Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 7, 1 July 2022 — 'Ōiwi Teen Wins Gold at ISA World Junior Surfing Championship [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Ōiwi Teen Wins Gold at ISA World Junior Surfing Championship

Wahiawā's Ēwelei'ula Wong won a gold medal at the 2022 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship in El Salvador on June 5. The teen took top honors in the girl's 18-and-under division. After a loss in earlier rounds relegated her to the losers' bracket, Wong battled back through six grueling heats over two days to take the gold. Her spectacular win helped propel the 12-member Hawai'i Surf Team, who took the overall team title, to victory. The team's gold medal is its first since 2014 and its fourth title overall in the 18 years of ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. Fellow Hawai'i team members Luke Swanson and Shion Crawford took first and second plaee, respectively, in the 18-and-under old boys division; while Luke

Tema took third in the l6-and-un-der old boys division. This prestigious competition features the best young surfers in the world and is a pathway to world class and Olympic surfing. Team Hawai'i beat 45 countries and more than 400 competitors to bring home the overall team title. Australia placed second overall and the United States took home the bronze. The nine-day competition was held at two breaks in El Salvador: La Bocana and El Sunzal. The Hawai'i team was coached by Chris Martin and former world tour competitor Shane Dorian. To learn more go to: www. hawaiisurfteam.surf. A Win for Water Oversight in West Maui In June, the Hawai'i Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) made history when it acted on its own proposal to designate a eommunity as a "surface and ground water management area." Previously, that designation has only been achieved after significant pressure on the state by eommunity groups. The commission's decision to regulate water taken from the area between Ukumehame north to Honokōhau was unanimous after listening to more than six hours of testimony. Essentially, the decision allows the state to decide who is allowed to use the water in West Maui - and how mueh ean be used. It also provides the puhlie with the opportunity on the go-forward to provide input whenever an individual or entity asks to pump water from the ground or from streams in the protected area. Should it be determined that the water supply in a community is imperiled, by law the CWRM is authorized to begin managing the water in those areas. Experts anticipate that water resources may heeome increasingly vulnerable as a result of climate change. For kalo farmers - who have fought for generations against the corporate interests that have

drained streams and monopolized Hawai'i's precious water resources on the island for more than a century - this decision is long-overdue. Lipe Part of National Racial Healing Program Native Hawaiian Affairs Program Officer Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe, Ph.D., was selected to heeome part of the first cohort of the Culture of Heahh Leaders Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI). Aimed at advancing racial and heahh equity, CoHLI is run by the National Collaborative for Heahh Equity (NCHE) in Washington, n.e.

Lipe is one of 40 leaders from 21 states selected via a competitive process for their experience in the fields of policy,

iaw, grassroots organizations, education and heahh. She is the sole representative from Hawai'i. During the 18-month program, whieh began in June, participants will gain tools and resources to hold puhlie officials and private sector leaders more accountable for real progress for racial and heahh equity. "My mission [is] to scale up and sustain Hawai'i-grounded efforts that foster truth sharing, racial healing, and relationship building deep whhin and across sectors," Lipe said. "I am really excited for the opportunity to work with other scholar practitioners who are doing work in this area and who value the importance of the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) fr amework." In 2019, Lipe was one of 200 emerging leaders selected for the Ohama Foundation Leaders: Asia-Pacific Program. She also leads the UH Mānoa TRHT Campus Center, one of the 50 trail-blazing campuses across Hawai'i and the U.S. selected to develop visionary action plans SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 28

V POKE NŪHOU V ^ N EWS BRIEFS *

NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 27 that prepare the next generation of leaders to advance justice and build equitable communities. 'Ōlelo Hawai' i Projects Featured in National Showcase

Student projects for Hawai'i History Day presented in olelo Hawai'i are being featured by the National Museum of the Ameriean Indian, and the Smithsonian's Asian Paeihe American Center in the online National History Day showcase, "In Language There Is Life: I ka 'Ōlelo nō ke Ola." This showcase is the first of its kind and the featured student projects cover a wide variety of topics. The projects are available to view online through the end °fjuly. "It is important for national institutions to be a part of healing our history of colonization and language genocide," said Aiko Yamashiro, executive director of Hawai'i Council for the Humanities (HCH). HCH runs the program locally and began a Hawaiian language competition category in 2019 to support Hawaiian language revitalization. 1his year is the first year these students (grades 7-11) will be recognized at the national level. National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) notes that, "Efforts like [this] are important contributions toward maintaining and revitalizing endangered languages and fostering a sense of pride among new generations of speakers." "Although language distin-

guishes a people, it also brings ī people together," added Māhea- < lani Lono, a teacher at Ka 'Umeke 1 Kā'eo PCS. "I have witnessed the i force of generations being united ] as youth learn the stories of their 1 grandparents." 1 To view the projects online go to: https://learninglab.si.edu/ < collections/in-language-there- 1 is-life-i-ka-olelo-no-ke-ola/ 1 sMjAmFoQlBI6dZpk. 1 Kina'ole Foundation Donates $1 Million to | Establish Scholarship < On June 10, the Kina'ole Foundation announced its donation of | $1 million to The Royal Order of Kamehameha I to establish the Royal Order's Nā Koa Ali'i Scholarship, an endowment intended to benefit Native Hawaiians 1 interested in pursuing secondary education. ■ Kina'ole Foundation Chairman ( . Tautua Howell-Reed, explains, "We believe education unlocks 1 the potential of young leaders, their families, and entire eom- 1 ī

munities. The collective power, capabilities, and ideas of educated Hawaiian leaders will implement solutions that will positively change underserved Hawaiians for generations." Founded by Dr. Raymond Jardine, Kina'ole Foundation is a federally recognized nonprofit Hawaiian Organization that helps to educate, advance, and promote eeonomie development for the people of Hawai'i through educational and business development activities and programs that preserve the culture and heritage of Hawai'i. CNHAAwarded Hawai'i Tourism USfl Contract On June 2, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA) announced that it has awarded its multiyear, multi-million dollar Hawai'i Tourism USA contract to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). The contract provides for a comprehensive range of brand management and visitor educa-

tion services, as well as support services shared by Hawai'i's brand management teams worldwide. CNHA was selected by a committee representing a cross-section of community, industry, and government. Committee members evaluated proposals, listened to oral presentations, and scored eaeh proposal on its merits and responsiveness to the criteria listed in the Request For Proposal, using a fair and impartial scoring process. HTA is in the process of finalizing its contract with CNHA. Hawai'i Visitors & Conventions Bureau (HVCB) held the Hawai'i Tourism USA contract through June 29. Kapūkakī in the News Last month, a citizens group calling themselves Wai Ola Allianee filed suit against the U.S. Navy for violating the federal Clean Water Act in connection to the fuel storage facility at Kapūkakī (Red Hill). Five individual plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit and are demanding that

the Navy act immediately to address the crisis. In March the U.S. Department of Defense announced that they would work closely with the Hawai'i Department of Heahh and the Environmental Protection Agency to safely defuel the Red Hill facility, promising a plan by May 31 and a completion time of 12 months. According to Hawai'i News Now, a Navy contractor report of the facility "found leakage through a tunnel wall, a deteriorated slab and fire risks for workers." They also reported that repairs could take a year and defueling as many as two years. Wai Ola Allianee is demanding faster defueling and penalties of $60,000 per violation per day. Meanwhile, a congressional committee has advanced two bills to provide an additional $1.1 hillion in funding to address the Red Hill water crisis. The bills will be advanced for fiscal year 2023, whieh begins in October. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bills this month. ■