Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 12, 1 December 1987 — Gladys Ainoa Brandt Delivers Hard-Hitting Message [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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Gladys Ainoa Brandt Delivers Hard-Hitting Message

Hawaiians' Cultural Well-Being Faces Challenge

Editor's Note: Because of the many requests and impact of the message, Ka Wai Ola O OHA is pleased to print the full text of a keynote address delivered Nov. 13 by Gladys Ainoa Brandt, serving her third consecutive term as chairperson of the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents, during proceedings of the 28th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in the Triple Crown Ballroom ofthe Union Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Good morning, fellow Hawaiians. Ano ai me ke aloha. It is really a great personal pleasure for me to be with you today on this most important occasion in whieh the representatives of more than 43 Hawaiian Civic Clubs are gathered today for the 28th Annual Convention.

I am really especially happy that l've been invited to share some of my thoughts with you on this occasion because it is the Year of the Hawaiian. Over the course of the 1 1 months there have been many important eelebrations, speeches and publications all in honor of the neh cultural heritage that has been bequeathed to us by our Hawaiian ancestors. Through our gathering today and through the designation of this year as the Year of the Hawaiian, we acknowledge our deep appreciation and commitment to our ancestors to whom we all owe so mueh. But now as the Year of the Hawaiian draws to a close and the celebrations eome to an end, it is important for us to assess the challenges before us. For one thing is clear. Though this year has brought the Hawaiian people recognition, respect and appreciation, problems continue to abound and are not likely to disappear. The problems we face today are numerous, sizeable and complex for they are a legacy of centuries of indifferenee and injustice.

Yet even in the face of these problems, there is reason for hope and optimism. Our own people are beginning to assume visible and active roles in determining their own destiny. And, I believe, and I'm sure you do, too, that the regard of society in whieh we live is beginning to appreciate the many contributions that we have made to society. In the few moments that we all will share together today, I want to eall your attention to the specific ehallenges we face in promoting the cultural well-being of every Hawaiian for this, in my opinion, is the most critieal and consuming problem before us. In my presentation, I want to speak with you about the importance of cultural well-being. Some of what I was saying today to you, you have heard before. But 1 must say it, anyway, disquieting and disturbing as it may be. My age, you see, gives me the right and the audacity to say it and your invitation (and thank you for that) gives me the opportunity to say it.

Now, what do I mean by cultural well-being. I use this term to refer to our psychological, spiritual sense that we, as a people of Hawaiian ancestry, belong to a eultural tradition that provides us with a feeling of pride and satisfaction. That we belong to a cultural tradition that helps to give our lives meaning and purpose. That we belong to a way of life and a history whieh we admire and respect and whieh is admired and respected by others. Cultural well-being, then, is a very important ingredient for us because it enables us to feel that we have roots whieh are strong and viable and that we have a history whieh is not to be denied but is to be remembered and spoken of with pride and respect. Our Hawaiian culture is, and must be for all of us, our anchor; our anchor to whieh we ean turn to for faith and sustenance in the face of adversity . And we must let the world know that if we are to be denied our sense of cultural wellbeing, that if we are to be made to feel that our way of life is inferior or useless, then we are being denied our right to dignity and opportunity, and this, my fellow Hawaiians, we will never permit.

We are Hawaiians. We are proud of our heritage and history. We are the children of a proud people that eonquered thousands of miles of oeean in open canoes and that mastered tropical lands to create the way of life that was and will always be a dream for all those who yearn for harmony with the world in whieh they live. Our families were the first to discover and settle the beautiful shores of Hawai'i and it was they who bequeathed upon the State of Hawai'i its most distinct cultural heritage; its cherished Aloha Spirit. Our struggle for cultural well-being for that psychological and spiritual sense of identity and meaning began when Captain Cook first arrived in Hawai'i and eonfronted our ancestors with a way of life for whieh they were unprepared, for it was alien to all whieh they had known and valued. And our struggle continues even

today as we try to reconcile the ways of the past with the ways of the present. We cannot, and I feel we should not, pretend that we ean return to the past but neither must we forget our roots and our heritage. We actively seek to maintain those practices and those traditions that are useful and needed for the present for they will add to our sense of cultural well-being. They will give us that sense of continuity with our past. Indeed, we must do all that we ean to preserve them for they may be useful not only to us but to the larger world as well. After all, in this time of materialism and conflict, it may be well that traditional Hawaiian values of ohana, lokahi and aloha may be the prescription that is needed for others. In brief, we must live in the present but with a full awareness and regard for our past and with a sincere reverence for all that it has offered to us. Then cultural well-being will be a natural ingredient of our daily life and we ean proceed with a full sense of confidence and hope for the future.

