Protect Kaho`olawe `Ohana

Kahoʻolawe 20-Year Commemoration

All Our Aloha in One Kānoa- Oʻahu, held on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at Kānewai, Oʻahu is now online, thanks to ‘Ōiwi-TV.  Also see it on ʻŌiwi TV  Oceanic Channel 326 “Na ka Hawaiʻi, No ka Hawaiʻi”

Supporters of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana (PKO) came together on September 25, 2011 at Ka Papa Loʻi Kānewai at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa to mark 20 years since the military ceased bombing of Kahoʻolawe. Participants offered song, stories, and deep reflections that evidenced hope for a positive future for the island. A panel discussed how the Makahiki Festival held annually on Kahoʻolawe has influenced the increasingly popular event across Hawaiʻi. High school students remarked on how the island has reconnected them to their cultural past and inspires action in their own communities. Finally, individuals spoke of how Kahoʻolawe will play a role in the future of Hawaiʻi.

• Photographers: Kaʻāina Paikai & Kamaka Pili
• Producer: Kapōmaikaʻi Stone
• Audio: Justyn Ah Chong
• Editor: Kaʻāina Paikai

Kahoolawe 20-year Commemoration

Tahitian Canoe Faafaite Departs From Traditional Launching Site on Kaho‘olawe

(Honokanai‘a, Kaho‘olawe). Shortly after 10 AM on Sunday, October 30, the Faafaite, the Polynesian voyaging canoe from Tahiti, departed the Hawaiian Islands from a point on Kaho‘olawe named Kealaikahiki, pathway to Tahiti.  This is the first time a canoe has departed for Tahiti this way in more than 750 years.

The Faafaite is one of the 7 voyaging canoes that arrived in June with the Pacific Voyagers  fleet.  It spent two days on the sacred island of Kaho‘olawe before embarking on its final leg home to Tahiti Sunday from the place named by the ancients to send Polynesians to their homeland.

“It was important for us to come to this island,” said Faafaite captain Teva Plichart.  “To the place our ancestors studied wayfaring, to the where our tūpuna, ancestors, launched from, from the place named path to Tahiti.”

Ke-ala-i-kahiki, or pathway to Tahiti, is the southwest point of Kaho‘olawe that juts out, enabling seafarers studying the waters in
Hawai‘i to observe both due north and south on the ocean horizons.

“Kealaikahiki is where the Kalohi, ‘Au‘au and Pailolo channels join with the ‘Alalākeiki, pouring into the Kealaikahiki channel.  Pushing off from Lae o Kealaikahiki in a canoe is like pulling onto the freeway,” exclaimed Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana founder Noa Emmett Aluli. “It’s a straight shot toTahiti from here.”

The waka, wa‘a, canoe, arrived on Kaho‘olawe at daybreak Friday, greeted by members of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana, and joined by others from the Hawaiian voyaging community.  The crew wanted to visit the island that is so historically and culturally significant in the training of navigators.

At the island’s summit, Moaulanui, the group of 34 greeted the rising sun, and in the storytelling, noted similarities to places and practices. The island of Kaho‘olawe, sometimes called Kanaloa, is a physical manifestation, kinolau, of the Hawaiian deity Kanaloa.  Another kinolau is a whale, whose design just happens to grace each side of the Faafaite’s hull.  It is a nod to Dieter Pullman, the German benefactor of the seven Pacific voyaging canoes, who was moved to environmental action by an up-close-and-personal encounter he had with a whale.  It also represents the many Maohi, indigenous Tahiti, families that claim the koholā, or whale, as their spiritual guardians.

At Moaula‘iki, the voyagers saw where navigators engaged in the early phases of their traditional training, studying the stars and their movements, also benefitting from a panoramic view of 5 islands, surrounding channels, clouds and currents.  Moaula was a chief from Tahiti who came up to Hawai‘i.  There are places named Moaula in Hawai’i, in Tahiti, and throughout other Polynesian Islands.

The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana hosted a ceremony for the voyagers at Kealaikahiki.  Moved by the significance of this historic event where, in October 2004, master navigator Mau Piailug directed representatives from all the Hawaiian canoes to launch from Kealaikahiki before heading south.  The last time this occurred was in the 1250s.

“We’ve sent our canoes to Tahiti many times.  We’ve been waiting for one from Tahiti to come visit us,” said ‘Ohana member Craig Neff on the significance of the occasion.

