# George Helm

George Jarrett Helm Jr. (March 23, 1950 - disappeared March 7, 1977) was a Native Hawaiian activist and musician from Kalama, Molokai, Hawaii. He graduated from St. Louis High School on Oahu in 1968. While at St. Louis, he studied under Hawaiian cultural experts John Keola Lake and Kahauanu Lake. In 1975, he joined the Hui Aloha ʻĀina organization on Molokai, and participated in the formation of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana organization to end the U.S. Navy's bombing of the island. In 1976, he and nine activists occupied the island. On March 7, 1977, he left for Kahoʻolawe and his whereabouts are unknown.

## Early life and musical career

George Jarrett Helm Jr. was born on March 23, 1950, to George Jarrett Helm Sr. and Melanie Koko Helm. He was the fifth of seven children.
Helm was one of the greatest Hawaiian falsetto vocalists, and he played fast, complex guitar parts while singing in an "almost inhuman" vocal range. He was a powerful speaker, writer, and "revolutionary" philosopher who pioneered many Hawaiian sovereignty concepts. He was considered, as his posthumous album title suggests, a "True Hawaiian" who surfed, fished, farmed, loved, sang, worshipped, and thought in the ways of old.

## Activism

Helm began his front-line activism in the Molokaʻi-based group Hui Alaloa around 1975, and became deeply involved in Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana, a Hawaiian-led organization that sought to end the bombing of the island of Kahoʻolawe by the U.S. Navy. In 1976, nine activists occupied the island of Kahoʻolawe and Helm was one of them. He was moved intensely by the power and beauty of the island, and dedicated the rest of his life to fighting for its protection.
Helm, stating "We were touched by some force that pushed us into commitment." (Hawaii Observer, 1976), appealed to the Hawaii State legislature and to the U.S. Congress, where he proved to be a persuasive writer and orator for Kahoʻolawe's protection. However, the bombing continued. More Kahoʻolawe landings by protesters ensued, and on January 30, 1977, five activists (Helm, Walter Ritte, Richard Sawyer, Charles Warrington, and Francis Kaʻuhane) landed on Kahoʻolawe in an attempt to gain greater public recognition of the struggle. Everyone was arrested except for Ritte and Sawyer, who stayed hidden on the island for 35 days, with limited food and water.

## Disappearance

Concerned for Walter Ritte and Richard Sawyer, George Helm set out — first by boat, then by surfboard — to Kahoʻolawe, with fisherman and park ranger Kimo Mitchell and water expert Billy Mitchell (unrelated) on March 5, 1977. They reached the island, but unbeknownst to them, Sawyer and Ritte had already been found by the military. After failing to locate Sawyer and Ritte, the three men waited to be picked up by Sluggo Hahn, but he never came. Hahn's boat would later be found sunk off the pier in Kihei with its bilge plugs removed. On March 7, the three decided to return to Maui. They had a long board, a short board, and a pair of fins between them. The weather was treacherous with high winds, small craft warnings, and pounding waves on the shoreline. On the entry to the water, Helm sustained a gash to his head. Once they were in the water, it was obvious that the currents and ocean conditions were going to prevent them from reaching Maui. At this point, Billy Mitchell took the long board and headed back to Kahoʻolawe to get help. It took him a good part of the day to reach the shore and walk across the island to notify the Navy of the situation and to get the Coast Guard involved in a rescue operation. Helm and Kimo Mitchell were last seen near the islet of Molokini by Billy Mitchell, who was the only survivor of the group.

## Legacy

Today, George Helm Jr. is hailed as one of the Aloha ʻĀina movement's greatest heroes; among young activists, he is as legendary as the great Eddie Aikau is to young surfers. Although his only musical recordings were made with minimal technology in a local bar, they are played regularly on Hawaiian music stations. Generations later, George Helm's music is still inspirational to many, both because it is considered to be some of the finest examples of Hawaiian falsetto ever created, and because it embodies a powerful expression of the Hawaiian soul. The popular song, "Hawaiian Soul," by Jon Osorio and Randy Borden, was written in his memory.
In 2020, filmmaker ‘Āina Paikai released a 19-minute film, Hawaiian Soul, about Helm's life.

## Quotes

"We are in a revolution of consciousness .... What we (are) looking for is the truth."
"There is man and there is environment. One does not supersede the other. The breath in man is the breath of Papa. Man is merely the caretaker of the land that maintains his life and nourishes his soul. Therefore, the ʻāina is sacred. The church of life is not in a building, it is the open sky, the surrounding ocean, the beautiful soil...."