Vicky Holt Takamine, a master teacher of traditional Hawaiian dance, was awarded the 31st annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, the Gish Prize Trust announced Wednesday.

The award, now valued at more than $450,000, is given each year to a “highly accomplished figure” who has “pushed the boundaries of an art form, contributed to social change and paved the way for the next generation,” according to a news release from the Trust. Last year’s winner was Thelma Golden, the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Holt Takamine, whose achievements are closely linked to her activism on behalf of the culture, rights and natural environment of Indigenous Hawaiians, said in an interview by phone that she was feeling “overwhelmed” and “stunned” that she is the recipient of this year’s prize.

“What an honor for my people and my community and for Hawaii and for the art of hula, which never really gets this kind of recognition,” she said. Hula, she said, is often seen as a form of entertainment for tourists, but for her it is a way to safeguard Indigenous culture. “It’s a form of resistance,” she said.

The selection committee for this year’s prize unanimously chose Holt Takamine from a field of finalists in the areas of visual and performing arts, literature and arts administration.

“The recipient of the Gish Prize needs to be both a creator and an instigator — someone who has enhanced beauty in the world and worked to make society more whole, someone who is highly accomplished and yet remains an agent of change,” Terrance McKnight, the chair of the prize selection committee and a host on WQXR, a classical music station in New York City, said in a statement. McKnight said it was an honor to present the prize to Holt Takamine, “helping to bring her contributions to culture the recognition it so richly deserves.”

Holt Takamine comes from a family of dancers and political leaders. She started dancing at age 12 and later received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Dance Ethnology from the University of Hawaii. In 1975, she was designated a kumu hula (master teacher) and two years later founded her own Hawaiian dance school called Pua Ali`i `Ilima (which translates to the Royal `Ilima Blossom). That school’s mission is to preserve and perpetuate Native Hawaiian arts and culture traditions for future generations.

She has served as a lecturer at multiple colleges and universities for more than 30 years and has been the president of a coalition of traditional practitioners who are committed to protecting Hawaiian customs and traditions, since 1997.

“This has been my life’s work,” she said. “I don’t think about it. I just do it. And to be recognized in this manner for me is like validation and credibility. But I hope that it’s something that will bring awareness to my people and my culture.”

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