Owana Salazar

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Owana Kaʻōhelelani Laʻanui Salazar (born October 30, 1953) is an American musician and activist who has led the Royal House of Hawaii in a disputed claim to the throne since 1988. She is a member of the House of Laʻanui, a collateral branch of the House of Kamehameha, and a descendant of Theresa Laʻanui.

Born in Honolulu to Helena Kalokuokamaile Wilcox and Henry Mario Salazar, she was the only girl in a family of five. She grew up on Oahu, attended Kamehameha Schools, and studied at the University of Hawaii, where she learned Kihoʻalu (slack key guitar) and sang in the Concert Glee Club. She trained in guitar, piano, voice, and music theory, and studied hula with renowned teachers.

Salazar became a performer alongside Hawaiian headliners such as Don Ho, Ed Kenney, and Charles K.L. Davis. She studied slack key guitar with Jerry Byrd, becoming his first and only female graduate in 1992, after receiving support from the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association. She is regarded as Hawaii’s leading female steel guitarist and has performed in Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, and the Americas. In January 2000, she became the first woman to tour with the Hawaiian Slack Key Festival.

Beyond music, Salazar has been active in cultural advocacy. She helped plan and promote a life-size statue of her great-grandfather, Robert William Wilcox, and served as a liaison to the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts. She is involved in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and rejects the 1898 annexation, asserting that her family—through the Laʻanui line—are the rightful rulers of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Salazar has been married at least twice and has two children. She is Catholic and a member of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing.