Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1995 — The spirit of the Hawaiian people lives on through our young leaders [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The spirit of the Hawaiian people lives on through our young leaders

by The Rev. Moses K. keale. Sr. Trustee, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau Eight years ago, t\vo embryos were planted in the kīpuka of Hawai'i nei. One blossomed into the child we know as 'Aha 'Ōpio O OHA and the other sprouted strong roots, developing into 'Aha Kūpuna — The Foundation and the Hope. the HUA and the PUA. The Kūpuna are the foundation of our Hawaiian culture

and our Hawaiian spirituality. The 'Opio are the fruits of the labor of the love of our Kūpuna and in these young people are embodied the hope for the future of jour race. The Kūpuna must breathe into their nostrils the breath of life that Ke Akua shares so freely with us. This June marked the

eighth annual meeting of the young men and women of Hawaii's future. Sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Education Division, eaeh meeting becomes more and more important to our future. Eaeh meeting brings all of us closer to eaeh other. This year was no exception. Again the role of our young minds in shaping our future becomes clearer. We must continue to meet and to provide the time and plaee for our young leaders to get together and share, and we must keep in mind that the thoughts they express reflect the world whieh we have given to them. The things they identify as important describe the concepts. values, practices, traits, rituals and protocols that we have taught them and from whieh they draw their life experiences. It is the nature of these experiences that form their style of leadership and their values. And it is the manifestation of this leadership that will define the future of our Hawaiian "spirituality." Even the foreigner observed the importance of proper spirituality. Webster defines spirituality as "the view that spirit is a prime element of reality; an animating or vital principle held to give life to physieal organisms; a special attitude or ffame of mind; a mental disposition." How does this apply to us today? Well, I think whenever we address our Hawaiian people it must be in the context of who we are, where we eome from, and why we are the way we are, and what do we really respond positively to. It is about tuming M i i i i i

to our cultural values and the context of the world we define as Hawaiian and acknowledging that this is what we wish to leave as Hawai'i's legacy to the world. To strengthen the Hawaiian body, we must strengthen the Hawaiian spirit. To make a true difference in the Iong run, we must deal with the Hawaiian in his or her own UNIVERSE. the universe defined by Hawaiian cultural values and practices. We must never arbitrarilv abandon our

traditions or practices for those traditions or practices of others. In the past we have done just that and it has led us toward the path of destruction and obsolescence. It is our duty to rekindle the spirit of our ancestors. It is our mission to replace inappropriate practices with proper practices and protocols and to teach our children to appreci-

ate those practices and protocols. I remind you of a product of our 'Aha 'Opio Program - 1990. It was at the investiture of our trustees that our young 'Aha 'Ōpio Governor of 1990, Nohealani Nihipali charged: "It is your task, those educated and skilled by the ha'ole [foreigner], to carry on our traditions into the next generations. It is your task to improve the conditions of our people and restore the pride of our race. We must impress upon these generations that our future revival will depend on racial pride and not rivalries. "Too long have our people struggled to survive. ... Who were these brave Polynesians who travelled great oeean distances and accomplished so mueh with so little? Where are their descendants to lead the canoes to the future? Will there be enough of Hawai'i left for my mo'opuna? ...The continuity of our nation of Hawai'i is more important than the changes that have been imposed upon our people. ... we will discover together. We will lead the way. ... E Hawai'i Au! Kū Kanaka!" I wish to thank eaeh and every valuable participant, volunteer and Kūpuna in the 'AHA 'ŌPIO '95 program. Your sharing and presence ensures the continuum of the quality of life for our people. A special thanks goes to Aunty Betty Jenkins' Kūpuna group who worked many long hours developing the program for this year's conference. I Koho 'ia i nā 'ōpio! Ho'omau! Ho'omau!