Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 12, 1 December 1995 — New administrator, Pai ʻohana [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

New administrator, Pai ʻohana

bv Moanike'ala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i Congratulations to Linda Colburn, voted OHA Administrator October 26 on Lāna'i by a vote of 5-0, Trustees Beamer, Akana, Kamali'i

and Keale absent. Colburn has done an exemplary job in six years with OHA. She was deputy administrator of programs since January 1995 and acting administrator since Dante Carpenter's departure. Her appointment is a morale-booster and stabilizing influence for our office. For the sake of all, I'm glad Dante's case is set-

tled. We must cease this bickering whieh detracts from taking care of our

people's business. Ho'oponopono is needed. For the third consecutive month Billie Beamer "cancelled until further notice" the Health and Human Services committee meeting, citing "prevailing friction amongst board members,"

feeling "it should have no effect on the constituents!" The health and human services needs of our people have been trivialized at a time when needs are most serious, due to cuts of the state and federal governments. We have not had a Heahh and Human services meeting for a quarter of a year; its works have eome

to a halt. Trustee Beamer resigned as heakh and

human services chair end of October; as vice-chair, I have been appointed acting chair. It is not that I seek another chairmanship as trustee, for planning, eeonomie development and housing is allconsuming; but thanks to an excellent staff, we will manage these additional assignments. The revolving loan fund is OHA's most successful program (overseen in its early stages by Linda Colburn); eommu-nity-based eeonomie development (CBED) spearheaded by Chris van Bergeijk, continues to empower Hawaiians with ideas, tools and skills for eeonomie self-sufficiency in our march toward sovereignty. Jamie Wong is excellent in our grants program, and other staff also contribute, with more programs coming online. Though a member of six OHA eommittees and co-chair of two, I

make it a point to attend many community meetings and functions, because it is imperative to be on top of our people's issues and problems. I have asked Chairman Hee to resurrect the prison ad-hoc committee whieh I onee led. The deplorable prison situation must be looked into by OHA, for 40 percent of those incarcerated are Hawaiian. Pai 'Ohana On the Kona coastline at Honokohau the Pai 'ohana continue to struggle against eviction by the National Park Service from land they have resided on since at least the early 1800's (read my eolumn, Decemher 1992). This 'āina, part of Honokohau National Park, abuts Kohanaiki (see eolumn, November 1995). In January, federal Judge David Ezra

ruled that the family doesn't have the right to live on the 'āina because their ancestors didn't acquire title to it, even though the previous owners aeknowledged the right of the Pai's to reside there. The 'ohana appealed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court at a November 3 hearing. We await the results. The recent State Supreme Court victory on the PASH (Kohanaiki) case affirmed the right of native Hawaiians to enter undeveloped private property for traditional gathering, cultural and religious purposes; this should be a supportive precedence. As Mahealani Pai stated (Honolulu Advertiser 11/4/95), or "Our 'ohana didn't just plop down on this land, we've heen there for generations! Western property rights conflict with our tradition and customs." The Pai 'ohana deserve our support! The 1978

Constitutional Convention gave large land owners, sugar plantations and the like, the right to adverse-possess (steal) up to five acres of someone's 'āina if they occupy it for 20 years. The Pai 'ohana are laying elaim to land they have been residing on and caring for for probably more than two centuries. Judge Ezra missed the mark. Pai's ancestors did not need to acquire any title - not when they have had traditional occupancy of that 'āina before western law and title was imposed on the kanaka maoli (in Hawai'i). Traditional and customary laws and practices must take precedence. The Pai's are exercising their rightful sovereignty on 'āina held in their family for centuries. President Clinton's apology re-affirms this. Mālama Pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono.