Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 11, 1 November 2021 — Aloha mai kakou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kakou,

> 'OLELO A KA POUHANA V ^ MESSAGE FROM THE CEO *

A HAKU LEI 0F ST0RIES FR0M 0UR LĀHUI Haku (2. vt. To compose, invent, put in order, arrange; to braid, as a lei, or plait, as feathers.)

Iadmire those who are able to weave exquisite lei in the haku and wili styles, fashioned with flowers, ferns or leaves they gather from their gardens or their communities. Unfortunately, I am not a lei-maker. My lei-making experience is limited to childhood efforts to kui yellow plumeria lei for our school May Day celebrations with flowers gathered ffom the nearby graveyard. I nevertheless appreciate the lei-making process, and as I contemplated my eolumn for this month, I landed on "haku" as a metaphor for what we do to publish Ka Wai Ola. Our purpose is to inform, highlight and uplift our lāhui. We plan for eaeh issue and sometimes we decide on a theme and then gather the stories where we know they grow - as if from gardens. Some months there is no set theme because the stories in all their diversity of mana'o are offered to us from our community, like a random assortment of gorgeous greenery gathered from the forest. Our kuleana is to haku these stories into a publication that provides useful information, highlights the achievements of our 'Ōiwi across the spectrum and, in the process, uplifts, encourages and inspires. We have been very intentional that one purpose of Ka Wai Ola is to provide a space for different voices from our lāhui. So we have invited 'Ōiwi leaders from a cross-sec-tion of organizations to write monthly columns for Ka Wai Ola that align with OHA's foundations of 'ohana, mo'omeheu and aina, and our strategic directions. Our newest columnists are from Papa Ola Lōkahi, the Native Hawaiian Education Oouneil and the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. They join columnists ffom DHHL, the Sovereign Oouneil of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, the Native Hawaiian Chambers of Commerce, and Lili'uokalani Trust. We have independent columnists writing on heahh and nutrition, iwi kūpuna, and culture and history, and we also feature opio voices with two youth columns.

In this issue of Ka Wai Ola, we present a haku lei of stories from our lāhui. Our cover story highlights a milestone reached by aina stewards in Kāne'ohe to mitigate the damage that construction of the H-3 freeway caused to traditional agricultural lands in Luluku. This issue also includes several stories from Maui, an update from Miloli'i, news about federal policies that benefit Hawaiians, OHA's acquisition of property in Honolulu, a new database of Hawaiian-owned businesses and more. And because November 28 is Lā Kū'oko'a, Hawaiian Independence Day, we include the story of Timoteo Ha'alilio - the man who successfully presented the case for Hawaiian sovereignty to the world.

One fmal thought to haku into this eolumn is the upeomin^ Thanksgiving holiday. While the American origins of this

holiday are not cause for celebration by native peoples, the people of the land have always cultivated a spirit of

thankfulness as part of our daily lives and routines. So on Thanksgiving Day, remember that gratitude for the gifts of our 'ohana, mo'omeheu and aina was a lifestyle - an attitude of the heart, mind and spirit - for our kūpuna.

F Kn'nnnmaiu-a i i a I

Sylvia M. Hussey, Ed.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer