Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2020 — AKINA, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AKINA,

, KELI'I

© wkakina@gmail.com & www.keliiakina.com AGE: 62 OCCUPATIDN: ŪHA Trustee-at-Large and President/CEŪ. Grassroot lnstitute of Hawai'i WHERE DID Y0U GR0W UP: Honolulu. O'ahu SGHOOL[S) ATTENDED: Kamehameha Schools, Northwestern University [B.A.], University of Hawai'i (M.A., Ph.ū.) GURRENT RESIDENCE: Honolulu, ū'ahu

1 ] My first exposure to 'ōlelo Hawai'i was from my Tutu-lady Aliee Wahine Akina, whose Baibala Hemolele is one of my most cherished possessions. I later studied Hawaiian at Kamehameha where I became the school court chanter. Eventually, I chanted for the hālau of a renowned kumu hula, with whom I transcribed a collection of ancient chants. That training gave me a deep appreciation for Hawaiian knowledge and equipped me for my Masters and Ph.D. degrees from UH Mānoa in East-West philosophy and ethics. To this day, chanting is an important personal and cultural practice. 2 ] OHA needs to exercise greater kuleana for the Hawaiian Homelands, where tragically more than 27,000 applicants are on the waiting list. DHHL is landrich but cash-poor. OHA ean become cash-rich and help finance homestead infrastructure as well as help all Hawaiians gain access to housing. If re-elected I will continue to pursue my 3-point plan to develop OHA's trust fund and build wealth for Hawaiians: (1) Protect the Trust through audits and sound fiscal policies; (2) Grow the Trust by developing the financial potential of Kaka'ako Ma Kai and other properties: and, (3) Use the Trust for the real needs of Hawaiians, especially housing. OHA ean also partner with stakeholders, the Ali'i trusts, and developers to create innovative solutions. 3 ] While I have served as a watchdog to protect the OHA trust from fraud, waste, and abuse, I am pleased in the majority of votes, to have stood with my fellow trustees to mālama our sacred 'Āina. With respect to Maunakea, though trustees have differing views as to the TMT, we have stood together for the pono management of the Mauna to protect its unique cultural and environmental value. I have also been passionately committed to the preservation of sacred spaces such as the Kūkaniloko Birthstones site and am proud of our restoration efforts. Based upon input from OHA beneficiaries into our strategic plan, I have promoted good stewardship of existing legacy lands rather than acquiring more, until OHA funds are sufficient for housing and other urgent needs of the beneficiaries. I have also worked to ensure qualified candidates are recommended by OHA for board positions on the Council that oversees burial sites under the state Historic Preservation Law. The value of Mālama 'Āina captures my heart whenever I visit Waimea Falls, whieh OHA wonderfully maintains, and chant at the burial site of high priest Hewahewa, one of the first Hawaiians to become a Christian.