Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 8, 1 March 2019 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

t 'ŌLELO A KA LUNA HO'OKELE V * MESSAGE FROM THE CEO r

'T H E SUCCESS 0F OUR NAĪION STARTS WITH US'

Hānau ka 'āina, hānau ke ali'i, hānau ke kanaka Born was the land, born were the chiefs, born were the eommon people. The lanel, the chiefs, anel the commoners belong together. 'Ōlelo Noe'au #466

Prior to Western eontact, we were a nation of almost a million strong thriving on a remote archipelago in the middle of the vast Paeihe. How was this possible? The answer is found in the collective brilliance of our Lāhui and our traditions. Our mo'okūauhau not only connected the chiefs with the commoners, but also the kanaka with the land, the water, the animals and plants. Our culture dictated that pono was achieved when all of those in this genealogy reciprocally cared for eaeh other. With this cultural worldview serving as a guide, our kūpuna developed advanced systems of sustainability that protected the 'āina while supporting the people. Our ancestors preserved the watershed, whieh brought water to the lo'i in the valleys, whieh then returned water to the streams. The stream water then replenished the estruaries with nutrients that helped sustain the fish being raised in the loko i'a. It was a remarkably efficient

system that fed our people by optimizing the use of the resources without waste. This is why the Hawaiian word 'āina - encompassing the land, water and oeean - means that whieh feeds. The introduction of Western concepts in the 18th century shattered this harmony. Natural resource exploitation, capitalism and private property led to the alienahon of our people from the 'āina, and the 'āina from us. To make matters worse, the overthrow of our native kingdom devastated the collective pschye of our Lāhui, and the trauma from this injustice has afflicted Native Hawaiians for generations. The fracturing of this native order has led to today's dire state of the Lāhui and kanaka Hawai'i. Our land and water, whieh we sustainably managed for centuries and to whieh we have genealogical ties, are now controlled by others for others. This hurts our environment, whieh then hurts our eulture, whieh then hurts the well-being of our people. When there is no water in the streams, the lo'i, loko i'a and estruaries cannot produce sufficient food for the Lāhui. It should be no wonder then that Native Hawaiians are located at the bottom of nearly every socio-economic, educational and heahh statistic in Hawai'i. So how do we make this pono? As the 'Ōlelo Noe'au above explains, the 'āina and kanaka

belong together. While we ean seem like a divided people, we really do not differ on many issues. Our culture and mo'okūauhau still connect us. And most importantly, we all want what is best

for our Lāhui. Where we sometimes disagree is whieh path to take to achieve what is best for our Lāhui. But there are very few of these disagreements. We need to approach these disagreements

understanding that we are on the same side. Let's find eommon ground, show eaeh other aloha and holomua together. If we tear eaeh other down ^

over these few differences, those who actually want to hurt the Lāhui win. . United, we have the political mana to l effectuate change. We have the mana to 1

reclaim our land and water so we ean support our culture, whieh in turn will , provide for our people. Ultimately, the I success of our nation starts with us. ■ '

'O au iho no me ke aloha a me ka , 'oia'i'o, J

Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. I Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer 1