Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 6, 1 June 2018 — PUNA: IN THE PATH OF PELE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PUNA: IN THE PATH OF PELE

y AINA > LAND AND WATER

By Treena Shapiro Editor's note: Historically, Puna on Hawai'i Island was known as Keahialaka. The plaee name translates to "the fire of Laka," who is identified in some mo'olelo as the child ofvolcano goddess Pele. The name is fittingfor a community that ean be reclaimed by Pele at any moment. An Office of Hawaiian Affairs Digital and Print Media team traveled to Hawai'i Island on May 15 to talk with residents in Puna affected by the ongoing eruption at Kilauea that began on May 3. At the time, 19 fissures had opened and 37 structures had been destroved, including 27 homes, and the eruption was still ongoing. At the time ofpublication, 23 fissures had opened, at least 82 structures had been claimed, more than 2,000 residents had evacuated and lava covered more than 1,700 acres. First-hand accounts from Puna beneficiaries are featured in the 'Ōiwi Voices of Puna video series on OHA's YouTube Channel: www.youtube. eom/OHAHawaii. Emergency relief information will be posted at www.oha. org/puna. Leialoha "Lei" Kaleimamahu was 17 when a lava flow burned through Kalapana in 1990, stopping just short of her 'ohana's compound in Kaimū. When her family returned after evacuating a eouple miles upcountry, Kaimū was no longer the beachside community they remembered. Lei has graciously offered to take us into deep Puna to see how the community has adapted three decades after Pele destroyed more than 200 structures and created 443 acres of new 'āina between July 1986 and February 1992. Puna residents can't eontrol Pele's movements, but Kaimū gives us a glimpse of what ean happen after the lava hardens. "We're giving the next generation an opportunity to see this time," Lei says. "Through that scope, through our eyes now, what do we want them to see? What else do we want them to hope for? That's what we gotta write. That's what we gotta sing." MOKUHULU Our first stop is in Mokuhulu, where Lei's family stayed as the Pele's (magma) movement buried Kalapana. There's volcanic activity nearby but it's hard to tell in this lush, verdant space, dense with trees bearing 'ulu, noni, mango, lemon and lychee. Lei leads us to a kuahu in her great-great-great-great grandmother's yard and as we

stand in front of the stone altar, she explains, "What we pule for is our 'āina, the longevity of our land, even if it means we have to detach. But for the long-term, for our kids and their kids, the 'āina will be here. And as long as the Pele is going, it speaks to longevity." These words are even more profound when we consider them in Kaimū. KAIMŪ Our destination is at the end of 01d Kalapana Road, across the street from Unele Robert's Awa Bar and Fanners' Market and

over a shimmering expanse of hardened pāhoehoe lava. We've just started following a red cinder path that winds through the lava field when Lei mentions the land is only about three decades old, created when Pele filled in a popular black sand beach and Left Point surf break. We're still several minutes from the new coastline. The walk takes us past young 'ulu and niu that were planted by Lei's 'ohana and 'ama'u ferns that have taken root in the cracks all on their own. Lei stops at a small 'ōhia, a plant that usually takes a long time to establish, especially on fresh lava. "This is inspiring because it tells me something is going on in the 'āina," Lei says. We're reminded that Puna's vast 'ōhia forests grew out of similar lava fields, helping us imagine a Kaimū as green as Mokuhulu. Lei doesn't want to belittle the hardship of those who have been displaced or lost homes, and she recognizes that not every-

one will want to rebuild in Puna. But Kaimū ean inspire those who want to return, as her 'ohana did in the '90s. "We decided to grow

again, we just decided to plant again. We decided to live again. We decided to do all those things," she says. Whatever decision Puna residents make, Lei says, "At the end you'll have this experienee to speak of and stand on." PĀHOA INTERMEDIATE & HIGH SCH00L We leave the ealm of Kaimū and head back to Pāhoa to talk with staff and students at the After-School All-Stars program, whieh receives grant funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The school is open the day

we're there but dangerous levels of volcanic emissions have closed the campus before and after our visit. Site coordinator Tiana Wong estimates only onethird of students have returned to school since the eruption began. "The ones who do eome to school and they tell us their stories, it's really hard to hear. It's heartbreaking. We're a family here at school, even in the after-school program. To see them going through this at such a young age, it's just really sad," says Tiana, who lives in Hilo. Twelve-year-old Naiah Pacarro-Friend has been staying with her grandmother

