Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 3, 1 March 2016 — ‘A father of modern Hawaiian medicine' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

‘A father of modern Hawaiian medicine'

Dr. Richard Kekuni Blaisdelj) March 11, 1925 - February 12, 2016

ByTreenaShapiro Dr. Richard Kekuni Blaisdell, a pioneer in the study of kānaka maoli health care and a key figure in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, died on Feb. 12 at The Queen's Medical Center. He was 90. Blaisdell was chairman of the University of Hawai'i School of Medicine in the 1980s when he eame across references to "kānaka maoli" in historical texts. He noticed that before Western contact kānaka maoli heahh had been described as robust, a contrast with the declining heahh he was seeing in contemporary Hawaiians. Seeking to correct the significant heahh disparities between Native Hawaiians and other groups, Blaisdell authored the critical heahh report, "E Ola Mau," for the Congressional Native Hawaiians Study Commission. Five years later, he was instrumental in the passage of 1988's Native Hawaiian Heahh Care Act, whieh established Hawaiian heahh care systems across the islands and integrated traditional heahh practices whh Western medieine. "Dr. Blaisdell was a father of modern Hawaiian medicine and heahh. He was one of my mentors and pushed me to get my doctorate in elinieal psychology. He fought to get more Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and other indigenous peoples into medical school. He brought the wisdom of our Hawaiian ancestors to the modern world and helped revive traditional healing practices," said Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Ka Pouhana and CEO. Blaisdell believed that the heahh of the Hawaiian people was connected to the heahh of the 'aina and the preservation and perpetuation of their history and culture. In 1984, he helped found the sovereignty group Na 'Ōiwi O Hawai'i, whieh convened a Hawaiian sovereignty conference where he spoke in detail

— Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Ka Pouhana and CEO about how independence could help improve overall heahh. An advocate for Native Hawaiian education, Blaisdell served on several committees to preserve Hawaiian language, arts and culture and from 1987-1989, served as acting interim director of the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies. "His greatest accomplishment was to bring medicine, culture and heritage and relate it to modern politics. He understood that one cannot exist without the other and good governance was necessary to promote good heahh and medicine. That is why he was such a staunch supporter of sovereignty for the Hawaiian people - to bring the best governance practices to improve the heahh of Hawaiians and all the people of Hawai'i. The lāhui has lost a dear patriot," Crabbe said. Born on March 11, 1925, Blaisdell was a 1942 graduate of the Kamehameha School

for Boys. After completing his undergraduate work at University of Redlands, he eamed his MD at the University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1948. Blasidell served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1950 to 1954 and was appointed to the U.S. Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in

Hiroshima and Nagasaki after World War II to determine the

effects of radiation on the people who survived the atomic bombing in those cities. While there he adopted an almost two-year-old boy, Mitsunori, and brought him back to Chicago. "I was single when I met little Mitsunori," Blaisdell was quoted as saying in a UH Medical School release. "I took him back with me to the University of Chicago where I was working. And within a year, I met a lovely nurse, Irene Saito, a Waimānalo girl. We were married and Mitsunori, we called himMitch, was best man at our wedding." Their only daughter, Nalani Blaisdell-Brennan, was born in Chicago. In 1966, Blaisdell was recruited to become the inaugural chair of medicine at the new John A. Burns School of Medicine in Hawai'i. He served as chairman and Professor of Medicine until his retirement in 2010, then served as Professor Emeritus until his death. "Dr. Blaisdell is considered a treasure to every class that has ever graduated from our medical school," said Jerris R. Hedges, MD, Professor and Dean of JABSOM. The Honpa Hongwangji Mission of Hawai'i named Blaisdell a living treasure in 1990, one of many accolades he received. Dr. Blaisdell is survived by son, Mitch, daughter, Dr. Nalani Blaisdell-Brennan, and Grandchildren: Melissa Blaisdell, Billy Brennan, Malia Brennan and Jacob Blaisdell. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell Proposed Chair in Native Hawaiian Heahh at the John A. Burns School of Medieine (account #127-2010-2). (Please make your eheek payable to UH Foundation). ■

He fought to get more Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and other indigenous peoples into medical school. He brought the wisdom of our Hawaiian ancestors to the modern world and helped revive traditional healing practices."

Courtesy photo: Richard Kekuni Blaisdell Family

Kalani Brady, Nalani (daughter) and Kekuni Blaisdell from 2014 dedication of the Ahu Ola (altar) at JABS0AA's Native Hawaiian healing garden whieh includes a foundation stone from Dr. Blaisdell. - Photo: Courtesy University of Hawai'i iohn k Burns School ofMedicine