And what happens if this does not occur? What happens if we are' denied our cultural well-being? What happens if we are forced or even personally inclined to neglect our cultural wel!-being? I think we all know the answer. We all know the facts. We all know the consequences of indifference and injustice. Just in case some may not be aware, let me remind you that the Native Hawaiian people, our people, have the highest risk in our State for virtually every major medical disorder: heart attacks, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes. The Native Hawaiian people, our people, are vastly over-represented in our prisons. They are the largest group of welfare recipients. Our people lead in teenage pregnancies, unemployment, suicide and substance abuse. They constitute the largest group of high school drop-outs and education-system failures. This, this is what occurs when cultural well-being is lost or denied.

lsn t it ironic that at this very time we have a Hawaiian governor? And when there are so many people of Hawaiian ancestry who occupy positions of power and respect, that the undeniable facts indicate that our eultural well-being is at risk? We speak daily of Hawaiian cultural revival whieh promises to restore the lost dignity that onee was part of every Hawaiian's need. But the facts, my friends, the facts are few against the likelihood that our cultural well-being will or ean succeed unless, of course, we are willing to act. And what must we do? How should we act to promote cultural well-being? I have a prescription and it is one that I wish to share with you. We must do four things. First, eaeh and every one of us must become informed about the present circumstances of the Hawaiian people, the reasons for our current conditions. If we leam the lessons of history, we ean prevent the troubles of the past.

Second, eaeh of use must be committed to one another as Hawaiians. We must help one another and we must look after one another's interests. We must stop hurting one another and our leaders. You know of what I am speaking. We Hawaiians, we fight with one another, often jealous of the success of any Hawaiian. We undermine our leaders making it difficult for any concerted action to be launched and carried through. We speak with disdain about those whose opinions differ from our own. We ignore the plight of our less fortunate brothers and sisters saying that is their own fault that is responsible. We seem more concerned with playing political games than with getting the job done. All of this must stop. All of this must cease. Such actions do not enhanee the future and are a basic denial of the values of our past. As the poet John Dunne said centuries ago, "Ask not for whom the bells toll, they toll for thee."

You see, every Hawaiian who fails exacts a toll in eaeh of our lives. I have been guilty of the many things whieh I have spoken and you have, too. And the cost of our actions has been the cultural well-being of our people. The Native Hawaiian people are faced with problems of alienation, identity and belonging. How ean this be? How could a people as brave and as gentle, as fearless and as spiritual, as kind and as strong as the Native Hawaiian, how could they have eome to this point? We ean, of course, blame others. We ean continually harp upon the fact that upon the arrival of Capt. James Cook in 1738 our people enjoyed a thriving society. And that within a hundred years of Cook's arrival the Hawaiian population had been reduced by more than 50%. We ean blame the overthrow of the monarchy and the loss of our lands. These things are past and cannot be changed. However, the choices affecting our present and the future are within our power. We must eome together. This is my third point. Eaeh of us must do what we

ean in our own arena of life and activity. I am trying to make the difference for Hawaiians at the University of Hawai'i. You know, although Hawaiians constitute about 20% of the State's populahon, less than 5% of our Manoa campus students are of Hawaiian ancestry and even a smaller percent graduate. This situation, I'm proud to say, is now in the process of being improved. The University of Hawai'i is responding to the educational needs of the Native Hāwaiian people with a new vigor and determination. We intend to do so not only because it is our responsibility but also because it is an opportunity for both the University and all the citizens of our State to encourage a society in whieh Hawaiians ean have an equal opportunity to share in the bounty of our land, and to participate in determining its future qrowth and develoDment.

