Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 7, 1 July 2014 — ʻAHA WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR WIDE-RANGING DISCUSSION [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAHA WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR WIDE-RANGING DISCUSSION

Aloha mai kākou,

Building a nation is all about possibilities for the future. And while we are reflecting on the past and the illegal overthrow of the nation and those implications today, we must spend more time thinking about how a nation will better our lives for the future. Rather than thinking about the form of a government, we need to be thinking of the substance of a new government, the values and principles of responsible leadership, and of prudent fiscal accountability. We need to figure out how we ean include all people's ideas and to shape a society where we ean all truly thrive. We need to decide how the values we hold dearly will become part of the principles of a nation. For instance, when you think about a land base for a nation, you need to make conscious decisions about how mueh land you would use for housing, agriculture, commercial and other uses. What kind of agriculture is desirable? Organic? Diversified agriculture? How will our economy and workforce be tied to the land? What is responsible growth? How will we educate our children? Can we figure out a way for them to have an incentive to give back to our nation by providing incentives to the best and brightest to be key contributors to Hawai'i? These are things the Hawaiian people must address together as part

of an 'aha. In a way, we have a unique opportunity. We ean learn from other governments on what worked and what didn't. We ean create a government that is responsive to the community and reflects our Hawaiian values. We ean tell the delegates to the 'aha how we want our government to run, what services we expect will be provided to the citizens and how we will pay for those services. But most of all, we ean become more sustainable. We ean work together to find a way to produce more of our food needs. We ean

make sure our goods and services are homegrown. This will keep more of our money at home, not exported never to flow back into our community. In order to seriously consider these questions, I am consider-

ing creating think tanks, capturing the best and brightest Hawai'i has to offer to consider these issues and find ways to improve our quality of life. In this way, we have an opportunity to make Native Hawaiians and all of Hawai'i stronger and a better plaee for everyone to live. 'O au iho nō me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o, Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer

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