Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 2, 1 September 1981 — The ʻAina: Protect Our Kuleana [ARTICLE]

The ʻAina: Protect Our Kuleana

• by Boyce R. Brown, Jr.

Pi few years ago a loeal realtor used to sign off on his commercials by saying "Remember, land is the basis for all wealth." That might be an over-state-ment but for Hawaii it is certainly more true than not. Consider the following example. At the time of her death Pnncess Bernice Pauahi Bishop left an estate consisting of several hundred thousand acres of land. That land wc>s left in trust for the support of the Kamehameha Schools and became the basis for the Bishop Estate. At the time of her death, her landholdings, even though they were very iarge, were valued at about $500,000. Today, even after selling several thousand acres, the lands of the Bishop Estate are estimated to be worth between 3.5 and 4 billion dollars. This represents a 7,000 to 8,000 time increase in value. When Princess Bernice Bishop's husband, Charles Bishop, died he also left an estate valued at $500,000. His estate consisted mostly of stocks and bonds of railroad companies and industrial eoncerns whieh were considered to be "blue ehip" companies at that time. His estate formed most of the endowment for the Bishop Museum. Railroads are not exactly big business anymore and today Charles Bishop's estate is worth mueh less than it was at the time he died. The moral of this story is that even if land is not the basis for all wealth, in an island state without mueh industry, land is the focal point for most of the nonmilitary eeonomie activity. Historically

this has also been the case and the nonHawaiian businessmen were well aware that to control the land meant to control the economy. Most of the "big five" companies started as sugar agents — buying and selling sugar and performing general business brokerage. Over time they began to acquire land for plantations. The growth of the "big five" companies was directly based on acquiring more and more land. The Hawaiian race's cultural connection with the land was based on use rather than ownership. However, as a result of the Great Mahele, many Hawaiians received legal ownership of the Kuleanas that they and their families had lived and worked on for generations. However, at the same period of time when they were acquiring ownership of their kuleanas the plantations were growing and developing into the major eeonomie power in the kingdom. As Hawaiians became more and more dependent on a cash economy, their use of the kuleana land whieh they had just acquired diminished. They moved to the towns, cities and sugar camps where there were jobs whieh paid cash wages. Cash became the Hawaiians' means of acquiring food and shelter rather than growing food or building shelter with their own labor. Moving to the cities meant abandoning the kuleanas, many of whieh were remote from the urban centers. What we are now experiencing, however, is a resurgence of interest in kuleana lands, not so mueh because of

any significant growth in the number of persons who are returning to the land but rather because, so to speak, "civilization" is catching up to them. Places that were onee remote are now easily accessible by airplanes and cars. We are seeing an influx of money from Canada, Alaska, and the far East where Hawaii is viewed in romantic terms and relatively speaking Hawaii's land prices seem reasonable. Areas of particular beauty, onee remote, are becoming seasonal homes for wealthy persons. Hāna on Maui, Ha'ena/Hanalei/Princeville on Kaua'i, Waimea/Kamuela on the Big lsland are becoming favorite spots for the rich to build second homes, or in many cases, to build a retirement home. Everyone seems to want to "buy a little plaee in Hawaii." For many people this is accomplished by buying an interest in a kuleana, clearing title by way of a quiet title action, and building on the kuleana. Added to this demand for land is the demand by developers for land for subdivisions and condominiums. As a result, kuleana lands are in great demand. It is not uneommon for a well situated parcel to be worth several hundred thousand dollars. If land is the basis for most of the wealth in Hawaii, then unless Hawaiians aggressively defend and assert their rights to their family lands, they will, in effect, be handing over that wealth to someone else by default. What every Hawaiian must eome to realize is that all

land in Hawai'i is valuable. OHA's three week old Native Land Title Project just completed its first land case and as a result a Hawaiian eouple received clear title to almost an acre and a half in a remote section of the Big Island. That !and may be worth as mueh as $60,000 on today's market whieh is a significant amount of money. Similar situations no doubt exist for thousands of Hawaiians today. But unless they take the initiative to locate their family lands, prepare their genealogies and assert their claims to title, the eeonomie potential in those lands will be lost. A free and clear parcel of land is usually all the collateral that is necessary to borrow the money to build a house either to live in or to rent. If it is rented, the rental ineome ean be used to pay off the mortgage loan. Land has the unique ability to keep up with inflation. As inflation rises, the value of land also rises and the amount of rent a landowner ean charge increases. However, because inflation is an eeonomie fact of life, the cost of housing goes up year after year. Unless today's Hawaiians start now to elaim their land and begin to use the eeonomie muscle that comes from their land ownership, their children may not even be able to buy a house. The time has eome for Hawaiians to reverse the trend and start preserving and using their land in ways whieh will benefit them economically. Many Hawaiians own an interest in land that they don't even know about.