More than 16 months ago the University of Hawai'i formed a special task force consisting of Native Hawaiian faculty and staff. This task force was charged with the responsibility of developing the University's agenda for action for the Native Hawaiian people. This task force responded with an outstanding report entitled, "Kaū." This report provided an unparallelled assessment of the educational obstacles placed by the University of Hawai'i in the path of the Hawaiian people and gave a series of recommendations for change. At the same time, the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents and the Administration introduced a special program request for funding to our State Legislature. As a consequence of these actions, the University is truly opening its doors and hearts to the Hawaiian student. Let me share some of these with you. First, we have created a Hawaiian Studies Center whieh will be part of a new school for Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies. This Center will join eight (8) other regional study eenters as the heart of our new school. And this Center will serve as the corpus for all our efforts to establish a visible international scholarly reputation in Hawaiian Studies.

Second, we have created new positions for the Hawaiian Studies Center. We have already filled some positions and we will be hiring other scholars in the near future. By the way, the positive impact of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs and the Kamehameha SchooIs/Bishop Estate on colleges is being felt. We now have what we need; more Hawaiians with graduate degrees. And, three, we have received $220,000 to begin designing and planning a new building for the Hawaiian Studies Center. This building will be located at Kanewai on the Manoa campus and is currently occupied by an informal program whieh through the efforts of a few dedicated individuals have been teaching Native Hawaiian culture for the past several years. I wish to point out to you that the Hawaiian Studies program was the only regional studies program whieh received building funds from the Legislature this past year. All of us are seeking private funds to support their special building project. I say this to you because I feel that the State Legislature strongly supports the University's efforts to recognize Native Hawaiian culture.

Fourth, the University of Hawai'i has launched a new recruitment program designed to increase the number of Native Hawaiians attending the University. Presently, the majority of Native Hawaiians enrolled at the University of Hawai'i attend the community colleges and many of them drop out before completion of studies. It is our intention not only to recruit more Native Hawaiians for the University but also to assist them in graduating and attending professional and graduate schools. Thus we

have formed a special partnership with The Kamehameha Schools and the State Department of Education to assist us in the training of teachers who will be working with Native Hawaiian youth. Under the auspices of this program a number of joint appointments have been made with The Kamehameha Schools Early Education Program. Staff from this program will share the knowledge whieh has been derived from the 15 years of Bishop Estate-sponsored research on innovative teaching and learning methods. This knowledge will prepare our teachers to teach high-risk Hawaiian youth more effectively.

All these new initiatives have important implications for the Native Hawaiian people. But perhaps most importantly, the University is proposing a new vision that provides for caring rather than indifference, involvement rather than apathy, and action rather than rhetoric. We have confidence that we ean make a difference and I am asking all of you to join with us in building a new future for our Hawaiian students. Now, going back to the last four things I said we ean

do to help improve the cultural well-being of the Hawaiian people, let me say that the elders, the elders, of our community must be willing to pass the torch to the young ones. Sometimes we heeome so caught up in our lives that we forget that we have a responsibility to train young people to assume leadership and that the best legacy we ean leave behind is a new generation whieh ean carry on when we have gone.

Thus the last element of my prescription is a simple request: "Pass the torch." Select others and help them learn what needs to be done and give them the opportunity to do it. In summary, I have taken the oppportunity afforded by your invitation to speak to you, to address what I

consider to be the major problems facing the Hawaiian people today, the problem of cultural well-being. Specifically that psychological and spiritual sense that one belongs to a cultural conviction whieh is meaningful, respected and valuable for daily life. I suggested to you that the consequences of problems in this area have led to many difficulties for the Native Hawaiian people and that we must approach the problem in a Hawaiian way. I recommend four steps:

• First, be informed, know your culture, know your past. • Second, become committed to helping one another achieve and succeed. • Third, do what you ean, but do something positive, something to make a difference.

• Fourth, prepare the way for the future by passing the torch, a strongly burning torch, to the next generation.

My prescription for cuitural well-being is not eomplicated, but it does require dedication and commitment on our part. Eaeh of us through our participation in the Hawaiian Civic Club movement has a dedication and we have the commitment. Let us then resolve to do what we ean in the spirit of togetherness that was so mueh a part of the way of life of our ancestors and kupuna. Let us re-establish our ties with our past and let us take from our past that whieh is needed to help us be successful now and in the future. Ho'olako. Let us enrich eaeh other. Mahalo and aloha!

Gladys Ainoa Brandt