Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 July 2011 — on land and at sea [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

on land and at sea

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inwhile, Maui artisan Jim Heiught the youngsters how to :heir own wooden paddles. nu 'Ōlelo Robinson recalled rom age 8 to 19, 1 never had vn paddle." So the youths ig their own blades - "that's me," she said. tyn said of the 2010 Lāna'i [ got to use my paddle that I vhen we went. And I also got :e my own steering blade for 'hieh was also a great experiecause now that I know how :e paddles, I wish to teach all unger generation." •e than two dozen youths the 13-mile cross-channel from Lahaina to Lāna'i last took us about four hours," rez said. "We just went from a'ō'ō Beach Park right into e Bay. The kids brought their ;nts and camped." ei Canoe Club veteran padKimokeo Kapahulehua, a ;r of the Hawaiian Outrigger Voyaging Society and Vice ent of Hui O Wa'a Kaulua, eaded the Lāna'i voyage and ition efforts. Gutierrez serves unteer Executive Director of Wa'a Kaulua, whose memiught the Kīhei youths eleof celestial navigating and iding. I, eaeh youth picked five oli ; or she could present solo, as f traditional protocol for the tyn said the interisland padpecially "to experience water ;s . . . was very neat." ey have so mueh planned for īe added about her 15-and-crew. "We 15-girls are going Big Island for long-distance then we are going to voyage he Big Island back to Maui." vmate Lea replied: "I want to

paddle all the channels. That's one of my aoals."

As the ko'i was an ancient canoe-building tool, so the Na'auao I Na 'Ōpio O Maui program is an instrument

to create cultural pride. The initiative will eulminate at an upcoming community presentation, during whieh the youths will showcase their oli, hula, handcarved paddles and implements, and photos of their activities. "They've grown not

only in the culture but in themselves," Gutierrez

said. Gutierrez, an 1 l-year paddler relishes "seeing the kids changing and realizing the values of the eanoe. He wa'a he moku — the eanoe is an island ... where we must look out for one another. We all have jobs. As it is on land is just what it is in the eanoe. "Not all of them get it, but part of them get it," she said. "Seeing that light bulb turn on is my favorite part of all this." As steerswoman, Lea said: "I have learned so many chants (and) lead-

ing a chant just feels incredible. "It's the power of aloha in every single one of our keiki. Our coaches just taught us how to use that power together." ■ Kekoa Enomolo is a retired copy editor and Staff Writer with The Maui News and the former Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

(( T have learned so many chants X (and) leading a chant just feels incredible. It s the power of aloha in every single one of our keiki. Our coaches just taught us how to use that power together." — Lealanimelemoana " Lea " Galvin

LEFT: 'Anela Gutierrez is Director of the Na'auao I Na 'Ōpio 0 Maui program that adds Hawaiian-lan-guage and other cultural components to the decades-long outrigger-racing tradition of Kihei Canoe Club. INSET: Dozens of Kihei Canoe Club youths chant and hold hands around an ahu, or altar, of pōhaku, to open practice. T0P: Brandon ūelapenia, left, Marvene Yadao and John Paul Corpuz use kaula, or cordage, to attach an 'iako (outrigger boom) to a wa'a, or eanoe, while practice-rigging a eanoe. AB0VE: Unele Kalei Olsen looks on as Kapi'o Gutierrez, left, and John Paul Corpuz power their blades through standing water in a Kīhei Canoe Club training tank while practicing stroke technique and timing.