| PINKY
THOMPSON TRIBUTE
Myron Bennett "Pinky" Thompson (1924-2001):
A Life of Service
"What is constantly on my mind," Pinky told a reporter
in 1984, "whether I'm on a plane headed for Washington D.C.
or at a canoe practice is 'How can I do more to influence the
process that will affect the future of our Hawaiian people?' "
Pinky was
a social worker, a land use planner, state administrator under
Governor Burns, a trustee of the Bishop Estate, president of the
Polynesian Voyaging society, and one of the founders of ALU LIKE
and Papa Ola Lōkahi among many other achievements.
Throughout his career he was guided by the wisdom of his ancestors,
finding in his Hawaiian heritage ancient values with modern day
applications.
The importance
of family was nurtured at an early age by Pinky's parents who
took in 'at-risk foster children.' "I grew up living with
kids who were less fortunate," Pinky explained, "and
we became close. I felt their pain. I wanted to find a way to
help and that began my process of entering into social work."
Pride of ancestry
was the centerpiece of Pinky's strategy for the renewal of Hawaiian
health and spirit. As State Administrator, he helped publish a
textbook exploring Hawaiian culture and as Director of the Queen
Lili‘uokalani Trust he helped create a book entitled "Nana
I Ke Kumu Look to the Source" to show how traditional
cultural practices, such as ho‘oponopono, are resilient ways
of achieving health and pride today. As the Polynesian Voyaging
Society's president, he guided Hōkūle‘a's voyages
throughout the vast Pacific to reunite an ancient ‘ohana
and ignite pride among Pacific peoples everywhere. " Hōkūle‘a
sails to remind all Hawaiians of their powerful heritage as a
seafaring people," Pinky said. "The more we learn about
our ancestors the more we regain our pride as a strong people
the more we will be able to move forward with confidence
and discipline."
All his life,
Pinky followed the Hawaiian precept of ‘Imi ‘Ike
seeking knowledge. In 1963, for example, he worked with Bishop
Museum's Dr. Alan Howard in a three-year study of a uniquely Hawaiian
understanding of community. At KSBE he guided research to improve
the condition of Native Hawaiians, and in 1981, he was chairman
of the Native Hawaiian Education Commission which examined federal
and state educational programs for Hawaiian youth and recommended
improvements.
Caring for
the environment the spirit of mālama was another
guiding value. As head of Hawai‘i's Land Use Commission,
Pinky wrote an article showing how the new law had roots in the
ancient Hawaiian tradition of living in harmony with the aina.
At KSBE, he developed programs for reforesting estate land, involving
schoolchildren in the process. And in 1995, he envisioned the
Voyaging Society's Mālama Hawai‘i program to increase
environmental awareness.
To carry out
his vision for a healthy and vigorous Hawai‘i, Pinky created
partnerships a wide-ranging ‘ohana of people and resources.
In 1974 he joined with Hawai`i's congressional delegation to assure
that Hawaiians were included in federal programs funded for Native
Americans. "Pinky's testimony before congressional committees
was moving in its sincerity and demanded federal action,"
remembers Senator Daniel K. Inouye. "He became the catalyst
for many federal programs.
The delegation
was pleased to follow his lead." As trustee, he wove together
the resources of KSBE with those of state and federal government
to reach Native Hawaiians with an array of nurturing programs.
Pinky believed in Lokomaika‘i sharing. In 1974, when
he became a KSBE Trustee, "We looked around and saw that,
although the Hawaiian children in Kamehameha were doing well,
the vast majority of Native Hawaiian children were in public schools
and they were not doing well," Pinky recalled. His careful
study of Bernice Pauahi Bishop's will revealed that her intent
was to benefit all the children of Hawaiian ancestry, including
those in public schools, so he began extending the Estate's programs
throughout the state.
Ten years
later, KSBE had expanded from a single focus--serving about 2700
students in grades K-12 on its Kapālama campus to an
organization with three educational units campus, extension
and research which offered more than 35 separate programs
affecting more than 40,000 individuals annually. It was a promising
beginning that continued to unfold under his guidance.
Pinky's vision
for a healthy Hawaiian people was holistic encompassing
a concept of education and caring that began at birth. His training
in early childhood development convinced him that the first three
years of a child's life were critical to a deep sense of self
worth. To foster that, Pinky helped create KSBE's numerous center-based
pre-schools, and was instrumental in obtaining federal funding
for parent-infant education and traveling preschools throughout
the state.
Pinky took
risks constantly seeking new ways to help Hawaiians. One
example was KEEP the Kamehameha Schools Early Education
Project. "The program is based," Pinky explained, "on
the concept that children of Native Hawaiian ancestry often learn
better from each other than from adults." KEEP classrooms
were flexible and interactive designed with multiple stations
where students learned by actively participating with each other
and their teachers.
Although Pinky was especially concerned for the welfare of Native
Hawaiians his aloha for all people transcended divisiveness.
Voyaging aboard Hōkūle‘a is one example of his
belief in human unity. "Our canoes have been envisioned,
maintained, and sailed by all of Hawai‘i's people,"
he often said, "regardless of race or religion. We must remember
that we are all one people."
Pinky's vision
of Olakino Maika‘i living a healthy life united
mind, body and spirit. One transcendent moment in his life occurred
just before he jumped off for the Normandy invasion when a Catholic
chaplain helped him rediscover his ancestral spirituality. "He
asked us to call the supreme powers of our families and our personal
beliefs to join us that night," Pinky recalled. "From
that moment on I found comfort in my Akua and my ‘Aumakua
as well as in God."
To improve the mental and physical health of Hawaiians, Pinky
helped found Papa Ola Lōkahi in 1988. Continuing and refining
his concept of partnerships, POL became an umbrella organization
to unite care-giving institutions throughout Hawai‘i. Not
surprisingly, one goal was to preserve traditional healing practices.
Pinky expressed his abiding belief in a "helping hand"
not a "hand out" in the organization's mission
statement: "...to assist Hawaiian natives who are committed
to achieving their potential in caring for themselves, their families
and communities."
As president
of PVS, Pinky's vision united past, present and future by reaffirming
that traditional Polynesian values applied universally across
time and space. "Before our ancestors set out to find a new
island," he explained, "they had to have a vision of
that island over the horizon. They made a plan for achieving that
vision. They prepared themselves physically and mentally and were
willing to experiment, to try new things. They took risks. And
on the voyage they bound each other with aloha so they could together
overcome the risks and achieve their vision. You find these same
values throughout the world seeking, planning, experimenting,
taking risks and the importance caring for each other."
"The
same principles that we used in the past," he often said,
"are the ones that we use today and that we will use into
the future. No matter what culture we are, or what race, these
are values that work for us all."
Sam Low January
1, 2002
Credit: Polynesian
Voyaging Society
http://www.pvs-hawaii.com/newsletters/nl_pinky_service.htm
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