George Naope

George Lanakilakeikiahialiʻi Naʻope, widely known as Uncle George, was born on February 25, 1928, in Kalihi, Oʻahu, and raised in Hilo. He began learning hula at age three from his great-grandmother, Mary Malia Pukaokalani Naʻope, continuing with other respected teachers. By age twelve he was performing on Hawaiian music recordings, and by his early teens he had begun teaching. His education joined movement, chant, language, history, protocol, and genealogy—understanding hula not as stage entertainment alone but as a complete expression of cultural knowledge and responsibility.

After high school, Naʻope moved to Honolulu and opened the George Naʻope Hula School, eventually teaching across the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, Guam, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. In his teaching, he described hula as an expression of inner feeling grounded in love and respect for culture. He insisted that ancient repertoire carry the histories transmitted through chant, and he distinguished hula kahiko from modern forms, arguing that inherited ancient choreography and chant should not be altered casually.

Naʻope became one of the originators of the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo. In 1963, working with County of Hawaiʻi leadership, he helped transform an economic-revival idea into a celebration honoring King David Kalākaua. The hula competition later emerged as the festival's defining center, becoming one of the world's most influential stages for hālau to present disciplined work rooted in lineage and text.

His approach was preservationist without being rigid. Naʻope taught internationally, judged competitions, recorded and sang, and encouraged people to learn culture deeply and share it. His authority came from long apprenticeship and responsibility to lineage, not from the belief that hula existed outside changing communities. Hawaiʻi recognized him as a "Living Golden Treasure," and in 2006 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship for mele oli and hula. He continued teaching and advocating until his death on October 26, 2009, at his home in Hilo.