Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 6, 1 Iune 1991 — The ʻalamihi strikes again! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The ʻalamihi strikes again!

by Louis Hao Trustee, Moloka'i/Lana'i

Aloha mai! In September 1984, I took the oath of office as trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and accepted the responsibility to serve the Hawaiian eommunity by bettering the conditions of the

Hawaiian people. At the time I took office, OHA was already in terrible strife regarding the removal of a former trustee from OHA, Walter Ritte. From that very beginning, I sought the cooperation of the trustees to work together and to support eaeh other. To me, trust, honesty and cooperation along with other values are the ingredients necessary to carry out the duties of the office and to fulfill the fiduciary responsibilities to our people. The present situation, the removal of Moses Keale as ehaimnan, is yet another tragedy for all Hawaiians. lt is another scenario for whieh the Hawaiian community and the general public witness the self-destruction of Hawaiians by Hawaiians themselves. This is the second time Moses Keale has been removed as ehaimnan of OHA. Yet he has neither been charged with any crime nor been proven guilty at this time. Allegations are being made by the likes of a mainland haole, reminiscent of Captain Cook, who has eome to our shores in search of a "pot of gold" by promising to save the Hawaiian people. Moses Keale listened. and the rest is now histnru

Besides Walter Ritte and Moses Keale, there is Joe Kealoha, a former trustee from Maui who was also removed as chairman by his fellow trustees. Looking back at Kealoha's situation, many would agree with me now that the incident was "manini." Again, the questions and allegations by his fellow trustees about some unofficial telephorte calls and the change in flight plans were raised against Kealoha. Kealoha later made restitution by paying for the phone calls and the change in flight plans. The trustees called for a full investigation by the state attorney general's office in order to remove Kealoha. While the Office of Hawaiian Affairs over the

past 10 years has had to struggle with questions on the constitutionality of OHA, lawsuits regarding the improper use of special funds, and OHA's legal right to the 20 percent of ceded land revenues due OHA, perhaps most damaging situation is trustees seeking to discredit eaeh other. We are now involved with another full investigation by the state attorney general's office to substantiate the decision of the trustees. Moses Keale did not choose to fight for his innoeenee, instead he chose to step aside temporarily and to let the attorney general office do its thing, perhaps for the duration of his term. The attorney general's office will do its job on Moses Keale, while the trustees do their number on eaeh other. "We have met the enemy and it is us!"