Agnes Kalaniho'okaha Cope

Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Mengler was born on November 7, 1924, in Honolulu. Her parents were Henry T. Mengler, a German man, and Sarah Kalaniho’okaha Hakuole Mengler, a native Hawaiian from Maui. Cope learned to speak Hawaiian from her mother and studied hula under kumu (teacher) Lokalia Montgomery. She grew up in Honolulu and attended Farrington High School. Cope graduated from Honolulu Business College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she studied education. She began her career teaching English at Waianae High School, and later taught at Waianae and Nanaikapono elementary schools. ==Work preserving Hawaiian culture==

Cope was a kumu hula, a master teacher in the art of hula, as well as a teacher of the Hawaiian language. She encouraged the practice and teaching of traditional Hawaiian arts and culture throughout her life. In 1967 she founded the Waianae Coast Culture and Arts Society, seeking to practice and preserve Hawaiian culture. She was the Society's Executive Director for many years, encouraging the community to learn from cultural practitioners and artists. As director of the organization, Cope was instrumental in the research and publication of the 1986 book Ka Poe Kahiko o Waianae: Oral Histories of the Waianae Coast of Hawaii, documenting the rich history of Hawaii from the perspectives of kupuna. ==Efforts in health care==

Cope was a practitioner of lā'au kāhea, Hawaiian spiritual healing. The center and its two satellite clinics practice Western medicine, but the treatment regime is complemented with traditional Hawaiian healthcare practices. Core was an original member of the original Kupuna Council of Healers, established in 1988, bringing her perspective as a traditional Hawaiian healer. ==Death, honors, and legacy==

Cope died November 16, 2015, in Kapolei. In 1987 Cope was named one of the Living Treasures of Hawaiʻi by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. Governor Neil Abercrombie proclaimed April 8, 2011, as Agnes Kalaniho‘okaha Cope Day in Hawaii. ==References==