Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2010 — ʻAha Kāne: embracing the past, to ensure a better future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAha Kāne: embracing the past, to ensure a better future

By Howard Dashefsky More than 700 men of Native Hawaiian descent took some time off to disconnect from everyday modern life in an effort to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage. For three days, the men and boys took part in cultural events, games and traditional activities as part of the second 'Aha Kāne at Windward Community College in Kāne'ohe - a men's conference aimed at strengthening the male role, at home, at work and in their community.

"Native Hawaiians have gone through a lot of challenges historically," said OHA Research Director and conference co-director Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe. "As a elinieal psychologist, I have worked throughout the state and I have seen many of the difficulties people face economically and physically. I have also witnessed the disintegration of their 'ohana. 'Aha Kāne is an attempt to address some of those challenges at a grassroots level and to look to our cultural heritage for solutions, to inspire and be a heaeon for what the possibilities are." Crabbe says one of the biggest challenges is how to keep the younger generation, who are so wired in to the present, in touch with their past. "That's the very reason we gathered so many cultural practitioners and historians - to provide a venue ... for the youth of Hawai'i to find

therr own path and to seek that eonnection with the past, the present and with society," Crabbe said. Kaliko Baker attended the conferenee with his son Kaipu. Although Kaipu attends a Hawaiian immersion school and speaks his native language at home, he sees the importance of 'Aha Kāne. "I do have an understanding of the culture," said Kaipu. "But I do thinkit's important to eonhnue to leam and get as mueh information as possible." Like most 12-year-olds, Kaipu is connected to the present, literally. From iPods and video games to eell phones and the Internet. For dad, the challenge is keeping his son equally grounded in what eame before. "I want him to see, for both of us to see, what Hawaiian men are doing with various cultural practices around the islands so he ean see another side of what it means to be Kanaka, Hawaiian," said Kaliko Baker. "It's extremely important because if we don't uphold it now, it will be parallel to what heeame of the Hawaiian language. If we eonhnue to let practices slide and go by the wayside, then we all suffer." The conference, held every four years, was the second 'Aha Kāne. Work will soon begin on planning the next conference in 2014. But whatever might change between now and then, the mission of 'Aha Kāne will remain the same. "We want participants to understand how important it is to maintain a connection to our past," said Crabbe. "If you have a good strong cultural identity as a person, as a Hawaiian, and you understand what your responsibilities are as a father, husband and contributing member of the community, hopefully that gives you a better foundation for pursuing education and a professional career so that you ean be a more positive inhuenee on others." ■ Howard Dashefsky is a eontributing writer for Ka Wai Ola. A 25-year veteran in broadcast news, he teaches journalism at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa and produces shows for OC 16.

Kaliko Baker brought his son Kaipu to the 'Aha Kāne conference so he could see another facet of what it means to be Hawaiian. - Photo: Howard Dashefsky