Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2009 — Mahalo Notes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mahalo Notes

As we enter the season of thanksgiving, we asked readers to share their gratitude for Hawaiians and Hawaiian organizations that have made a difference in their lives. Here's how they responded.

Kumu hula live on , . . . Beame through

My greatest three mahalos are to my kumu hula. Mahalo . to Hoakalei Kamau'u for all the l hula kahiko that she taught me. I Mahalo to Nona Beamer I for all the hula 'auana that " she taught me along with a

tremendous amount of Hawaiiana. They have both passed on and this is even more meaningful. With the knowledge I learned from them both, I am able to teach hula, to ho'opa'a and even sometimes to choreograph a hula. I was privileged to live on the 'āina when hula kahiko returned to the forefront, 1969 to 1989, with the help of Kamau'u. I also offer a huge mahalo to Ho'oulu Cambra, my first chanting teacher at the University of Hawai'i. Me ke aloha lipolipo, Miriam Ka Pumehana O Ke Aloha Paisner Boulder, Colorado www. oconnor.gs/halau. html

| Home away from home Mahalo to the Kama'āina Club of I Orange County for providing me with ! a Hawaiian organization to eall home i and wonderful people who became i my 'ohana when I transplanted

I to Southem Calitorma 11 | 1990. Not only were i there opportunities i to gather with other i Hawaiians on the i continent, but numerous i opportunities to grow as | well! Because of membt

i Rainbow Kahoonei-Valentin i and Raymond Lee, I began danci ing hula again. Because of Sherry i Dudoit, I became the coordinator i for the Aloha Expo. Because of i Yolande Princler, Don Sato, Rose i Kauha'aha'a and George and Janice

Shigematsu, I have been able to teach the Glee Club mele and hula. In eaeh of my positions, I have been able to stay connected to my culture while separated from my homeland. Members in the hui have led by example and reminded me

3 be industrious and to serve my Hawaiian community l no matter where their feet \ are planted. All of these / memories and relationships ' I now take home with me. Mahalo to eaeh and every ālā, keiki, makua and kupuna.

Mahalo for continuing to build upon my foundation and provide me with so many wonderful opportunities! Ua ho'opa'a 'ia i ku'u pu'uwai. Me ke aloha pau 'ole, Sherri Patrick Orange, Califomia

Waimānalo courtesy To the wonderful people of Waimānalo, Even when you are driving in heavy traffic on only two-lane Kalaniana'ole Highway, you leave space i for us and others to

i proceed i in front | of you. ^ i You da best. Leona i Teale and i Gail Tomita i Department of i Human Setyices i social workers

j 0HA's Jeremiah an everyday hero The Hawai'i Community Stewardship Network, a project of Community Links Hawai'i, ! supports the efforts of more than 20 Hawai'i I communities to care for their environmental i heritage. By providing capacity building and I networking, HCSN helps these communities i identify and achieve their goals for restoring culturally important natural resources. j HCSN appreciates the support of the Office i of Hawaiian Affairs for this work, both with i funding and staff resources. One member of the OHA 'ohana, Mr. Jason Jeremiah of the Native i Rights, Land and Culture Hale, has provided i exceptional skills and kōkua for the communities HCSN works with. We would like to specifically thank him for his generous contribution to our j efforts to support the critically important work i in whieh our community partners are engaged. His respectful, gracious and humble manner | j has endeared him to many, and we appreciate

his willingness to help Hawaiian communities care for their places. Our Kaua'i island partners, especially Maka'ala Ka'aumoana of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, urged me to formally write

this letter of thanks. Please share our

"Mahalo nui loa" with him and help us to commend him for his contribution to the most important work we do: caring for our people and places. Me ka pono, Debbie Gowensmith Director g Jeremiah '

Aloha from Alaska i I would like to thank the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust and specifically Gary Post, who worked in Hilo in 1 975 as a familv

counselor. Gary prodded me to take an aptitude test to enter the Kamehameha

Schools īn Kapālama. to this day, my four years there, '76 to '80, overlooking Punchbowl and Honolulu will always be a point in my life that will fill my eup with pride. As a hapa haole (a label I dislike), I found a plaee that treated me like 'ohana. My mom eame v from Māhukona and was brought to Alaska by my grandfather in the 1930s. There were three sisters A .1 that made the trip north to Alaska. (It's a long story.)

i Imua, Mike Adams | Cordova, Alaska

Mūpe MAHALŪNŪTES un page 17

MAHALO N0ĪE8 Continued from page 11

Kau lnoa's Apoliona a weleome visitor Recently we were in Chicago at the Hilton Hotel attending the Hawaiian Hula Days. We met Aulani Apoliona, OHA's advocate for Kau Inoa and Community Outreach. She had a booth set up to answer questions regarding the registering of Hawaiians. Our mahalo to her for coming to Chicago and giving us more information to bring back to the upper Midwest Hawaiian community in Minnesota. It took us seven hours to drive to Chicago and was well worth the joumey. Our journey took us to Aulani with her booth of Kau Inoa, aloha and knowledge. While many Hawaiians know their heritage from their parents and grandparents through oral history (we ean establish ours for eight generations), that is not enough. Now our work begins with documenting our genealogy. On the mainland, birth certificates do not identify a person's

race, so it takes more research. Aulani encouraged and inspired many of us to help other Hawaiians in Minnesota to officially register their names through the Kau Inoa effort. Aulani's aloha and generosity made our day. I might add that she kindly joined our extraordinary musicians, Ernie Kanoa, a guitarist with a beautiful falsetto voice, Kaleo Lee, guitarist, and Uluwehi Guerrero for a fun jam session. Mahalo, Maile Bell Hopkins, Minnesota

Ernie Kanoa, Aulani Apoliona and AAaile Bell, in August.