Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 9, 1 September 2019 — From prisoner to warrior [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

From prisoner to warrior

By Kawena Lei Caravalho-Mattos Earlier this year, reader Kelena K. Nēula wrote to Ka V'": uu i inia yc-u.r , rcuucr i\.crcriu i\. ivcwru wiuie iu i\.u r

Ola staff about the cultural classes he leaā at Kālani Correctional Faciiity and currently at Maui Community Correctional Facility. His experience offers a unique and inspiring perspective of kānaka eonneehon to eulture behind bars. Gathered in a grassy field, Kelena Kamamalāhoe 'O Kamehameha Nēula proudly stands surrounded by his haumāna ( students) as they open the Makahiki in ceremony. After weeks of practicing, the pa'ahao (prisoners) joined together in oli and dance to weleome in the new season. Like the Makahiki, so began the renewed path ahead for Nēula. Nēula's decades-long journey as a pa'ahao has taken him across the Pacific to prisons in Arizona and back home in Hawai'i. During the years he served time, Nēula drew upon his connection to his Hawaiian culture to reflect on his life choices and change his ways moving 1 V11VVL V 1 1 111,1 111 V VII V 1VVU VII 1 VI VllVlllv_.V 111.1 1 » J 1 1 1 V ' V 111 V,

forward. "The importance of being a Native Hawaiian in prison starts with humility, ha'aha'a," said Nēula. "Being able to

be corrected. For me its more of reconnecting and accepting obedience, than to lead not follow." V af u7ifKi tno rr/~»ol /~»t ror» ah n anfi n rr Atnai*c Manln n/iin tol/ac

on the role of Alaka'i (leader) and teaches Hawaiian culturebased classes in the prison system in whieh he was onee a

part. Nēula's style of dancing is ha'a koa (dance of warriors), whieh is rooted in traditional Hawaiian practices, including lua, hula, and oli. To dance ha'a koa, Nēula requires inmates take on the kuleana of pū'ali koa (warriors) by being in full control of their body from their breathing to the steps that they take. Ha'a koa empowers the pa'ahao to help them overcome addiction and prepare for the difficult journey of self-growth ahead of them. When asked how he feels his classes impact his students, Nēula shares "my students change from uneducated to educated: 'ohana strong and culture deep. Inmates make the best of themselves learning who they are behind prison walls, so that when they are out, they know where they're headed." "Kelena Nēula inspired many MCC inmates to participate in Hawaiian cultural classes," says MCC Warden Deborah Taylor. "He taught them Makahiki and they practiced every morning. Their recent passionate performance was a beautiful thing to watch as these men regained their cultural identity. Nēula is doing well in our work furlough program ' and when he eventually paroles out we hope he ean eome back as a volunteer and eonhnue to teach Hawaiian cultural practices."

"We would like to thank all who have believed in us, who have afforded us the time to practice," says Nēula. He looks forward to continuing classes in the future.B

Pō'ūli koa of Kulani Correctional Facility gathered in Nomember of 2018 to open the Makahiki in ceremony. Jordan l'i, John Boy Kahalehoe, Keiki'okalō, Moku'ahi, Larry Boy Shamblin, Eric Vega, and other students seen in this photo continue to carry on the tradition at the Kūlani Correctional Facility on Hawai'i lsland. - Photo: Hawai'i Department of Puhlie Safety