Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 2, 1 February 2014 — The Kauaʻi Museum: Honoring our past, celebrating our present and preparing for our future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Kauaʻi Museum: Honoring our past, celebrating our present and preparing for our future

Aloha from Kaua'i and Ni'ihau! Mahalo this month to the members, staff, leaders and friends of the Kaua'i Museum (www.kauai museum.org) for inviting me to give the keynote address at their Open House in January. You ean visit them at 4428 Rice St. in Llhu'e where they are open Monday through

Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Kama'āina admission is just $8 and individual membership starts at just $25 per year. Mueh of what I shared with the Kaua'i Museum 'ohana is included in this eolumn. As we approach the 54th year since its opening, the Kaua'i Museum continues to serve as one of the best places to go to leam about Kaua'i's and Ni'ihau's past, present and future. The Kaua'i Museum successfully strives to celebrate the history and culture of our islands' immigrant and indigenous ancestors and create an understanding to better our future. With leaders like Board President (and former Mayor) Maryanne Kusaka, Museum Director Jane Gray and others at the helm, it is on course to be around for another 54 years. For us as Hawaiians, honoring the past is one of our greatest eultural traditions. We look to the past to inform our decisions today, to impact our future. It's just who we are and what we do. And that is one of the first things the Kaua'i Museum does. It does this with artifacts held in its collections and with facts and analysis to explain the history and historical significance of an item. I've told people that an informed community is a successful one. And the Kaua'i Museum serves as a resource to building up the Hawaiian culture, the host culture of Hawai'i. I have known this from friends who use the resources of the Kaua'i Museum to help with

current cultural projects. Our Hawaiian ancestors were always curious and innovative - and that spirit continues today. Linking the past, present and future in your daily operations is no easy feat, yet that is exactly what the Kaua'i Museum accomplishes every single day. When dedicated and inspired people get up every day and devote themselves to something, that

is when amazing things happen. I know that is true here, as well as at two other projects I am a big supporter of: Kāneiolouma Heiau in Po'ipū that is literally building and rebuilding a cultural treasure and the High Tech Youth Network that empowers young people and underserved communities with its mission of applying culture to drive technology. When I think about what the Kaua'i Museum does, what is happening at Kāneiolouma and what the High Tech Youth Network is trying to achieve, it is simple: restoration. For us, in Hawai'i, since 1893, we have been struggling to restore our people to what we were before our sovereign Kingdom was overthrown. We have to find ways to duplicate successes like these so that we ean move our community forward. In the years ahead, I hope OHA ean partner with the Kaua'i Museum to allow future keiki to visit, learn, explore and celebrate everything that is Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. That is something we ean all be proud of. Finally, here's a shout-out to the 24 OHA employees who were recently recognized for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of service to Hawaiians: Aunty Gladys, Paulette, Kathy, Roy, Jim, Nathan, Melis, Maria, Kalani, Dede, Shannon, Colleen, Robert, Charene, Hawley, Laurene, Momi, Nola, Capsun, Lisa, John, Scott, Jerome, and Kaiwi Nui. Maika'i! Mahalo nui loa ! ■

Dan Ahuna TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau