The Hawaiian Renaissance (also often called the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance) was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional kānaka maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based "culture" which Hawaiʻi was previously known for worldwide. It is generally considered to have started in 1970, and drew from similar cultural movements from the late 60s and early 70s. It is mostly known from music, such as Gabby Pahinui and his work with the Sons of Hawaii, or Keola and Kapono Beamer's traditionalist slack-key music. Other noted Hawaiian musicians who played an integral role in the renaissance were Dennis Pavao, Ledward Kaʻapana, and Nedward Kaʻapana. The Kaʻapana brothers, along with cousin Pavao formed the falsetto trio, Hui ʻOhana. It's also associated with a renewed interest in Hawaiian language, Pidgin, Hula, Traditional Hawaiian Crafts, Hawaiian Studies, and other cultural items. The time also included intense land struggles such as that of Kalama Valley, Kahoʻolawe and Waiāhole/Waikāne, and a resurgence of traditional practices such as loʻi kalo (taro patch) farming, folk arts, and mālama ʻāina (traditional forestry/ land healing and restoration). Polynesian Voyaging is also a large aspect of the Hawaiian Renaissance. In 1975, an anthropologist from San Diego, California built a replica of an Ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe. The vessel Hōkūleʻa and the re-invented navigation technique ("Wayfinding") by Nainoa Thompson is now a big icon of the native Polynesian culture. The movement sometimes touches upon politics, including issues dealing with Native Hawaiians and restoration of Hawaiian independence. The height of the Hawaiian Renaissance is usually located during the 1970s, and had mostly waned by 1980, although some refer to it as a still-contemporary movement. The term "Hawaiian Renaissance" is sometimes also applied to the time period immediately following King Kalākaua's ascendance to the throne, which marked the public return of traditional arts such as the hula, after Calvinist missionary repression had forces these arts underground for several decades.
