Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 9, 1 September 2018 — Ke Au Hawai'i celebrates Hawaiian achievement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ke Au Hawai'i celebrates Hawaiian achievement

By Ka Wai Ola Staff More than 2,000 people eelebrated Native \ H a w a i i a n achievement at I the Ke Au Hawai 'i Festival on Aug. 4 at Aloha Stadium.

The festival is part of the "Year of the Hawaiian," an effort to recognize the Native Hawaiian community's accomplishments over the decades and to promote Hawai'i's indigenous people's continued pursuit of social justice. In addition, this year marks the anniversaries for many significant historical events in Hawai'i, including: > 240 years since the arrival of Captain Cook; >125 years since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom; >100 years since the establishment of the first Hawaiian Civic Club; > 40 years since the 1978 Constitutional Convention, whieh led to, among other major Hawaiian achievements, the establishment of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the designation of the Hawaiian language as a co-official language of the state; and > 25 years since the adoption of the Apology Resolution, through whieh the U.S. apologized for its role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Held one week before the election, the festival was an opportunity to promote civic engagement. After leading the audience in the I Ku Mau Mau chant, Aunty Vicky Holt-Takamine shared mo'olelo and encouraged everyone to make a difference in the community. "If all of our Hawaiians get out to vote, then we ean make a difference in every single race, in every community," she said. "So I am encouraging everyone to get out and vote," When it was his turn to take the stage, Unele Walter Ritte called out "Aloha 'Āina!" and the crowd echoed his chant. He went on to state, "Aloha 'Āina defeated the United States military on the island of Kaho'olawe!" After thanking the Hawaiians that got thousands of people together for the Ke Au Hawai'i Festival, Unele Walter called for Hawaiians to unite. He shared, "It's critical, it's really really critical, that we learn how to eome together. There are 250,000 of us in Hawai'i. If we ean learn to eome together, its gonna be unreal." The festival eame 30 years after more than 40,000 Native Hawaiians gathered at Aloha Stadium for Ho'olokahi, the culminating event of the first Year of the Hawaiian, whieh was designated by Gov. George Ariyoshi. This year has been designated "Year of the Hawaiian" by the OHA Board of Trustees via a resolution passed in January and by Gov. David Ige through a proclamation signed in February. Ke Au Hawai'i was sponsored by OHA, Kamehameha Schools, Kaiwi Entertainment, Hawai'i Tourism Authority, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and Hawai'i's Finest. ■

The Ke Au Hawai'i Festival featured performances by hula hōlau and music from Sudden Rush, Mana Maoli (Paula Fuga, Kimie Minerand Kaumaka'iwa Kanaka'ole) and Ekolu. ■ Photos: Koweno Corvolho-Mottos

'Ōlelo 53 will be rebroadcasting Ke Au Hawai'i - Year of the Hawaiian 201 8 on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m., Sept. 3 at 1 1 a.m., Sept. 1 4 at 1 0 p.m. and Sept. 1 7 at noon. On Demand online at olelo.org/olelonet.

Wahine Toa of Kail-ua-Kona, Hawai'i was just one of the amazing vendors from across the pae 'ōina Ihal attended the Ke Au Hawai'i Festival. The festival also featured 'ono food booths and information booths encouraging people to register and vote in the upcoming elections. ■ Photos: Aliee Silbanuz