in Kurtistown since her 'ohana evacuated from Leilani Estates. When we talked with Naiah, her house was still standing but uninhabitable, "There's big huge cracks around the whole entire house and underneath the house," she says, describing an emotional scene that brought her to tears. "Our house was sinking and there's vents coming out of the driveway still." Lenissa Morante, also 12, lives outside of the evacuation zone but her grandfather's house in Leilani Estates is gone. She and other family members pitched in to hurriedly paek up the house as lava approached. "All I was doing was grabbing the things they needed and every time I would walk through the house, I would always feel upset and pieture all those happy memories I had there," she recounts. Her aunt Kahealani Walker, who works at the Pāhoa school, lived in the house for 28 years and was grieving its loss even before the lava claimed it. A laek of information made

Leialoha Kaleimamahu stands on 'ōina created when a lava flow filled in a popular hlaek sand heaeh and surf break in Kaimū in the lale 1 980s and early '90s. The current eruption could change Kaimū's landscape onee again, so Lei is documenting the area as it is today to preserve memories for future generations. Lei's mom did the same when she wrote the mele "Aloha Kaimū," whieh gives Lei's nieces and nephews a spiritual eonneelion to a plaee buried under more Ihan 50 feet of lava. ■ Photo:Kawena Carvalho-Mattos

the experience even more harrowing - her family couldn't tell if their home was still standing until Puna resident Ikaika Marzo posted video of lava fountaining in back of the house. On Kahea's last trip into Leilani Gardens, lava flowed on both sides of her house and the street was impassable from the front, forcing Kahea and her sister to cut through bushes and cross a vacant lot to reach their property. Kahea didn't enter the house but was able to rescue a dog that had jumped out of the car during the evacuation. "We're slowly becoming okay with the idea that if she does take the house, it's okay," she says. "In Hawaiian culture, the land doesn't belong to us as kanaka, it belongs to our gods and goddesses so we're okay if Pele decides she wants to take our house." Pele did, less than a week later.

PU'UHONUA 0 PUNA In Pāhoa, Pu'uhonua o Puna has become a hub for donations, displaced residents and volunteers. A regular fixture there is Ikaika Marzo, whose camerawork has helped Leilani Estates residents, and the rest of the world, find out what's happening in that neighborhood. The 34-year-old lava boat tour operator started monitoring conditions when a series of earthquakes signaled a possible eruption. "From a normal person perspective, the feeling is excitement," Ikaika says, noting that the eruption is more explosive than he's used to seeing. "You don't see this anywhere in the world. It's awesome being next to that." But it's an emotional time for Puna residents, especially those who lost homes. "They still need help, information, updates about what's happening in their communities. People keep asking me what's going on. It eame to the point where I was the No. 1 guy for our community." It's an honor, but Ikaika points out that Puna residents need answers from the govemment. "I'm not a state official but people are asking me, so I'm trying to give the best answers I ean eome up with," he says. "We need answers from our govemment. We need government cooperation. To me, that's what's required." Pi'ilani Ka'awaloa, who grew up in Kalapana and continues to live in Puna, volunteers at the pu'uhonua when she ean. Many of the community's immediate food and hygiene needs are being met. When we're there, batteries, tents, dog food, first aid supplies and respirators are still in demand but the hub is at capacity for women's clothes, diapers, shoes and children's toys. SEE PUNA LAVA ON PAGE 22

The needs aren't all material. Pressing concems include air quality, access where lava has flowed across roads, and housing - both temporary and permanent - for those who have been displaced. Pi'ilani hopes FEMA will provide assistance and that land will be donated to those who need to rebuild, as happened after the lava flow in the 1990s. Insurance companies are already coming in to help, Pi'ilani says, and she'd like to see Ananeial institutions follow. Community members also want to tap into the relief dollars they've heard are being accepted at banks and through other organizations, she says. The emption has galvanized the community. "It will change the dynamic of how people think and how people feel," Pi'ilani says. "This is the true essence of aloha kekahi i kekahi, mālama kekahi i kekahi, and helping out people." ■

PUNA LAVA

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