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July 01, 2008

Earlier this year, Hawaii’s Governor, Linda Lingle, signed a proclamation introduced by the Paniolo Preservation Society declaring 2008 the Year of the Paniolo, citing the important role the Hawaiian cowboy has played in the maintenance and restoration of native Hawaiian traditions and culture.

The proclamation recognized the significance of 2008 as the centennial of a stunning, unanticipated rodeo win by a competent Hawaiian cowboy at the 1908 Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming. At a time when few people on the mainland even knew that paniolo existed (although they had been roping and riding long before the “Wild West” cowboys there), Hawaii’s Ikua Purdy entered the Wyoming rodeo. To the surprise of the mainland cowboys, he handily won the national roping competition. Purdy and his fellow cowboys, Archie Ka‘au‘a and Jack Low put Hawaii on the map for the ranching world.

Purdy was a great grandson of John Parker, founder of the legendary Parker Ranch on the Big Island of Hawaii, and Kipikane, granddaughter of Kamehameha I. He was a hard-working paniolo who competed for years in roping events on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. Purdy has been immortalized in legend and in songs such as “Hawaiian Rough Riders,” “Waiomina” (the Hawaiian pronunciation of Wyoming) and “Pu‘u Huluhulu.” He returned to the islands in a blaze of glory after the competition and continued to work as a cowboy for another thirty years. He and his wife, Keala Peneamina Purdy, had twelve children. He died at the age of 71 in 1945, and is buried at ‘Ulupalakua, Maui, leaving behind a large Hawaiian family, many of whom are still involved in ranching, according to the Paniolo Preservation Society.

To commemorate his win and his expertise, Purdy was recently inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Cheyenne.

A delegation representing Hawaii’s ranching industry will visit Cheyenne in July for the 2008 Frontier Days, bringing Hawaii’s unique paniolo culture to the festivities. A reciprocal visit to Waimea, on the Big Island, will be made by a Cheyenne delegation for the Great Waiomina Centennial Celebration in August of this year.

The organization spearheading the centennial fete is the Paniolo Preservation Society (PPS), a non-profit organization, established in 1998, dedicated to preserving the paniolo tradition as an integral part of the history of Hawaii and the American West; in this case, the far, far west. The PPS works to increase public awareness of the historical, present-day and future significance of Hawaii’s ranching industry, with emphasis on the roles and traditions of the paniolo. A long-range goal of the PPS is to establish a regional ranching and Paniolo Cultural Center that will house artifacts and natural history representing the paniolo heritage, as well as an archival center for historical documents, maps and photos. For more information visit www.paniolopreservation.org.

PPS President Dr. Billy Bergin said, “We invite anyone who has an interest in Hawaii’s history, culture or the ranching industry to volunteer some time to the centennial celebration. We can use all the help we can get!” Volunteers can contact Lani Olsen via email at lolsen@hawaii.rr.com.

On July 4, 2008, Parker Ranch in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii will hold their 46th annual July 4th Rodeo featuring paniolo from local ranches and action-packed rodeo events, keiki activities, ono food and more. www.parkerranch.com.

PPS’s Waiomina Centennial Committee will go on a six day trip, July 19-26, to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne Wyoming, where in 1908, three Hawaiian cowboys astonished everyone with their outstanding skills. The Old West Museum there will unveil its tribute to the paniolo and to those cowboy participants, commemorating the time when American cowboys really began to appreciate the skills and abilities of their predecessors, the Hawaiian paniolo.