Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 1, 1 January 2005 — Trustees assume kuleana of office in investiture ceremony [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Trustees assume kuleana of office in investiture ceremony

By Derek Ferrar With portraits of the Hawaiian Kingdom's ruling ali'i and around 300 prominent members of the Hawaiian-service eommunity looking on, OHA's nine trustees formally took on the kuleana of their new term in an investiture ceremony at historic Kawaiaha'o Church on Dec. 1. The church's new kahu, Curt Pa'alua Kekuna, presided over the ceremony, in whieh eaeh of the trustees was presented with OHA's symbol of office, a lei hulu (feather lei). The theme of the ceremony was "E ho'ī i ka lamakū awakea" (Light the torch at mid-day), an allusion to the fire-burning kapu possessed by both the Kamehameha and Kalākaua families. "We symbolically light the torch at mid-day," read the ceremony's program, "calling upon the mana and wisdom of our kūpuna kahiko to shed light on our collective path today." The investiture takes plaee every two years, following the results of the general election. This year was a little different than most, however, in that the board was unchanged by November's vote. Incumbent trustees Haunani Apoliona and Hawai'i island

Trustee Linda Dela Cruz easily won re-election to their seats, while Trustees Donald Cataluna and Colette Machado retained their seats unopposed. Soon after the election, the board voted unanimously to retain Apoliona as chairperson and Trustee John Waihe'e IV as vice-chair. Prior to the investiture ceremony, the four newly re-elected members of the board were given the oath of office for their four-year terms by Hawai'i Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Moon. "My father used to say that puhlie service is the rent we pay for the space that we occupy on earth," Moon said before he swore the trustees in. "So I want to congratulate and commend you folks for your willingness to pay big rent." All nine trustees took part in the following investiture ceremony, whieh began with monarchy-era music from the Royal Hawaiian Band. A procession of OHA employees then entered the church, followed by members of the royal societies. As kumu hula and OHA Puhlie Information Director Manu Boyd's voice rang from the church's high rafters with a genealogical chant of eaeh island's chiefly settlement, the trustees walked one by one

down the carpeted aisle toward a raised gourd containing the lei hulu, along with displays of kukui to signify enlightenment and 'ulu to symbolize growth, and a candle representative of the ceremony's mid-day torch theme. After an opening prayer, the congregation sang Hawai'i Pono'ī and OHA administrator Clyde Nāmu'o offered a weleome. "Today is a very special day for all of us in Hawai'i, whether or not you are of Hawaiian ancestry," Nāmu'o said. "These trustees, your elected representatives, have re-committed themselves to puhlie service to improve the conditions of Hawaiians. The lei lulu whieh will soon be placed on eaeh of the trustees by their designated representative is a symbol of this awesome responsibility." The lei hulu, made by master artists Mary Louise Kekuewa and Paulette

Kahalepuna, were blessed by Kahu Kekuna and placed around the necks of the trustees by family members or friends, and eaeh of the trustees offered a few words. Afterward, the congregation joined the band in the Queen 's Prayer. Visibly choked up as he contemplated the queen's words, emeee Kai Markell, a cultural advocate in OHA's Native Rights division, introduced the keynote speaker, cultural anthropologist and former Miss Hawai'i Dr. Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey Buyers, who made the acclaimed documentary film on the Hawaiian people And Then There Were None. In her powerful speech, Buyers said it was the legacy of the kūpuna that the path to true sovereignty begins with personal commitment and spiritual See INVESTITURE on page 9

The OHA Board poses following the investiture ceremony. Front row, I. to r.: Rowena Akana, Colette Machado, Linda Dela Cruz, Haunani Apoliona. Back row: Dante Carpenter, John Waihe'e IV, Donald Cataluna, Boyd Mossman, Oz Stender. Photo: Derek Ferrar

INVESTITURE from page 1 change. "True sovereignty is a power that ean never be granted to us or stripped from us by an external l'oi'ee," she said. "We hold the keys to our freedom. When we heeome the change we seek, then and only then will we be able to authentically determine our destiny." "To you, the trustees, in whom we endow our confidence and support," she added, "you have been granted a rare privilege to serve our people. Use this opportunity well."

Finally, recently re-appointed OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona delivered the 2004 State of OHA address, in whieh she reviewed OHA's efforts in 2004 toward its mission of bettering the lives of Hawaiians. (See the State of OHA article starting on page 1.) Apoliona called for more autonomy for OHA as Hawaiians prepare for the eventual establishment of a native governing body. "It is time for OHA to look to the future," she said, "to a time when a Hawaiian governing entity is formed and led by principled Native Hawaiian leaders. We as

the elected trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs must look for ways to make this transition as simple as possible." In his brief remarks, Vice-Chairman Waihe'e summed up the sense of gratitude that all the trustees expressed. "I think it's been quite a few years since we've been as empowered politically as a people as we are now," Waihe'e said, "and I think it is all due to people like you who stood up and said, 'we are not going to let things continue down this road.' For that, I ean never thank you enough." ■