Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 2, 1 February 2012 — Land as sovereignty [ARTICLE]

Land as sovereignty

By Kevin Chang / / I I ighest and best I I use" is the appraisal-indus-I I try termmeaning I I the legally, financially and physically possible use that produces the greatest net return from the land over a given period. Eeonomie measurements like this, the GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, and the GNP, Gross National Product, provide the rationale for policymakers to eall for increased consumerism and eeonomie growth as an indicator of potential increased benefits to a society. A current measurement of our "developed" world in the period of the last two to three years has compelled many to rellect on what we care most about. Given the current eeonomie strife one might think that what we "value" just disappeared into a vacuum. Fortunately not all value is created equal, and at OHA we try to make this the point of our daily hana (work). For OHA Land and Property Management, the kumuhana (subject) of "highest and best use" is a multifaceted kuleana. In the new year, it is a time to rellect on our hana to learn from what we have experienced and work to renew that whieh has worked to feed us. As David Malo wrote in Hawaiian Antiquities\ E ke akua, he pule ia e holoi ana i ka pō'ino o ka 'āina a me ke pale a'e i pau ko ka 'āina haumia He pule ia e ho'opau ana i na hewa o ka 'āina āpau Oh God, this is a prayer to wash away all iniquity from the ianā, to ward off and end the

contamination ofthe land. This is a prayer to end the mistakes done to all the land I pau ke a'e, me ke kawau I pau ke kulopia, a me ka peluluka I pau a hulialana A laila niho peku, hoemu, huikala, malapakai, Kamauli hou i ke akua. So that the bitterness may be over. The ground will be covered with greenery, leaves and vines, and we may offer again our prayers ofthanks to you for abundance. Contrary to cable news and punditry, governance is not just about the abundance of money or laek thereof. The impetus for governance, like economics, is people, their values and quality of life. Financial capital and/or measurements of concentrated wealth alone - as we see in the news today - are inadequate indicators for making decisions about our quality of life or values for that matter. What does 'āina have to do with this? In 'ŌiwiMaolitimes (aboriginal populahon only) among the people of Oeeania and Nā Kai 'Ewalu (our eight oceans) the meaning of wealth and progress were defined more broadly. The 'Ōiwi Maoli world was built on wealth expressed as "waiwai," an abundance of water and other lifegiving resources, a time tested land- and resource-management system bolstered by a strategic vision of ' āina momona - a land of natural abundance - a self-reliant people and a high quality of life. Hawaiian people, like many other aboriginal communities around

the world, didn't know they were "poor" until they bumped up against folks from the west. From that meeting, self-reliance took a back seat to social and eeonomie integration into an increasingly growing consumerdriven society. Kanaka 'Ōiwi had an ethic whieh stated that "highest and best use" included the wisdom of reciprocity. "Aloha kekahi i kekahi" was a fundamental value in the relationships among people and the natural world. It was fundamental to a vision of lōkahi, striving for a state of balance with the natural world. Regeneration, rest and restoration (collectively actions that create value) were understood as necessary aspects of our ecosystem and an integral aspect of the Hawaiian ethical system. Value extraction alone is not the measurement of a healthy Hawaiian community, value creation is an often ignored side of the eoin. This understanding is set forth in OHA's mission, strategic plan andreal estate vision mission strategy. As the steward of 27,657 acres of land, OHA works to put self-governance into practice. It is not easy given the task and the times we are in. With the ahupua'a land-management system as a paradigm, OHA seeks to manage its land in a culturally, environmentally and economically sustainable way. The acquisition and management of land in trust for Hawaiians ean serve many governmental functions, including the following: » It creates a vision and landscape of inHuenee for a future nation; » It symbolizes and manifests control over the destiny of some of our collective resources; » It expands the inHuenee of our beneficiaries' heritage among all lands in Hawai'i; » It inspires the collective conscience of our community;

» In time it will provide a plethora of social, cultural, health and eeonomie opportunities for our beneficiaries in a balanced and sustainable manner; » It provides opportunity to create measurable standards and best-management practices that embody the values of our ancestors and the aspirations of Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Ka pae 'āina sustainability) and all of Hawai'i. Collectively these functions help us to understand the increased inHuenee OHA ean wield through "ownership" that is most important toward systematically creating a positive and sustainable future for our beneficiaries and their heritage lands. Incremental and strategic advances in land ownership increase OHA's ability to restore Hawaiian practices, values and relationships with the natural

world. In the new year let us extend our vision beyond the consumerism of the holidays and back toward aloha for eaeh other as we seek ancestral wisdom and the sustainable tools and technology of our time to build a nation that feeds us for generations beyond our limited horizon. The "highest and best use" of what we have is to realize first that we are wealthy. We do not just earn or build wealth, sometimes we eome to it. It is from here that we should engage the new year. Pūpūkahi i holomua e ho'okanaka - Let us unite to bring out the best in ourselves. I Kevin Chang wrote this pieee while sen>ing as the Land Manager of OHA. He is now the Executive Director of the Hawai'i Community Stewardship Network.

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