Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1985 — Of Pesticides and ʻAina [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Of Pesticides and ʻAina

By Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawaii

"Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono," (the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness), is a legacy passed down to us by King Kamehameha 111 and we have accepted it as our state motto. It is ironic that Governor George Ariyoshi is now being charged by the Legislative Reference Bureau with being irrespon-

sible in jeopardizing the health and safety of all our people by allowing, even encouraging, harmful poisons and pesticides to be used in these islands. Remember last year when the governor asked the federal government to permit the pineapple growers to continue the use of EDB after 49 states banned its use? It has been shown that the state, meaning the governor, knew about the heptachlor menaee months before it was made public. According to television news sources, the recently released Legislative Reference Bureau pesticide report points out that the governor has been negligent in protecting our 'aina and people by allowing "eeonomie interests" to eome before health and safety. This is a dangerous attitude! We Hawaiians should be especially concerned. This Iand is our heritage, our life and the base of our civilization. Look at the already high cancer rate amongst Hawaiians. The laek of monitoring by the state and the misuse of pesticides by farmers indicates non-interest by the governor and state officials in enforcing health and safety precautions. Sacrificing our peoples' health and potential destruction of our water table by pesticide contamination is a disastrous eeonomie non-policy. It is almost eomie that an ensuing TV news item was about the governor wanting a $26,000 salary increase. "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono." Let us now turn our attention onee more to the Hilo, Waimea, Molokai Airports-Shafter Flats land exchange. Georgiana Padeken, appointed head of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, now says she is willing to compensate the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for the $52,000 ceded land revenue loss if Shafter Flats is exchanged. We say it is not enough! From the beginning, the loss of Shafter Flats revenues to OHA was not the main issue.

We trustees and the Hawaiian people must not ignore the over one-half million dollars in revenues DHHL has been receiving because 54 of us men, women and children risked our lives at the Hilo Airp>ort runway that Labor Day on Sept. 8, 1978. Though the Hawaiian Homes Commission says DHHL will be receiving back rent with this exchange, it is only fair it be paid — regardless. After all, our kupuna were moved from their homes on Ewaliko St. in Keaukaha and forced to leave behind their beautiful gardens for the bulldozers. Both the Hilo OHA Advisory Board and the KeaukahaPanaewa Community Association had requested a meeting with Ariyoshi regarding this unfair land exchange. The governor felt his appointee, Miss Padeken, could adequately handle the situation. However, community associations throughout the island, the OHA Hilo and Kona Advisory Committees and this trustee are still of the opinion this land exchange is not in the best interest of the native Hawaiian people. This feeling persists even after having met with Miss Padeken and her staff on several occasions. More than 80 Hawaiians, including many kupuna, met Mar. 5 at the Keaukaha School cafeteria and agreed with President Ron Keawekane of the host Keaukaha-Panaewa Farmers Association that OHA should be against this land exchange even if DHHL does give OHA the $52,000 loss from Shafter Flats. It is important that grassroots discontent toward this land deal be communicated to OHA, the governor, our Congressional delegation and to Cecil Hoffman, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. In the spirit of democracy, we are insisting there be a halt to this inequitable land exchange! Neglecting our health and safety and land trades not in the best interest of Hawaiians help to spark more disiliusionment in the Democratic party and its leadership. These two issues ean be attributed to the governor. Fellow Hawaiians! You must become aware of all issues relating to our present and future in these, our islands. We must make certain that the guberantorial candidate we support in 1986 is going to help make better the conditions of the Hawaiian people who have struggled for survival in this our own homeland. Remember, it was the Hawaiian vote whieh elected Frank Fasi mayor of Honolulu. It is therefore important we vote wisely for a governor who has more than a "political aloha" for our cause. We must reject those who pay us lip service. Think about it and Malama Pono.