Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 1991 — Trustee's Views [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Trustee's Views

(This eolumn is open to all OHA Trustees as a vehicle for them to express their mana'o. Opinions expressed are those of the individual Trustees and do not necessarily represent the official position of the OHA Board of Trustees.)

Leamina to lead with wisdom and Hawaiian spiritualitv

by Rev. Moses K. Keale, Sr. Trustee, Kaua'i & Ni'ihau

Aloha kakou. What are the ingredients that makes a wise and able leader? 1 believe that the first ingredient is a philosophy of service. A leader must know that he or she must leam to serve in order to lead. A true leader must

have wisdom and knowledge. He must leam to listen patiently and to hear not just the noisy clamor but more importantly he must hear the quite voice crying in the wilderness. A true leader must accept the fact that his knowledge is limited and must show the willingness to leam and grow. A true leader must be dedicated not only during times of great success but also during times of tremendous adversity. He must trust in himself. He must trust in his faith. He must trust in his creator. He must have spirituality. Most important, a true Hawaiian leader must have Hawaiian spirituality. Sometimes, we must venture into the wilderness to meditate so that the vision is clear. Sometimes we must stop to listen to the small, quiet voice from within to really understand the message. The hardest part of listening and waiting is to recognize the message and path . In mid July, a most exciting event happened in my life. Without so mueh as the smallest hint, I was selected to be ordained as a Kahu Haieuanelio of my church, Ke Akua Mana. It happened at the annual Aha Paeaina of the combined churches of Hoomana O Ke Akua Ola. It could not have happened at a more opportune time in my life. At a time that I was struggling to define my true mission. Beingan ordained minister is a very serious addition to the responsibilities of my life. Blending this new responsibility and my service to the Hawaiian people is a formidable task. In reflecting on how OHA became a reality, after you get past the history of the constitutional convention and the success at the ballot box, the most important effort to insure OHA's success was to register Hawaiians to vote in the OHA special eleehon. A group of dedicated volunteers began the task of registering Hawaiians .

One of the major groups that was addressed to assist in registration was the Hawaiian church. Why? It is simple, the Hawaiian honored his cultural values through the working of group dynamics in the church. And so the church played an important role in assuring OHA's reality just as the Hawaiian church played an important role in stopping the passage of the Maryland Land Law bill in the 1960s and as the church nurtured the growth of the Kaho'olawe 'Ohana and so forth. As with most aboriginal people, faith plays ani important role in the growth of that society. Faith and church are often synonymous. So as I reflected in January, Koho Ia. The ehoiee has been made. The path is clear. I serve my people because the people so chose me to do so. I serve my church because the- church chose me to serve her. And the message is clear — to serve the people and the spirit of creation in order to hoomau, continue the growth and regeneration of the people • On Aug. 30, I addressed my fellow trustees at the Lana'i board meeting with a message that I

wish to share with you about my commitment. "We, you and I, have been elected as leaders of our people . Eaeh person who sits at this table as an elected representative of the Hawaiian people is a leader, with valuable contributions to make. "We had better start acting and living the part and demonstating the values of a true Hawaiian leader. We must respect eaeh other. We must respect eaeh other's kuleana. We must work in harmony and we must demonstrate leadership in our daily lives as good examples to our people. "We represent hope for the future of our people. We are the defenders of the Hawaiian people's rights and entitlements. "But how ean we demonstrate that we are defending them or even convince them that there is a strategy of defense when we allow the state to drag on and on with this issue of a settlement while they (the state) continues to trade off our lands in pursuit of other interests. "We represent the single agency that Hawaiians ean eome to get help with their problems whether those problems deal with health, education, eeonomie development, housing or any other item of eoneem. "I tell the people we need time to address all of the various problems. The people respond by telling me that you have had more than 10 years to get it together. "I tell them we did no have the money to get it together. They respond that you informed us of a settlement! So I stop talking and making excuses and I start to do more listening. "It is time to stop talking at eaeh other and to start taking some actions. Eaeh of us has a vital role to play. We are the policy makers. "Let us as policy makers evaluate the

performance of everyone connected with this organization. Let us correct the probJems whieh impede our performance. Let us make the changes that are necessary and then let's get on with being both leaders and servants of our people." These are my goals: 1. As education and culture committee chairman, I will aggressively pursue the goals of quality educational opportunities for all of our Hawaiian children. 2. I will actively advocate the incorporation of Hawaiian cultural values, practices and spirituality in everything we do as an agency, with everyone we eome in contact with that address the concerns of Hawaiian people, and in my everyday life. 3. I will speak out against any affront to Hawaiian entitlements and I will not be afraid to speak in favor of an aggressive eeonomie deveiopment package that will ensure the growth of Hawaiian assets. It is with these thoughts in mind that I share these feelings and commitments with you. I hope that we ean join together and speak with one strong and insurmontable voice. Let's roll up our shirt sleeves. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder — leader, servant, and na poe Hawai'i — in unity and strength to make the necessary changes and show all of the people of Hawai'i our very best efforts. O ke Akua ka puuhonua a me ka ikaika o kakou, He kokua kokoke loa i ka popilikia ana. God is our refuge and our strength, an everpresent help in distress. A i manao kekahi e lilo i pookele i waena o oukou, e pono no e lilo ia i kauwa na oukou. Na ke Akua e malama a e alakai ia kakou apau.

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It is time to stop talking at eaeh other and to start talking some actions."