On September 24, 2026, Conant Kimo Golden Eagle shared a wonderful array of reflections on his life’s journey in an interview with Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi.

Raised in a hapa Hawaiian and haole family, and educated at Kamehameha and other prominent schools in the 1960s and 70s, Golden Eagle recalls coming out, in 1974, when being openly gay was met with family, religious, professional, and social disapproval and trauma.

While he found freedom in the scene beginning to emerge at Queen’s Surf Beach and built a growing circle of friends with community organizers like Bill Woods, he knew he wanted to experience more. Golden Eagle left Hawaiʻi in 1976 and spent 36 years in California where he became involved in spiritual circles, the gay men’s chorus, HIV/AIDS activism, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and other forms of community service.

His return home to care for his parents in the early 2000s revealed how profoundly the islands’ landscape had changed over the years and helped him appreciate his own ability to adapt to circumstances around him while always being true to himself.  As a long-term HIV survivor, he also reflected on the trauma and loss of that era—and the importance of preserving these memories for current and future generations.