Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 4, 1 April 2013 — As policymakers, we need to see things firsthand [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

As policymakers, we need to see things firsthand

Aloha from Kaua 'i and Ni'ihau! My thanks this month go to Trustee Hulu Lindsey of Maui and Trustee Bob Lindsey of Hawai'i Island. They served as generous and gracious hosts for me earlier this year while I went on site visits to their islands and met with beneficiaries. I hope we Neighbor Island trustees, along with Trustee Colette Machado of Moloka'i and

Lāna'i, ean continue to effectively be the voice of - and champions for - specific initiatives on our islands as well as OHA's broader advocacy work on the statewide and national levels. As policymakers, we need to see things firsthand. You see, when we open our eyes, we ean open our hearts and minds. Our Neighbor Islands, while unique, also have shared struggles and similar opportunities. Those site visits were helpful for me to understand how other islands have similar issues to my own, as well as to identify ways we ean all work eollahoratively to address the great needs of our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Our Maui visits included talk story sessions with the staff of Liko A'e Native Hawaiian Leadership Program (likoae.org), the staff and members of Paukūkalo Boys & Girls Club, and Maui Eeonomie Opportunity's Ke Kahua project that joined youth groups and former inmates to plant Native Hawaiian food plants in Waihe'e. We also toured Palauea, a 20-acre property near Mākena that OHA agreed to accept as a donation in 2012 and that will be maintained as a cultural preserve, and then we drove by the Auwahi Wind Farm in 'Ulupalakua. On Moku O Keawe, we visited Mauna Kea and the 8.2-meter opticalinfrared Subaru Telescope thanks to the Office of Mauna Kea Management and Institute for Astronomy. It was my first time to the mountain and the feeling of awe one experiences at almost 14,000 feet, while realizing

that our ancestors managed to trek up there on foot to bury iwi, will literally leave you breathless. The 'Imiloa Astronomy Center (imiloahawaii. org) provided additional history and understanding of Mauna Kea and I recommend it to anyone who visits Hilo, whether or not you visit the mountain. I also got to see the Puna Geothermal Venture facility and their energy-

producing technology. Taken together, it's clear to me that many people, both Native Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian, are working hard to raise up the Native Hawaiian eommunity. As an OHA trustee, I want to find ways to duplicate these successes so that we ean move our people forward. We also have to find ways to make these programs sustainable so that they aren't always in the perpetual pursuit of more funding to keep their doors open. One more thing these trips highlighted for me are our increasing energy needs and how we need to find a way to strike a delicate halanee when pursuing alternative energy like wind, hydro-, solar and geothermal against the backdrop of Native Hawaiian cultural concerns as well as environmental issues. Our energy demands aren't going down, yet our community is often in opposition to some of these projects, for a variety of reasons. I hope we ean find a way to work together to solve this issue in a culturally acceptable way. Like I said, it's important we saw these things with our own eyes. I'm grateful I did. And finally this month, I want to send a special shout-out to the students, parents and staff of Hālau Kū Māna New Century Puhlie Charter School for receiving the Strive HI Award that recognizes the top 5 percent of puhlie schools for demonstrating growth and academic achievement in reading and math on the Hawai'i State Assessment from 2010 to 2012. Maika'i! ■

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Dan Ahuna TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau