Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 7, 1 July 2016 — MACHADO, COLETTE (PIPIʻI) [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MACHADO, COLETTE (PIPIʻI)

>► Q1 RESPONSE: Your Board of Trustees must establish a strong fiscal sustainability plan to accommodate unplanned expenditures that provide on going services to its beneficiaries. Trustees must pledge to assure a strong and healthy organization along whh a solid bottom line in order to insure that

our constitutional and statutorily rights are acknowledged and upheld by the State of Hawai'i. Diminishing resources both at the State and Federal level places an undue burden on services to Hawaiians. OHA will be asked to fund unplanned expenditures. This includes litigation incurred in lawsuits resulting from OHA's perceived involvement. >► Q2 RESPONSE: Stay the course! OHAwas established by the 1978 Constitutional Convention to be a tmst vehicle to act on behalf of Native Hawaiians until a Native Hawaiian governing entity could be reestablished. Prior to and since OHA's ineephon, Native Hawaiians have fought for State and Federal recognition to protect our traditional and customary rights. There has been a few successes however, the pursuit of self governance and federal recognition has endured. Act 195, 2011 Hawaii Session Laws (Act 195) was created to recognize Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous, aboriginal, maoli population of Hawai'i. In Act 195, the State of Hawai'i made clear that it supports not only recognition, but also the self governance of Native Hawaiians. "It is....the States desire to support the continuing development of a reorganized Native Hawaiian goveming entity and ultimately, the federal recognition of Native Hawaiians". >► Q3 RESPONSE: Rely on ancestral knowledge and eommunal practices. Treasure your kūpuna. Keep your hands down, Hana kalima, building safe shelters classrooms and Hana ka 'aina, plant food to nourish the 'ohana. Aloha Ikekahikekahi, love one another. In Hana, Maui, Maka Hana Ka 'Ike (In Working One Learns), has developed eommunity based, culturally relevant programs. These young people who are turning to 'ike kūpuna to make life better for everyone from school age keiki to the kūpuna while improving their quality of life for their community. Also integrated into this program is a building program that has already constructed, 15 school buildings, 35 kūpuna cottages and mueh needed repairs and accessible improvements for the handicapped. Mahele Farm, sustainable 'āina to feed the community produced 24,000 lbs. of produce annually. All of whieh is distributed with aloha to those in need. Another connected component is the Ku'i Club whieh gathers ever Thursday with membership up to 35-40 students that prepare and pound their own fresh pa'i together. ■