Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 Malaki 1992 — Kauhane o Kahoʻolawe [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kauhane o Kahoʻolawe

By Trustee A. Frenchy DeSoto Trustee-At-Large

As you know, I was appointed to the federal Kaho'olawe lsland Conveyance Commis-sion to recommend to Congress the terms and conditions for the eonveyance of the island to the state of Hawai'i.

I have had the good fortune to work with a group of special people: Hannibal Tavares (chair), Emmett Aluli (vice chair), and James A. Kelly and H. Howard Stephenson, who are all committed to fulfill the Congressional mandate. Kaho'olawe, or "Kohemalamalama o Kanaloa" as 1 was taught by Emma DeFries, is 11 miles long, seven miles wide, and consists of 28,600 acres. This moku is 1.5 million years old. More than 500 archaeological sites on Kaho'olawe are registered on the National

Register of Historic Places. Kealaikahiki Point, referred to in the legends of Moikeha, further substantiates the irreplaceable value of this 'aina to the people of Hawai'i. The commission's work is a work of love, always cognizant of the multitude of political inferences that, many times, are beyond our control. Our community at large, eaeh and every one of you, must begin to commit to making a difference on the political realities. Please, eommunicate your vision of Kaho'olawe's return. Call your friends, your elected representatives, state, federal, county. Let the winds of Pono carry your voices across our nation. The KICC will make its recommendations; however, in the final analysis it is Congress that will make the ultimate decision. We need your help to protect the valuable resources of Kaho'olawe. Because this eolumn is afforded to me as an elected trustee to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, I do want to express my mana'o by acknowledging the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana

and its membership. Of late, this person has been blessed with the opportunity to share with PKO our work, our culture, and our spiritual essence, and I have the utmost respect for its diligent efforts and steadfastness. I have been further blessed because I have just realized that almighty God in his wisdom gave my ancestors and me a unique culture to practice and identify with. Strange as the above statement may appear to some of you, I am sure there are many of us who did not have the privilege of being raised as Hawaiians although we are Native Hawaiian. As a consequence, many of us grew up with "the brainwash" of guilt when "we" practiced our culture spiritually. 1 have experienced a deep and profound awakening, and I am so grateful. At last I know who I am. I acknowledge my ancestors with deep reverence and love. Mahalo, Lei Aloha!