Luther Makekau: A One Kine Hawaiian Man

To explore the raw footage of this film or view the complete film, visit ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. To watch clips from this film, visit our YouTube channel. The raw footage, clips, and complete film are made available for educational and research purposes. If you’d like a free DVD of this film, click here to visit our online store, and simply pay for shipping and handling.

“Luther Kahekili Makekau was colorful, controversial and cantankerous … Kamae’s goal was not to canonize him but to share his spirit …” — Wayne Harada, Honolulu Advertiser

This award-winning, one-hour documentary pays tribute to the untamed spirit of a colorful and controversial Hawaiian man. Known throughout the islands and descended from a line of warrior chiefs, Luther Makekau was part philosopher and part outlaw, a chanter and a singer, a fighter and a lover, a cattle rustler, a rebel and a poet. Born on Maui in 1890, during the reign of King Kalākaua, he lived nearly a hundred years, shaped by a century of turbulent cultural change.

If you want to see the complete film or an entire raw footage tape, contact ʻUluʻulu (click here to do so) and let them know what you want to watch; they will set you up as a researcher and provide you with a temporary streaming link of the tape you request.