Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 1, 1 January 1994 — A creative Hawaiian alternative; Puhi Bay revisited [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A creative Hawaiian alternative; Puhi Bay revisited

by Moanike'ala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i In Hilo, Hawaiians without a house eall themselves "houseless." They have a home — Hawai'i. It is a house they laek. There is a desperate need for

creative alterna- i tives to this heartwrenching islandwide problem affecting many Hawaiian families. On Hawai'i island, we have an opportunity to create a solution for some Hawaiian families, working with

Mayor Steve Yamashiro and the county, churches, this trustee, and, I hope, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. With the help of a former planner from the Office of State Planning, these Hawaiian families are determining their own destiny by establishing a Hawaiian village on 14 acres of

ceded land whieh the county has controlled rent-free for years. The 'āina is overgrown. The ancient fishpond and its surroundings must be cleared and the pond re-established so it ean feed the villagers. Kalo ean also

oe grown. ine desire is also to have simple hale for Hawaiian 'ohana. This could be an excellent eommuni-ty-based eeonomie development project. Surplus kalo and fish could be sold to sustain the village. Many eom-

munity people want to kōkua this project with their talents and skills. The prospects are exciting, and this is very important because it shows that when political leaders take seriously the problems of the Hawaiian people and work with them, remedies ean be found and everyone comes out

ahead, win-win! These Hawaiian families are exercising sovereignty and determining their own destiny on Hawaiian ceded lands. I will keep you informed as the situation develops. Speaking of sovereignty and Hawaiian land, here's an update on the assault on Puhi Bay (covered in my Oct. 1993 eolumn): in the past three months over 40 Hawaiians have been arrested as a result of the destruction of the pavilion at Puhi Bay by DHHL. On Oct. 9, poliee arrested 25 of more than 100 Hawaiians gathered at the Pnnee Kūhiō Shopping Plaza, located on DHHL lands in Hilo. The Hawaiians were there to protest the destruction of yet another community-built pavilion at Puhi Bay. According to the Honolulu Advertiser's front page article on Oct. 10, 1993, "Poliee made arrests after demonstrators walked through and around an indoor mall carrying signs, ti

leaves and Hawaiian flags flying upside down — a signal of distress. Demonstrators did not appear to impede shoppers. Arrests eame when poliee and protestors confronted eaeh other outside the mall. There are allegations the Hilo poliee were over-zealous in handling the arrests of these Hawaiians and their supporters. " In a Hawai'i Tribune Herald letter to the editor, Dec. 5, 1993, an observer to the arrests, Melissa Moniz, pointed out that "demonstrators were unnecessarily 'roughed up' by poliee. A Waiākea High School teacher who was peacefully filming the arrests was suddenly overwhelmed and put in a choke-hold by poliee." This Hawaiian woman, a probation officer, was appalled at the officers' actions. What right did the Hilo poliee have to make these arrests in the first plaee, as at Puhi Bay? The county has no right or jurisdiction to arrest Hawaiians on

DHHL land when we peacefully raise issues and act due to mismanagement. Judge Colin Love will preside over the trial of the 30 arrested at Prince Kūhiō Plaza and Puhi Bay. He has scheduled an imporrant hearing Jan. 22, on our numerous claims that poliee didn't have the right to arrest us (beneficiaries), nor do the courts have the right to hear the subsequent challenges. (The Hawaiian Bar Association should take this issue on as a challenge.) True sovereignty must allow us as a native people to peacefully determine our own destiny and govern our own lands, whieh include DHHL, without threat of poliee interference. Also, first amendment rights like free assembly are guaranteed Hawaiians as American citizens in the U.S. Constitution. Mālama pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono.