John Kawananakoa-Lindsey
2026
Year Inducted: 2026
Ranch Name | Hawai'i
John Kawananakoa Lindsey, also known as Poko, Keone Liʻiliʻi, or Johnny was born on June 30, 1873, in Waimea, Hawaiʻi. Keoni Li‘ili‘i’s name holds one of the highest distinctions in ranch history. He quietly and modestly rose to prominence for his ability, prudence, and loyalty to the Parker and Carter families. His small stature was in stark contrast to his reputation, which has endured for over 150 years of Parker Ranch history. He is celebrated in the song, “Hanohano Wale no na Cowboy.”
He is also known in places such as a stone corral in Waimea named Minuke Ole (“less than a minute”), celebrating his championship winning time of under one minute in a 1907 matched steer roping contest against noted ropers that included Ikua Purdy.
When Parker Ranch took delivery of a purebred Hereford named Oddfellow at Hilo Harbor, there began an epic tale of caregiving centered on Keoni Li‘ili‘i. He was asked by A. W. Carter to lead the bull home on an eight-day, 60-mile trek. En route, Oddfellow’s hooves suffered considerable wear and needed protection. With due compassion, Lindsey trimmed his saddle of its skirting leather and fashioned shoes for the comfort of his charge.
A. W. Carter was clear and frequent in stating his admiration for Keoni. In a December 1903 letter from A. W. to Mrs. Knight (widow of John Parker Palmer, also known as Aunt Tootsie), explaining his decision to promote Keoni Li‘ili‘i, who at the time was barely thirty years old, to head cowboy foreman, A.W. Carter writes: “He is a hardworking man, controls the boys perfectly, and takes an immense interest in his work. There is no man living that I would exchange for him in the position he now occupies.”
In that same year, A. W., in a letter to H. A. Baldwin of Maui, reflected on Keoni Li‘ili‘i’s abilities as a horseman: “My brother writes me that last week both gangs were out for wild horses, and that they struck a bunch by the Spring paddock. They could not get them down to the paeke. The horses turned back and went up the side of Mauna Kea towards Kemole. Johnnie was riding a little bay horse he uses in the pen on the annual drives. He soon left the rest of the boys behind, headed the horses down the mountain, and stayed with them across Waimea plain right into a corral in the village. This is the biggest ride on record in those parts. He must have stayed right with the wild horses to enable him to head them as he did. I have scaled off on the map the course that he took, and it is between 16 and 17 miles.”
In his own handwriting, A. W. recorded both his sorrow and appreciation for Keoni Li‘ili‘i in 1947 after his passing. Carter says, “John Kawananakoa Lindsey died last night. Worked for Parker Ranch over 50 years—was head luna for a great many years, until age prevented, but he continued to work until the day before his death. He was a great cattleman. In the early days of wild cattle, he was a wonderful roper. A great worker. His employer for these many years says, ‘No one could have been more faithful to his employer or could have taken more interest in the affairs of the Ranch to which he gave his life.’”