Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 6, 1 June 1994 — Maui ceremony brings Kahoʻolawe home [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui ceremony brings Kahoʻolawe home

"lt feels like Hawai'i is whole again." - Gov. John Waihe'e

Hundreds of people participated in the kaula ceremony by grasping a rope whose ends were anchored in the oeean, emphasizing their connection to eaeh other and to the sea. Photos by Jeff Clark

Adm. Bill Retts and Kaho'olawe lsland Reserve Commission chairman Noa Emmett Aluli sign the memorandum of understanding between the state and the Navy outlining terms of Kaho'oiawe's eleanup. Gov. John Waihe'e and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy William Cassidy, having signed the deed transferring the island, look on.

Under state law, Kaho' olawe will he reserved for traditional Hawaiian subsistence, cultural, and educational use - eommercial activity is kapu. The federal law whieh appropriates $400 million for the island's eleanup over a 10-year period recognizes the quest for Hawaiian sovereignty : it specifies that Kaho' olawe is being transferred to the state only until such time as it ean be handed over to a sovereign Hawaiian entity. The Navy will retain liability during the 10-year eleanup period, and so will eonhnue to control access along with the Kaho 'olawe Island Reserve Commission. For more informahon, contact the KIRC at 33 S. King St., Room 403, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813.

OHA chairman Clayton Hee and Trustee A. Frenchy DeSoto present ho'okupu of kūmū to Keoni Fairbanks as OHA culture specialist and chanter Manu Boyd looks on.

Kekuhi Kanaka'oie Kanahele and Kaipo Farias chant "Ko'ihonua a Kaho'olawe," the island's epie genealogy.

Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana members Davianna McGregor, Keoni Fairbanks and Noa Emmett Aluli rejoice following the transfer.