Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 7, 1 July 2009 — 'To see this plaee stay sacred' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'To see this plaee stay sacred'

Thi.s month 's headline is a quotefrom Unele Henry Nalai.elua hefore his passing, on his vision for the future of Kalaupapa. On May 20 and 21, OHA Trastees traveled to Moloka'i. for our annual community and Board meetings. Among the items on the agenda was the approvaI ofan OHA reso!ution supporti.ng the position statement ofKa 'Ohana O Kalaupapa for the Kalaupapa Naūonal Hi.stori.cal Park's General Management Plan. To leam more ahoutKa 'Ohana O Kalaupapa and to read the posi.ti.on paper in its entirety, go to their web si.te kalaupapaoliana.org. Mahalo to Jerome Yasuhara and Valerie Monsonfor the development ofthe resolution, whi.eh appears helow: Supporting the Position Statement of Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa for the Kalaupapa National Historical Park's General Management Plan (2009), as presented by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, for Kalaupapa Peninsula WHEREAS, the origin of leprosy (known as Hansen's Disease) in Hawai'i ean be traced back to cases reported among the Hawaiians in the 1830s when it was called Ma'i Ali'i and Ma'i Pākē; and WHEREAS, in 1865, "An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy" is signed into law on January 3, thereby setting apart land for the purpose of isolating persons with leprosy, and for whieh on November 13, the Kalihi Hospital is opened near Honolulu for the treatment of persons suspected of having the disease and performing triage for advanced or incurable cases awaiting "shipment" to the Settlement on Moloka'i island; and WHEREAS, on January 6, 1866, the first "shipment" of patients to Kalaupapa, Moloka'i, is recorded - consisting of 9 men and 3 women - and that during a century's time spanning 1866 to 1969, an estimated 8,000 people from Hawai'i are taken from their families and forcibly relocated, first in the original settlement on the windward side of Kalawao and, later, at Kalaupapa on the leeward side of the Makanalua peninsula; and WHEREAS, this era in Hawaiian history could have been one of complete tragedy, stories of determination soon emerged: churches of various faiths were erected starting with the congregation of Siloama Church in 1866; and

the arrival of religious leaders in 1873 beginning with soon-to-be canonized Father Joseph "Damien" De Veuster and Monnon leader Jonathan Hawaii Napela; and WHEREAS, during the period from 1946 to 1969, with the onset of breakthroughs in both medical research and social barriers, the patients of Kalaupapa embrace dramatic yet bittersweet changes ultimately cuhninating in the abolishment of Hawai'i's policy of isolation; and WHEREAS, in the following decade, Congress establishes a Kalaupapa National Historieal Park Advisory Commission, and in 1980, President Jimmy Carter signs Public Law 96-565, Sec. 109, establishing the Kalaupapa National Historic Park; and WHEREAS, in 1991, the National Park Service enters into a 50-year lease with the State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, giving the Park Service jurisdiction over 1,247 acres of home lands at Kalaupapa, where it is estimated that the Park Service has invested nearly $23 million in improvements and preservation initiatives over the years; and WHEREAS, the nearly 20-year relationship between the Park Service and the remaining patients of Kalaupapa has been and continues to be mutually rewarding and nurturing toward this wahi pana on Moloka'i; and WHEREAS, a group of remaining patients and concerned individuals, including family members, established an organization in 2003, "... dedicated to promoting the value and dignity of every individual who was exiled to the Kalaupapa peninsula ... " - Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa; and WHEREAS, the 'Ohana recently published a "Preliminary Position Paper for Kalaupapa National Historical Park's General Management Plan" (2009), whieh endorses and supports engagement of the National Park Service for the full term of the 50-year lease pursuant to recommendations prescribed therein; and WHEREAS, the motto of the 'Ohana is "E Ho'ohanohano a E Ho'omau ... To Honor and To Perpetuate," its members wish to honor and pay special recognition to all of Kalaupapa's residents past and present whose legacies inspired generations and eternal remembrance for a plaee and for those who were onee taken from their families and sent away with little, if any, hope of return; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs gives its support for the posiSee MACHAD0 on page 2G

Cūlette Y. Machadū Trustee, Meleka'i and Lāna'i

MACHAD0 Cūntinued fram page 24

tion of Ka 'Ohana 0 Kalaupapa with regard to the relationship between Nahonal Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Kalaupapa peninsula, consistent with recommendations presented in the "Preliminary Position Paper for Kalaupapa Nahonal Historical Park's General Management Plan" (2009); and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to President Barack Obama; the Hawai'i congressional delegation; the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; Governor Linda Lingle; Senate President Colleen Hanabusa; Speaker of the House of Representatives Calvin Say; Senator I. Kalani English; Representative

Mele Carroll; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Mieah Kāne; Department of Heahh Director Chiyome Fukino; Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Laura Thielen; Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares; Ka 'Ohana 0 Kalaupapa; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Most Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, The Vatican; Most Reverend Clarence Silva, Bishop, Diocese of Hawai'i; the Reverend Charles Buck, Conference Minister of the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ; the United States Church of Christ; the Church of Iesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the Soto Zen sect of the Buddhist conununity. Adopted this 2 1 st day of May, 2009, in Kalama'ula, island of Moloka'i, State of Hawai'i, by the Board of Trastees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in regular session assembled. ■