Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 1992 — OHA Trustee's Views [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Trustee's Views

Ka mana 'o o na Kahu Waiwai pakahi

(This eolumn is open to all OHA trustees to express their individual views and does not necessarily represent the official position of the OHA board of trustees.)

You never lost your voice - be brave enough to use it

by Kowena Akana Trustee- At-Large

As most of you know, I have been taking Committee on Sovereignty into the eommunity in the past few months. My primary goal has been to provide direct information to and seek from the public on current forms of sovereignty and the three proposed legislative bills OHA has presented to Sen. Daniel Inouve fnr infrndnc-

tion to Congress this coming term. What overwhelms me most in this series of meetings is the community outcry for "more voice in government," "more information on elected leaders' actions," "more access to documents," "'honesty in leaders' dealings" and so on. I believe now is tbe perfect time for Native Hawaiians to voice their concems in the most positive way possible by exercising their voting rights in all elections - from the President of the United States to the Mayor of Honolulu to the Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The time we live in is changing; the need for the public to assert their will to affect the outcome of elected future leaders is paramount. People must be determined and diligent in reclaiming their voice in government. The need to assert the public voice will help stop the eemlinual preventive, destructive and controlling acts of subversion by the status quo. The need for dynamic social force in eliciting change and direction over the numerous pressing issues facing the Hawaiian populahon is overriding. The time we live in is incredible, given the historical facts that surround us. We have so many important issues: Halawa Valley,

claims settlement, sovereignty, housing, the devastation of the island of Kaua'i, Star Wars, education, cultural preservation, and many more. It is vital that the public's voice of desired paths toward self-determination be echoed in the people chosen to be leaders. The wave across the nalion is strong. People are moving in unpredictable ways that frighten the "powers that be." Party lines are quickly becoming a relic of the past as record numbers reflect in polls that, "Because I'.ve always voted this way," is no longer a good enough reason to eonhnue. We find America in a sad condition and Hawai'i is a reflection of that condition. With tourism on the decline, our unemployment is climbing and the pressures of everyday survival, food, shelter and clothing, are becoming unbearable, disproportionately so in the Hawaiian populauon. Though there have always been the brave few who stay current on government affairs and actions, the faithful watch guards of government leaders, we as a whole have been too lackadaisical in our approach to govemment. Perhaps we view it as a "closed club" for the elite to enjoy, thinking our vote didn't really count, or a few people couldn't really make that mueh of a difference. But look around you; there are a handful of brave women who have been in Halawa Valley for months, making a peaceful and social statement that ean very well change the outcome of a potentially irreversible hann that could be done to the Hawaiian people (again). They are the brave women of Hale O Papa. A small band of people has eome out in unity to preserve a beautiful pieee of the 'aina on the Big Island. They are the Protect Kohanaiki 'Ohana. Kupuna recently gathered at a conference to share the beauty of their wisdom and expefience. They are the priceless gems of the commonality of our unique Hawaiian heritage. Hawaiian organizations everywhere are standing up and saying, "We're mad as hell and we're not gonna take it anymore!"

How I applaud those noble individuals. Those who are brave enough to realize a difference ean be made by standing up for people, united in the belief of a better future, have so mueh to teach those who are still paralyzed by the size of the establishment, or the fear of the political maehine, or the thought that one person can't make a difference. I have struggled in eaeh community meeting, listening to the disenchanted choms of Hawaiian voices seeking to find some entry into the current system. I am saying, the time is now. We are a different group of Native Hawaiians than the generations before us. We have the advantage of hindsight and the vision of foresight to see the desperate need to change the path of our future if our beautiful culture is to survive and thrive in the decades to eome. Yet we benefit from the unique advantage of having been raised in the traditional and peaceful ways of our kupuna. By taking the reality of both of those worlds, we ean forge our own pathways to taking control of our future. Let this article, or a conversation with your family or a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, be the catalyst to prompt you to take the initiative to go out and vote. You tell me you want your voice back and I'm saying you never lost it. Just be brave enough to use it. Remember your fellow Hawaiians who have found the courage to take action and let them be a source of power to you. I will eonlinue to meet you all eaeh month in your communities. The determination and honesty with whieh you share your views, needs and wants are reffeshing and enlightening. Ultimately, however, it is wilhin eaeh of you that you must find your eall to action. Empowerment is yours by asserting your voting power. Your confīdence in affecting the outcome of decisions and seeing aspirations become a reality begins by you taking that first step. Aloha pumehana!