us both.

Below is the first, a tribute from our mutual friend archaeologist Nicholas “Nick” Bellantoni.

Nicholas “Nick” Bellantoni Ph.D., Connecticut State Archaeologist emeritus, has become a good friend over the years during visits to the now empty grave of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia in Cornwall, Conn. Nick led in disinterring the remains of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia in 1993 following Debbie’s blessed fulfillment of her wish to return Henry home to Hawai‘i. Nick with utmost care and concern for Henry’s remains placed them in a koa coffin in Hartford to being the return of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia to Hawai‘i. Debbie Lee and her ‘ohana in Hawai‘i warmly welcomed Nick into their family. Nick’s book The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha’ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk published in 2018 recounts in detail his encounter with ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia and Debbie during his archaeology work in the Cornwall cemetery.

Deborah “Debbie” Li‘ikapeka Lee’s commitment and loyalty to family heritage have been inspirational to me. We met on a warm July afternoon in 1993 when she and her parents travelled to Connecticut to escort the physical remains of her seventh-generation ancestor, Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia back to his homeland on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. As the Connecticut State Archaeologist, we were responsible for the respectful and professional removal of Henry from his 1818 hilltop burial in Cornwall, Connecticut. Acting upon her inspiration that was “so overwhelming, it could not be ignored,” Debbie Lee had committed herself totally toward ‘Ōpūkahaʻia’s repatriation.

From that introduction over 30 years ago, it has been an honor to have been accepted by her as friend and extended family. The power of her feelings and the responsibility of taking on the repatriation is an example to all of us of the importance of spirituality and heritage in our lives.

The commitment of Debbie and her parents, Elizabeth Kapeka Ho‘omanawanui and Kwai Wah Lee, to bringing Henry home are examples of the power and devotion of family defining their heritage against overwhelming odds.

She worked for over a year polling family members gaining their consent to exhume Henry’s remains from Cornwall Cemetery and bring him home to Hawai‘i. At first, there was little enthusiasm, but that soon changed as Debbie’s passion became evident and family and public officials were convinced. She became empowered and strengthened, resolved to give Henry’s life contemporary spiritual meaning by the return of his physical remains, his iwi, to Hawai‘i in fulfillment of his deathbed wish. The repatriation was no small achievement. It seemed that only Debbie could have made it happen.

We extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. We will miss her passion and energy. But are rejoiced to know she is united with her much-loved Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia.

A Historical Survey of the Totality of Events of the Great Hawaiian Revival from 1836-1842

Nicholas “Nick” Freeman, a Ph. D. candidate at the Rawlings School of Divinity, presented his dissertation on the Great Revival in Hawai‘i. The original, thorough study of this movement which led to Hawai‘i becoming known as a Christian kingdom, drew thousands of native Hawaiians to Christianity. It was claimed that Haili Church in Hilo under the Rev. Titus Coan in the late 1830s gathered the largest Protestant Congregation in the entire world. Today Hawai‘i evangelical churches are seeking to repeat the Great Revival in the twenty-first century. A careful study of “The Great Hawaiian Revival” reveals what happened in the past, and offers valuable information on what led up to and spirited this famous revival.

Over the Christmas season Nick shared his paper with me.

His overview of The Great Hawaiian Revival provides a preview of its contents:

“This dissertation has sought to provide an overview of the Great Hawaiian Revival of 1836 through 1842, including what work was done to enable its fruition, who were the key players before and during the revival, where and when it began and spread, how the missionary church admittance policy affected the revival, and what were its ultimate results. The specific purpose was first to determine where most of the evidence pointed to as the revival’s starting point, and who were the other key players involved.

“While much of the previous research has focused on Hilo, Hawaii, as ground zero for its commencement and Titus Can as the primary player, it is the heart of this study to flesh out the historical evidence which contradicts this narrative and provide a more detailed and fair review of the events that took place. The second purpose of this study is to determine where and when the revival spread throughout the Islands, and what were the results overall, in addition to the events at Hilo.”