The name Faafaite means reconciliation.  This visit to Kaho‘olawe is a reconciliation between Hawaiians and Tahitians.  In fact, three Hawaiian voyagers—early voyager Snake Ah Hee, master navigator Chad Kalepa Baybayan, and navigator Shantell Ching DeSilva—are joining the Tahitians in this final leg, expected to last 15 days.

Faafaite captain Teva Plichart explains, “The name describes our mission to protect the ocean and our environment, reconciling nature and humanity. But as we Maohi revive voyaging, we are reconciling ourselves with our spirit and culture.”

All photos courtesy of Danee Hazama Photography.

Formed in 1976, the vision of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana is Aloha ‘Āina. Its mission is to promote Aloha ‘Āina throughout the islands through cultural, educational and spiritual activities that heal and revitalize the cultural and natural resources on Kaho‘olawe.  

[PKO news release 2011-1031 Faafaite departs Kahoolawe]

Aloha ‘Āina

The PKO continues a year-long, state-wide observance – the 20^th Anniversary of Stopping the Bombing on the Island of Kaho‘olawe by staging the next free, public event on Moloka‘i on Friday, October 14 from 5:30P – 9:00P at Kūlana ō‘iwi Hālau.

Featuring:

Music by Kekama & Kanoho Helm and others…

Kūkākūkā – Remember the past and look into the future

Aloha Our Aloha in One Kānoa – Drink and ‘apu of ‘awa to signify commitment to Aloha ’āina and Kanaloa-Kaho‘olawe as a sacred cultural trust of the Hawaiian Nation

Mea’ai (Food)

MOLOKAI PREMIERE:  Mai Ka Piko Mai, A Ho‘i:  Return to Kanaloa

by Matt Yamashita, Moloka‘i filmaker and video documentarian

Aloha mai kakou,

We’re setting up for the All Our Aloha in One Kanoa at Ka Papa Lo’i of Kanewai this morning. If you won’t be with us in person today you can contribute photos to be shared at the event.
I’ve created a flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/kahoolawe/
We’ll be livestreaming photos from this group as a slideshow at the event, so if you have time today to upload a few of your favorites we’d love to see them.
If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to set up a flickr account, it’s free and easy to do, upload your photos and then join the group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/kahoolawe/, and add photos to that group pool.

This group will be open, not only for today’s event, for going forward for anyone who wants to upload photos from their time on island. I look forward to having this shared space for our memories.
Malama Aina!

Download and disseminate.

All Our Aloha In One Kānoa

Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana rededicates itself to Kaho‘olawe

 (Kānewai, O‘ahu). The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana (‘Ohana) will host All Our Aloha in One Kānoa on Sunday, September 25 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM at Ka Papa Lo‘i ‘o Kānewai at 2645 Dole Street.  The event, which is free and open to the public, and welcomes families, wraps up a year of islandswide activities marking the 20^th anniversary since the bombing of Kaho‘olawe was stopped,  The ‘Ohana invites the community to join in the rededication of promoting Aloha ‘Āina throughout the islands.  Activities include talk story panels, music, food and other activities.  The ‘Ohana will be serving ‘awa from the kānoa (‘awa bowl) that has been traveling across the Hawaiian Islands for the past year inviting community to rededicate themselves to Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe and continued efforts for its restoration.

 Three unique kūkākūkā sessions will bring in members of the community to connect to Kaho‘olawe:

11 – 12 PM.  MAKAHIKI.  Makahiki practitioners from various O‘ahu communities will share their experiences around the revival of Makahiki on Kaho‘olawe and how they’ve connected those practices to their own wahi kapu (sacred places).

1  – 2 PM.  I MUA NĀ PUA.  Young people will share what the island has meant to them as students and family members through poems, songs, oli, or their personal stories.

3  – 4 PM.  EA.  Activists and proponents of Hawaiian sovereignty and restoration will describe their visions of how Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe fits into a Hawaiian entity.

Live music will be featured between sessions, including music by the Hakioawa Serenaders, Steve Ma‘i‘i, Jon Osorio, Ernie Cruz, Jr., and Kupa‘āina.

The lo‘i at Kānewai was re-established by UH Hawaiian language and culture students who were also members of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.  Kūpuna who guided the activities on Kaho‘olawe also helped young people to re-open the lo‘i kalo.  The histories of the two communities are interconnected.

