MIKE DUDLEY WILL BE AT THE NDHS 50th REUNION. WILL YOU?

Michael Dudley

Notre Dame High School
Class of 1957


















After high school, Mike joined the Holy Cross Brothers along with nine other ’57 graduates. He graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin with a major in English and Latin, and did graduate work in Latin and Greek. He remained a Holy Cross Brother for fifteen years, teaching in New Orleans , San Francisco , and Miami . In 1971, he moved to Hawaii , finished an MA in theology, and began teaching at Chaminade University . He taught on the college level for the next thirteen years. During those years, he took a trip around the world to study world religions, got another MA (Asian Philosophy), and received a doctorate in Philosophy (Western, Asian, and Hawaiian). His first book, Man, Gods, and Nature, on traditional Hawaiian religion, has recently been translated into Japanese. In the ‘80s, he became involved in the native Hawaiian movement and wrote a second book, A Call for Hawaiian Sovereignty. That book was published as the Iron Curtain was coming down and new nations were becoming sovereign, and he was invited to speak on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement at the University of London, Berlin University in East Germany , and Kogakkan University in Japan .
Soon after arriving in Hawaii , Mike took a Hawaiian language class in which students were asked to take Hawaiian names. Mike took “Kioni,” and as his circle of friends grew, everyone knew him by that name.
In 1994, Kioni ran for Governor of Hawai'i as the Green Party candidate. His strong environmental stands resonated with the news media, and he received tremendous publicity. He won both televised debates, and although he lost the election, his name had become a household word in Hawaii . In 1998, he ran for Lt. Governor.
Mike and Doris have been happily married for twenty-six years. He has a stepson and one granddaughter. He recently retired after forty-five years of teaching. He thoroughly enjoys pumping iron three times a week, and open ocean swimming. He sings with the Kapolei Chorale, that Doris, a music teacher, and he formed two years ago. And he’s actively involved in local politics, environmental activities, and church. This year, he was named Hawaii state Grand Knight of the year by the Knights of Columbus.
Mike would enjoy getting back in touch. His e-mail is DrKioniDudley@hawaii.rr.com.