George Jarrett Helm Jr. (March 23, 1950 – disappeared March 7, 1977) was a Native Hawaiian activist and musician from Kalamaula, Molokai, Hawaii. He graduated from St. Louis High School on Oahu, about which he said, "I came to Honolulu to get educated. Instead I lost my innocence." While at St. Louis, he studied under Hawaiian cultural expert John Keola Lake, and Kahauanu Lake. George achieved mastery in vocal performance and guitar. Overview Helm was one of the greatest Hawaiian falsetto vocalists, and 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 Molokai-based group Hui Alaloa around 1975, and became deeply involved in Protect Kahoolawe Ohana, a Hawaiian-led organization that sought to end the bombing of the island of Kahoolawe, a Hawaiian island used as target practice by the U.S. Navy. In 1976, nine activists occupied the island of Kahoolawe, Helm among 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 Kahoolawe's protection. However, the bombing continued. More Kahoolawe landings by protesters ensued, and on January 30, 1977, five activists (Helm, Walter Ritte, Richard Sawyer, Charles Warrington, and Francis Kauhane) landed on Kahoolawe 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 very limited food and water. Disappearance Concerned for Walter Ritte and Richard Sawyer (bombing protesters who were in hiding on the deserted island of Kahoolawe), and beset by vivid dreams and visions, George Helm set out — first by boat, then by surfboard — to Kahoolawe, with Maui fisherman and park ranger Kimo Mitchell and water expert Billy Mitchell (unrelated). They reached the island, but Sawyer and Ritte had already been picked up. The next day, the boat belonging to Maxwell