Maritime Madams: Emma Kaʻilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina
Womanica
Acast Creative Studios
4.3 • 920 Ratings
🗓️ 16 July 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Emma Kaʻilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (1847-1929) was a highly regarded authority on Hawaiian water rights law and unofficially considered Hawaii's first female judge. Descended from an American sugar planter and a Hawaiian high chiefess, she was born a kaukau ali'i and educated in cultural customs and water rights from a young age. She was a curator of the Hawaiian National Museum, a Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights, a supporter of women's suffrage, and a prolific writer on Hawaiian culture during the colonization of her homeland.
For Further Reading:
- Emma Ka'ilikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina – First Wave Feminisms
- Emma Nakuina - Hawai‘i Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemoration
- Video Replay available: Emma Nakuina & the Preservation of Hawaiian Culture – Historic Hawaii Foundation
This month, we're talking about Maritime Madams. Whether through scientific study, aquatic exploration, or legendary prowess, they harnessed the power of the bodies of waters that cover our earth.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:04.8 | I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, |
| 0:12.5 | ask the questions. Did George Washington really cut down a charity? Were J.F.K. and |
| 0:16.6 | Maryland Monroe having an affair? And I find the answers. I'm so glad you asked me this question. |
| 0:22.0 | This is such a ridiculous story. |
| 0:24.3 | You can listen to American History Hotline on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:34.5 | I knew I wanted to obey and submit, but I didn't fully grasp for the rest of my life what that meant. |
| 0:43.3 | For My Heart Podcasts in Rococo Punch, this is The Turning, River Road. |
| 0:47.8 | In the woods of Minnesota, a cult leader married himself to 10 girls and forced them into a secret life of abuse. |
| 0:54.6 | But in 2014, the youngest escaped. |
| 0:58.6 | Listen to The Turning River Road on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you |
| 1:03.5 | get your podcasts. |
| 1:09.9 | Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. |
| 1:14.8 | This month we're talking about maritime madams. |
| 1:17.7 | Whether through scientific study, aquatic exploration, or legendary prowess, |
| 1:22.3 | these women harness the power of the bodies of water that cover our earth. |
| 1:27.2 | It's Hawaii in the mid-1800s. The archipelago |
| 1:31.1 | is not yet a state, but instead a sovereign kingdom. A young girl of noble status has been given a |
| 1:36.6 | duty to serve the nation and uphold its customs. What she doesn't know yet is that someday soon, |
| 1:42.4 | these obligations will be tested. |
| 1:52.4 | Today's Wamanican weathered America's colonization of Hawaii and became a steward for cultural preservation and a leading expert in native water rights. |
| 1:57.3 | Please welcome Emma Kalika Poolono Metcalf Nakuina. |
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