The Great Hawaiian Revival paper is available online in the Digital Commons collection of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Nick also posts a wide variety of interesting articles focused on the Christian History of Hawai‘i. Titles include “Titus Coan’s Last Battle,” “Queen Regent Ka‘ahumanu: Spiritual and Educational Visionary,” “Rev. Davida Malo: Hawaii’s First Apologist for Christianity.” I began my research into the life of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia-Henry Obookiah, and subsequently the Christian history of Hawai‘i field, in 1983. Nick’s interests and insightful and accurate posts concur with and enhance my contributions.

When the pioneer mission to Hawai‘i departed from Boston in October, 1820, their ship, the Thaddeus, was known as the Mayflower of the Pacific. Two-hundred years earlier the Plymouth Pilgrims arrived in the New World to settle New England. In this notable painting, the Pilgrims are pictured on the deck of the ship Speedwell on July 22, 1620, prior to departure from Delfs Haven, Holland, for Southampton, England, to sail with the ship Mayflower on a voyage across the North Atlantic to North America. Here Pilgrim pastor John Robinson (right center) kneeling, face towards heaven seeks divine guidance. Pilgrim leader William Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation, the first book known to have been written in New England. Bradford portrayed the missionary nature of Robinson’s vision for the Pilgrim settlement, based on words prayed by Robinson at the final gathering of his flock departing from Holland for England: “(Look to) advancing ye gospell of ye kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of ye world; yea, though they should be but evan as stepping-stones unto others for ye performing of so great a work.”

Peter Marshall was the co-author of the landmark 1977 providential history of America book The Light and the Glory.

In one of his last television interviews, in 2002 with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Marshall tells of how he concluded the Mayflower Pilgrims were sent to New England by the Lord on a missionary journey as much if not more so than seeking religious freedom, the common, somewhat simplistic reason best known among Americans. Watch Peter Marshall make his case for the Pilgrims being harbingers of missions domestic and foreign from the United States, including being a significant root of the 1820 Sandwich Islands Mission to Hawai‘i.

The National Museum of the American Indian is streaming a short film featuring Aletha Kaohi of Waimea, Kaua‘i. Aletha passed in April 2024, but her wonderful native Hawaiian spirit lives on in this high-quality profile filmed in and around Waimea, Kaua‘i.

Aletha invited me to attend the unveiling of the bronze Kaumuali‘i statue at Pā‘ula‘ula (formerly Russian Fort) on the east bank of the Waimea River. I described the opening ceremony in a newsletter post sent to Honolulu and attached a photo of myself with Aletha taken that day.

I attended the unveiling and dedication of Ho‘ola‘a O King Kaumuali‘i, a life-size bronze statue of the last ruler of Kaua‘i.

The event took place at Paula‘ula, the traditional homesite of Kaumuali‘i on the grounds of the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Park in Waimea Kauai on Saturday, March 20, 2021.

Kaumuali‘i rejoiced at the return of his long-lost son Humehume (George Kaumuali‘i) who was returned to Kaua‘i from New England accompanying the Pioneer Company, in spring 1820. The Kaua‘i king provided land and support for a missionary station at Waimea. He enjoyed reading a Bible with his name inscribed on its cover brought to him by the “Samuels,“ pioneer company missionaries Samuel Whitney and Samuel Ruggles.

Chris joined Aletha Kawelukawahinehololio‘olimaloa Goodwin Kaohi, a lifetime resident of Waimea and a direct descendant of Kaumuali‘i. Aletha worked with the Friends of King Kaumuali‘i organization for years to complete the project. The Legislature provided over $200,000 in funding to allow completion of the statue created by Kauai-based sculptor Siam Caglayan. 

Chris has assisted Aletha with writing and photographs for Kaua‘i history and Kalewina (the Native Hawaiian Congregational churches of Hawai‘i) projects over the years.

Professor Peter Mills, head of the Anthropology Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, flew in for the event. Peter is the author of Hawaii’s Russian Adventure: A New Look at Old History from the UH Press, a book that provides a definitive account of how Kaumuali‘i and the people of Kaua‘i actually built the fort at Waimea, not a party from the Russian-American Company.

Peter told Chris that accessing the digitized archives of the Hawaiian Mission Houses greatly helped him during the Covid-19 lock down in continuing research and writing of a new Hawai‘i maritime history-focused book.