Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 3, 1 March 2016 — OHA makes ‘ahu ‘ula return a priority [ARTICLE]

OHA makes ‘ahu ‘ula return a priority

By KWO Staff Since Kalani'ōpu'u's 'ahu 'ula and mahiole were put on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa nearly 18 years ago, many Hawaiians have made a pilgrimage to the nahonal museum in Wellington. Among them were Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA's Ka Pouhana and CEO, although he hadn't yet joined OHA when he composed and performed a chant for the 'aha'ula's redisplay at Te Papa's opening in 1998, or when he returned with a group in 2004 to conduct an 'awa ritual before it - and to request its retum. Speaking about why he was drawn to the mea kapu in New Zealand and driven to see the items retumed home, Crabbe explained, "It is important because of the mana, the spiritual sacredness of these heirlooms that are connected to one of Hawai'i Island's most paramount chiefs. They were part of the history that catapulted our ancestors as an indigenous and native populahon of what we now know as Hawai'i because of Kalani'ōpu'u's contact with Captain Cook." Crabbe said these treasures ean connect us to Kalani'ōpu'u, the individual and the warrior chief, but they ean also connect Hawaiians and the greater Hawai'i puhlie to the ancestral past. "That Hawaiian ali'i leader continues to inspire us in the 20th century to strive for our self-deter-minahon and reclaim our ancestral sovereignty," Crabbe said. OHA Community Engagement Director Mehana Hind also saw the 'ahu 'ula and mahiole at Te Papa prior to her affiliation with OHA, while she was still in college. "Since it was at Te Papa, Hawaiians have steadily over the years gone down and made it known, 'This should eome home, this should eome home, this should eome home,"' said Hind, a lineal descendant of Kalani'ōpu'u. It wasn't until 2014 that the hope of seeing the treasures repatriated started to be realized. Early that year, Noelle Kahanu, of Bishop Museum, and Maile Andrade, a fiber artist, were in Cambridge, England, for a

museum conference where they met Sean Mallon, Paeihe curator for Te Papa. As they talked, the possibility of retuming Kalani'ōpu'u's feathered eape and helmet was raised and Mallon suggested that the time was right for the request. Later that year, Andrade and Hind, a kumu hula, were both part of a group of Bishop Museum staff and cultural practitioners who traveled to Australia and New Zealand to survey collections of Hawaiian artifacts on an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant. The trip took them to Te Papa, where they met with Arapata Hakiwai, who was then interimCEO. Hakiwai, a Maori, talked about retuming the eape in his opening greeting, whieh the delegation was quick to follow up on. Hind had been traveling with the group as a kumu hula, not representing OHA, and another member on the trip was counsel for Bishop Museum. Hind switched hats, telling Hakiwai, "I can't speak on behalf of OHA, but let me take this back to our CEO, let me take this back to our Ka Pouhana and I'm almost positive we're going to get a positive reaction from him. We just have to figure out the details," recalled Hind. Crabbe was more than receptive, immediately reaching out to Bishop Museum and Te Papa and finding them both to be willing partners, even after Rick Ellis was named Te Papa's new CEO. Crabbe also lined up the significant resources necessary to bring the items home and his persistence kept the transfer from falling to the wayside. "It was like the stars aligned," said Hind. "He's now the leadership of an organization that actually make it happen, so it's our leveraging power and our negotiating power with other entities to make it happen." Hind notes that not all sacred items are being returned from Te Papa and that other artifacts are housed elsewhere. "We have to voice our thoughts every time we go to a museum these days," she said. "Maybe 10, 20 years fromnow we'll start to see a bit more of this." ■