Winds of Change - Fall 2017 - 35

I S A B E L L A A IONA A B B OT T

BECOMING THE "FIRST LADY OF LIMU"

MARK ARBEIT/HONOLULU MAGAZINE

T

he first Native Hawai'ian woman to earn a PhD in
science, Isabella Aiona Abbott was one of the world's
foremost authorities on limu, or the more than 70 edible
varieties of seaweed. Her work won Abbott the accolade "First
Lady of Limu." Also considered the foremost expert on
central-Pacific algae, Abbott navigated an ocean of "firsts" for
indigenous people through her 90 years (1919-2010).
Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung Aiona was born in Hana, Maui,
where she spent hours during her childhood gathering seaweed
for use in traditional Hawai'ian foods. She learned their uses
- and fluent Hawai'ian - from her mother. After graduating
from Kamehameha Schools in 1937, Abbott earned a bachelor's
degree in botany from the University of Hawai'i in 1941 and a
master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1942. She
married zoologist Don Abbott, then obtained her PhD in algal
taxonomy from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1950.
At that time academic jobs for female PhDs of any
ethnicity were rare, so Abbott followed her husband to
Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, Calif.
There she spent 10 years raising their daughter, Annie, and
refining her seaweed culinary skills. (She also wrote a book
about how to cook seaweed.) Finally, in 1960, she began work
as a lecturer at Hopkins, and her keen scientific mind had a
chance to shine. Celia Smith, professor of botany at the
University of Hawai'i at Manoa, noted that Abbott became
"without doubt, the preeminent marine botanist."
Abbott became the first female full professor in Stanford's
biology department, as well as the first minority full
professor, in 1972, bypassing the normal tenure track due to
her exceptional record. In 1976, she wrote Marine Algae of
California, which Dave Epel, professor emeritus of biology at
Stanford, characterized as "the definitive description of
marine algae along the Pacific coast." Altogether, Abbott
penned eight books and more than 150 articles.
In 1982, the couple retired to Hawai'i, where Abbott
joined the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and taught
Hawai'ian ethnobotany. Thanks to her work, the university
created a bachelor's degree in this subject.
The National Academy of Sciences honored Abbott with
its highest award in marine botany, the Gilbert Morgan
Smith Medal, in 1997. Abbott was named a Living Treasure
of Hawaii, and she was given the opportunity to name a
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
research ship, the Hi'ialakai. Abbott continued working at
UH Manoa until her death in October 2010.
In a video shot just before she died, Abbott described her
Native perspective through the window of her book, La'au
Hawai'i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants. "I look upon it
as a Western scientist's viewpoint of the Hawai'ian way of
doing things," she said. "Why is this necessary? So that
Hawai'ians are not put in second- or third-class status of
Native people who don't know anything. Hawai'ian culture
is unbelievably sophisticated."

aises.org

»

FALL 2017 * WINDS OF CHANGE 35
http://www.aises.org
Winds of Change - Fall 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winds of Change - Fall 2017
