Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 1989 — Keaukaha homesteader calls for Hawaiian land base [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Keaukaha homesteader calls for Hawaiian land base

When Pualani Kanahele testified before the Senate Select Committee On Indian Affairs, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, chairman, termed her testimony "eloquent." Inouye said Kanahele's statement was so moving he wanted to use it as the preface to the committee's report. Kanahele is kumu hula and an instructor at Maui Community College. Here is the testimony given by her to the committee members, on Maui, Thursday, Aug. 10, 1989: Senator Inouye, to the members of this eommittee, to ka Lahui Hawai'i, and all others present today, aloha ia kakou a pau! My name is Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele. I am a full-blooded Hawaiian born and raised in Hilo. I am a product of the Keaukaha Hawaiian Homesteads. I now live on the Hawaiian Homes farmlots of Waiakea/Pana'ewa. As we were growing upin Keaukaha, the natural environment was an important factor in developing our character, likes and dislikes. The oeean was close at hand and we gathered limu, pipipi, 'opihi and caught reef fish for our meals. The oeean was a major recreational element for us. Because of the iaek of soil, gardening was not practical, instead raising pigs, chickens and ducks for food products or exchange products was more suitable. The streams were easy to drive to, therefore gathering ho'io, 'opae and 'o'opu added to our activities and diet. Hala was plentiful and we collected the leaves of the hala for making mats, hats, fans and slippers. The forest, whieh was cut away when the new airport runway was put in, provided lehua, maile and medicinal herbs. Hawaiian language was still spoken in the home, in churches and certainly among friends.

These activities were not unique for any one family but were eommon practice among most of the families of Keaukaha. These activities were a lifestyle, or way of life, for us. Another factor whieh insured and maintained this lifestyle was being comforted in the knowledge that we had a pieee of land to live on, have your children, raise a family and be recognized as an "one hanau" (birth plaee) by many generations. Family identification gives one a fee!ing of pride and acceptance, however, plaee identification, such as ahupua'a, 'apana or mokupuni, elevates one's self-esteem, he or she is then regarded as an

"'onipa'a" (steadfast, dependable), "maka'ainana" (friend of the land), kua'aina (backbone of the land), or "keiki o ka 'aina" (product of the land). Land identity is self identity. To connect one's self to the "Ancestral Land" is to acquire extreme pride and self esteem, this is another level of land identification. When land becomes the home for the living and the bones of our kupuna (ancestors) as well, it is indeed "ancestral land." The archipelago is our (Hawaiian) "ancestral land." We have lived here for many generations, raised our children here, prayed to our gods, lived in harmony with our environment and we buried our loved ones here. Their essence still remains in this ground we ean no longer eall our "ancestral land." Hawai'i has now the political system of the United States. The concept of "ancestral land" no longer exists for us. Large chunks of these islands are owned by foreigners who do not share our sentiments, who cannot relate to our ancestral eoncepts and who do not understand the benefit of plaee identify. The levels of pride developed over hundreds of years have now been obliviated. Our government has offered a lesser form of land identity and tenure in the Department of Hawaiian Home Land. It is sad and demeaning to consider DHHL as a substitute for "ancestral Iands." But this is all that is offered. Hawaiian Home Lands has some similarities to chiefdomship land tenure. In both, the land is not owned by the tenants but is used by them. The families live out many generations, they have a land base, they ean develop plaee identity and ean become one with their environment. The Hawaiian must have a land base, we must be able to use the natural environment to survive and identify with our Hawaiianness. My childhood activities, whieh seemed so normal, are now eonsidered unique and are consciously referred to todayas 'The Hawaiian Culture.'Itisnolon3eralifestyle but a conscious effort of attainment.

Pualani Kanahele

lo [o IO.