Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 6, 1 June 2011 — Working for and among Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Working for and among Hawaiians

Aloha Mai Kākou, Kudos is deserved for those who help to write and publish Ka Wai 01 a.

and I don't say this beeause my faee was plastered all over the last issue but beeause a number of friends have eonunented to me about the "new" Ka Wai 01 a. I give Denise Iseri-Matsubara and her erew credit for bringing OHA a professional face and providing an informative resource for

all who take the time to read it. Besides including more pictures, the fonnat now provides for sections aligned with OHA's Strategic Priority areas: Eeonomie Self-Sufficiency, Heahh, Culture, Education, Governance and Land & Water. It begins with the CEO's message and ends with us Trustees . The inclusion of "Ho'olaupa'i" shows that our ancestors were indeed a literate society via important Hawai'i literary pieces written in 'ōlelo Hawai'i. From business professionals and flight attendants to family and friends, I continue to receive unsolicited conunents conunending OHA for our mueh improved publication. Besides receiving it in the mail [subscriptions, (808) 594-1888], it ean be accessed online at www. oha.org. Be sure while you're at it to eheek out the online calendar of events and if your Native Hawaiian organization has a function coming up, contact Isaiah Ka'aihue at isaiahk@oha. org to get on the calendar. This is a direct result of a small group of Hawaiians who though not in agreement with OHA on most issues have worked with us on issues upon whieh we ean agree. The online calendar is our first

project. Next we are looking at kalo recognition here in Hawai'i. Kalo is the root of our Hawaiian culture but few appreciate its significance to our land.

our people, our heritage and our culture. We hope to hold a video contest whieh would help focus attention on kalo and follow up with a campaign to have every household in Hawai'i grow a kalo plant. A third initiative was to have been the creation of a repository for Hawaiian writing, doc-

uments and paraphernalia, whieh would assemble the brunt of Hawaiian knowledge in one location. This effort has been largely addressed by the OHA Papakilo Database project under the supervision of Kale Hannahs whieh has already begun via partnerships and other agreements to collect Hawaiian information into one central database online for all to access and use. I appreciate the input and patience of those on our "Summit" committee, including Dennis Ragsdale, Lynette Cruz, Kaleo Paik, Kealii Makekau, Poka Laenui, lean Rasor, Sterling Ing, Dirk Soma and Ike Ka'aihue. It has been a good experience working together with them rather than against them. True we still disagree on most issues, but we do agree on some issues and have found it to not only our mutual benefit to work together but also to the benefit of all Hawaiians. I look forward to a continuing working relationship with this group on matters that will better the conditions of our people while acknowledging all of our brothers and sisters in Hawai'i and in our nation. Mahalo to all who assist us in our mission and duty to the Native Hawaiian people. ■

Būyd P. Mūssman VicE Chair, TrustEE, Maui