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In the history of the ongoing struggle to reaffirm the authority of Hawaiians over their lands and destiny, a mainland haole holds an unusual place of honor. He is Ed Greevy, who was a quiet, unassuming man.

But wherever Hawaiians and their supporters marched for justice — whether it was Kalama Valley, Waiahole-Waikane or Makua Valley, to name just three flashpoints — Ed was there with his cameras loaded with black and white film to record the events.

That Ed considered the cause central to life in these islands was evident in his unmatched photographic record of thousands of photographs he made over four decades starting in the 1970s.

We lost Ed last week. Always the warrior, Ed’s body had grown weak with age. He was 85, and passed at the Palolo Chinese Home in Honolulu.

Monte Costa, a Hawaii editorial photographer who is known for her iconic photography of Polynesian Voyaging Society canoes under sail, said of her colleague, “Ed’s work gives voice to the people of Hawaii around enduring struggles over land, displacement and loss of culture. Ed’s art has an underlying purpose, which has informed consciousness and enabled the Hawaiian Renaissance movement.”

Ed was an unlikely champion of the downtrodden. Born and raised in Southern California, he came to Hawaii as a surf photographer, having launched “Competition Surf” magazine with his sister and brother-in-law, Kathryn and Jim Joiner, in 1966.

But shortly after he settled in the Islands, Ed began attending meetings organized by John Kelly, founder of Save Our Surf. A close friendship developed, which Ed leveraged by using the SOS press to print sovereignty pamphlets and manifestos when many commercial presses refused to do the controversial work.

Documentary photography, no matter how passionate the photographer, is a tough way to pay the bills. Ed had a wife and son, and took care of his family by working as a life insurance agent.

But photography was the vehicle that gave him purpose. Over the years he developed a hard-earned reputation as the dean of Hawaii’s documentary photographers.

And in the process, he touched the lives of two generations of Hawaii photographers. He was always generous with his time, and it was an honor for those of us who were fortunate enough to have our work critiqued by Ed.

PF Bentley, one of the top American photojournalists of the past 50 years, started his photographic career under Ed’s watchful eye. PF was a photographer who covered rock concerts for Sunbums Hawaii, an alternative newspaper.

“Ed’s knowledge of processing and printing black and white was immense. I learned from a master. Those lessons lasted me through my 20-year career at Time Magazine and beyond,” says PF.

I had the honor in recent years of organizing a photo exhibit of black and white portrait photography. The show, which was on exhibit at the Downtown Art Center, featured works by Ed, PF Bentley and me.

My photos were on Micronesian women in Hawaii, a photographic prod to force locals to confront their prejudices about the Micronesians. PF exhibited stunning, large portraits of Hawaiians who live on Molokai, an island he’s called home for the past 14 years.

Ed’s portraits were of Hawaiians who lived on Makua Beach, and whose homes were destroyed by state and military officials to make way for a park that was never built.

I helped Ed pick the prints that he exhibited, prints that he had made in a real darkroom. I was in awe of the love and tenderness that were evident in all of his portraits.

Those prints were a reminder of how high the artistic and compassion bar was set by Ed Greevy during his long life. He shall be missed, even as his photographs live on.