Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2007 — Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center attains nonprofit status [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center attains nonprofit status

After a year-long planning process, the Lāna'i Archaeological Committee (LAC) has proudly announced that the Lāna'i Culture and Heritage Center was granted a 501 (e) 3, federal ineome tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. As a private operating foundation, the Lāna'i Culture and Heritage Center is now poised to receive tax-deductible contributions, bequests, transfers and other gifts. Part of the LAC's role since its formation in 1987 has been to review and address concerns for preservation of Lāna'i's unique cultural and natural resources; perpetuate the diverse history of Lāna'i; and serve as a means of protecting the life-style on Lāna'i. The LAC is a collaborative effort involving members of the Lāna'i community, working primarily under the organizations of "Lanaians for Sensible Growth" and "Hui Mālama Pono o Lāna'i," who entered into a legal Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Castle & Cooke, the State of Hawai'i and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The newly organized Lāna'i Culture and Heritage Center (LCHC) is a direct result of the MOA and renewed interest in honoring Lāna'i's heritage among community members, Castle & Cooke and businesses on Lāna'i. The LCHC is seen by all as a great opportunity to enrich everyone who touches Lāna'i. A conceptual plan for the LCHC was developed by Kumu Pono Associates through consultation with people on Lāna'i and with individuals who work in the field of resource management and museums. Castle & Cooke has begun to seriously work towards fulfilling the vision of the

community and the requirements set forth in the MOA. Realizing that, in addition to a museum/heritage center, the community of Lāna'i could also benefit from a location on Dole Park to stage concerts, charity fundraisers, cultural programs and the like, a recommendation was included to add a staging area for such programs. This added community benefit will make it easier for events to occur in the park, and be the foundation for a whole new series of "Evenings in the Park" programs whieh may be offered. There is also an effort to preserve the last two ranch houses remaining in the historic Kō'ele Ranch complex. The property and historic houses are significant on Lāna'i's cultural landscape and could possibly serve as an environmental education center where students could learn about Lāna'i's unique natural history. This historic ranch setting could also serve as a function site for residents and visitors to experience the "paniolo" ranching heritage of Lāna'i. In March of 2006, the LAC requested that Kumu Pono Associates undertake a detailed research program to help collect the broad histories of Lāna'i and its people, and work on programs to fulfill the various requirements of the MOA. Kumu Pono also worked to reorganize the "eulture center" into a small community museum and is in the process of eompiling a comprehensive history of Lāna'i from archival sources — spanning pre-his-tory and accounts written between the 1820s to 1990s — and oral history interviews with elder families of the island. The oral history program builds upon the foundation set by detailed interviews coordinated by Mary Kawena Pūku'i and Mina Morita in the 1960s and 1980s. The goal is to bring all of this information into one collection at the LCHC that will be accessible to the people of Lāna'i and all others who may wish to learn about the history of the island and its people.

Cūlette Y. Machadū TrustEE, Mūlūka'i and Lāna'i