Ono food, familiar to those who have accessed Hakioawa with the ‘Ohana, will be available for donation.  All proceeds from the day will support the mission of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.

Formed in 1976, the vision of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana is Aloha ‘Āina.

Its mission is to promote Aloha ‘Āina throughout the islands through cultural, educational and spiritual activities that heal and revitalize the cultural and natural resources on Kaho‘olawe.

The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana Maui in partnership with UH Maui College, Hawaiian Studies & Hawaiian Language and the Hawaiian Canoe Club sponsor a series of free, public events to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of “Stopping the Bombing” on Kaho‘olawe.

Maui Event Flyer

The Kōkua a Puni Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), designed for community college students transferring to UH Mānoa, was honored to participate in the August access to Kaho’olawe.  Nine SEP students from diverse academic backgrounds, ranging from pre-med to Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Studies joined a group of twenty participants to focus on Ala Loa trail blazing and building. Each SEP student is driven to achieve academic success by a desire to serve their Hawaiian community.

One of the messages that has come to light during conversations following the huaka’i is that Kaho’olawe gave these students (as well as the kumu and myself) a valuable re-grounding of sorts. Learning more about Kahoolawe’s story along with the mālama ʻāina work that was done while on the island gifted the students with new perspectives and insights on the critical interdependency between the health of a people, their culture, and their land. We understand that the accesses to Kaho’olawe that PKO facilitates take a lot of personal time, organization, and resources and we appreciate their sacrifice. PKOʻs dedication to the land and community along with the insights gained through the work and time spent on Kaho’olawe have in turn renewed our sense of dedication to our studies and our work in the community and we mahalo PKO for that.

-Submitted by Kōkua a Puni Enrichment Coordinator Pearl Wu

The Protect Kaho’olawe Ohana continues to sponsor a year-long observance — the 20th Anniversary of Stopping the Bombing on the Island of Kanaloa-Kaho’olawe by staging a series of free events across the state. The first Hawaii Island program will be Saturday at the University of Hawaii at Hilo

Read more…

Several bills arose this Legislative session pertaining to Kaho‘olawe. We took interest in some. We watched a few others. Some were more relevant to the ‘Ohana; some more relevant to the KIRC. The ‘Ohana prioritized the top bills of concern:

1. SB 609, our biggest challenge this session.
2. HB1224/SB816, asking for a portion of the Conveyance Tax;

Here are some other Kaho‘olawe related measures:

1. HB1657, funding for KIRC operations center
2. HB711 transferring KIR burial issues to OHA (from DLNR)
3. SB815/HB1223 Asset Forfeiture
4. SB817 Including Molokini with the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve
5. SB1402 ‘Opihi bill
6. SB1/SB1520 State Recognition Bills
7. SB832 was introduced for Capital Improvements to benefit 6th Senatorial District. This included the Hakioawa Kitchen and Shelter ($400.000); Already approved from last session; we were waiting monies to be released which they were last week so we can now work with KIRC on moving forward with this project.

Resolutions:

1. SCR 165/SR102 requesting rehabilitation trust fund audit of Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission and establish working group to 1) “appropriate and effective composition” of the KIRC and 2) whether to include Molokini and waters surrounding into the Reserve
2. HCR292/HR257 same as above. The House resolutions were heard on Wednesday March 30 before the House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs and the committee voted to defer the measure.

Resolution: A measure expressing the will, wish, or direction of the Legislature. It does not have the effect of law.

Concurrent Resolution:  A resolution adopted by both chambers of the Legislature.

E nana ka mahina i keia po

As our waters are collectively pulled at the time of the full moon, the `Ohana walks the path of Lono in procession to close our Makahiki Ceremonies on Kaho’olawe.  Our ohana members commence in these ceremonies to aid Lono in his journey back to the South such that his work can continue to bless our Polynesian cousins on their ‘Aina.

Representatives of the `Ohana from across the State are representing our people as Makahiki practitioners on Kaho’olawe.  The ceremonies endure dedication, focus and symbiotic relationships between our people, our traditions, our land and all of its associated elements.

We are grateful to all who are physically on island to carry out this most honorable kuleana.   Ho’okupu and participants from across state represent all of us and as such all of us are connected.  Those who are unable to physically be there can also participate right from your own ‘Aina.  We do this by sending our focus and mana to support them thorought; our thoughts, pule; individual connections with our greater environment, and exude aloha during this special time and through our daily lives.

Keep the focus, exude aloha
Lonoikamakahiki