George Huʻeu Sanford Kanahele (1930–2000) was a native Hawaiian activist, historian and author.
George Huʻeu Sanford Kanahele was born October 17, 1930 in Kahuku on the island of Oʻahu of Hawaii.[1] Kanahele graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1948, and served as missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan until 1954. he then served in the United States Army Security Agency in Germany. He received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in political science from Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi, and Ph.D. in Government and Southeast Asian Affairs from Cornell University in 1967.[2] He published several books during his life relating to Hawaiian culture and history.[3] As co-founder of the Hawaiʻi Entrepreneurship Training & Development Institute, he trained indigenous people around the world in how to start sustainable businesses.[1]
Kanahele founded of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association in 1997.[4] Despite being a valuable part of the Hawaiian activism movement, some of his ideas are controversial, such as his argument that native Hawaiians should embrace Hawaii's tourism by helping the visitor industry revive a "Hawaiianess" in visitor destinations such as Waikīkī. In 1998 he received the Living Treasures of Hawai'i award. He died September 15, 2000 while teaching a seminar on Guam.[5]