Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2022 — Maui County Elevates 'Ōlelo Hawai'i in Government [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui County Elevates 'Ōlelo Hawai'i in Government

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On Aug. 5, Maui County became the first county in Hawai'i to appoint a eommunications specialist whose kuleana includes Hawaiian translation of official documents.

Rionn Nālani Fujihara

Kamehameha Schools Maui alumna Riann "Nālani" Fujihara is the county's first Hawaiian Language eommunications specialist and ajjcLiaiiai aiiei

will lead the Oflice of Council Services' (OCS) efforts to share legislative information with the puhlie and will translate selected documents upon eouneilmembers' requests. Maui County Council ViceChair Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said she initiated the groundbreaking position in the OCS, and a similar position in the executive branch's Department of Management, to ensure that olelo Hawai'i has a regular presenee in loeal government. "So mueh of our culture will not be able to be practiced if the resources are not there - if the streams do not run, there will be no 'o'opu or hīhīwai," said Raw-lins-Fernandez, who represents Moloka'i. "The muliwai will not have limu to teach the next generation how to properly identify, harvest, prepare and enjoy the limu that was onee everywhere." "It is invaluable to have advocates for 'ōlelo Hawai'i and mo'omeheu Hawai'i in spaces where people are making important decisions for our community," Fujihara said. "I'm grateful because this position opens the door to produce more puhlie documents written in Hawaiian." Rawlins-Fernandez said that

collaborative efforts to create a Hawaiian vocabulary for technical government terms is forthcoming. flnniversaryof Kapūkaī Crisis Commemorated An event dubbed the "Lie-Aver-sary" took plaee outside the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Visitor Center on Oct. 8. Participants dressed in hlaek funeral attire and black armbands. The Lie-Aversary was organized by a coalition of environmental groups and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to eommemorated the anniversary of the whistleblower revelation of the U.S. Navy's failure to disclose the fuel spill from the storage tanks at Kapūkakī (Red Hill). Protesters demanded that the Navy assist those who continue to report health and water contamination issues. "The community's demands are more than reasonable," said Nani Peterson, of the O'ahu

Water Protectors. "Clean up the mess you made in Kapūkakī, a marker for the sacred Leilono, and remove your existential threat to the sacred waiola of our island. Take care of the people you poisoned, who you are eontinuing to harm, to traumatize. And provide us with the truth, a truth that has been wrongfully denied us for too long." Event organizers included the O'ahu Water Protectors, Hawai'i Sierra Club and Hawai'i Peaee and Justice. They presented the Navy with a petition that included hundreds of signatures demanding medical support and additional water sources for those still suffering from the contamination; that the fuel storage facility is defueled within months; and that they respond to community questions and concerns. Hugo Named New LT Trustee Lili'uokalani Trust (LT) has announced the appointment of Mahina Eleneki Hugo to its

three-member board of trustees, succeeding Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr., who will retire Feb. 1, 2023. She will be the 18th trustee

since LT's founding in 1909. Currently serving as LT's executive director of Youth Development, Hugo has dedicated her career to educating, supporting, and advocating for Hawai'i youth. After joining LT, Hugo led a partnership with the Aspen Institute that resulted in the 2019 "Hawai'i State of Play" report, assessing the kamali'i (youth) sports landscape across the state, with a focus on Native Hawaiian youth. Hugo was a key member of UH Mānoa's 1987 national ehampion-ship-winning volleyball team and was inducted into Sports Circle of Honor. She was also named the Most Inspirational Player of the Year. "Ms. Hugo's lifelong dedication to Hawai'i's youth will be an asset

to the board of trustees," said Trustee Claire Asam. "She has a compelling life story that will inspire our kamali'i and teammates alike. We look forward to continuing the Queen's legacy and to serving our most vulnerable Hawaiian youth." Prior to joining the trust, Hugo was Head of School at La Pietra-Hawai'i School for Girls. Joseph Named Honolulu HumanityCEO

TJ Joseph has been appointed Chief Executive Oflicer (CEO) of Honolulu Habitat for Humanity. She is the first Native Hawaiian

woman and Habitat homeowner to hold this leadership position. "We could not have hoped for a better candidate to lead us forward," said Kaipo Kukahiko, vice president of the board of directors. "TJ brings a wealth of experience and a profound commitment to serving O'ahu's communities. Her strategic vision and infectious passion are critical components to the success of the organization." Joseph previously served as Honolulu Habitat's chief of staff and brings a unique, first-hand perspective to her new role as CEO. In 2013, Joseph and her husband, Levi, partnered with Honolulu Habitat to build their family's three-bedroom home in Waimānalo.

"Our Habitat home is the foundation upon whieh my family has built our life," said Joseph. "I feel a deep sense of responsibility to share that opportunity with others. As a Native Hawaiian woman executive I am moved to lead this organization to do things we've never done before SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 34

and seek out ways we ean do more to serve the communities of Hawai'i."

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Joseph will oversee all operations of the loeal afhliate of Habitat for Humanity International, whieh recently built four homes in Waimānalo and Papakōlea. There are currently 18 homes in development. KS Names Hao Director of Planning & Development

Kamehameha Schools has named Melanie Pualani Hao as its director of planning and development Hao, a KS

Kapālama graduate, has an extensive background in commercial real estate with over 20 years of national and international experience, including working for a Fortune 500 company. Most recently, she worked with Providence Saint Joseph Heahh System, a comprehensive nonprofit heahh care organization comprising 54 hospitals and over 1,000 clinics in states across the west, Midwest and Southwest. Hao will help lead the planning and development projects for KS' commercial properties and master-planned eommunities, including our Kaka'ako, Keawalau redevelopment in Waipahu, and other areas across the pae aina. "I am deeply honored for the opportunity to return home and return the many gifts Ke Ali'i Pauahi has blessed me with," Hao said. "I'm excited to carry on the tradition of serving this amazing organization with a meaningful mission close to my heart." Raised on O'ahu, Hao holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and leadership

and a master's degree in corporate real estate. HIFFDebuts Film by 'Ōiwi Poet Laureate

A theater performance written and conceived by Poet Laureate Kealoha, and made into a film, premieres at the 42nd Hawai'i International Film Festival on Nov. 4 on the Bishop Museum's great lawn. The Story of Everything, produced and directed by Engaging the Senses Foundation, illuminates the intersection between science, the environment, the arts, and mindfulness. It explores humanity's rich and diverse explanations for the origins of life and presents powerful solutions for the continued heahh of the planet and all beings on it. A preshow will include an oli by Kumu Hula Kau'i Kanaka'ole, and a live performance by Kealoha, an internationally acclaimed slack key guitarist, singer, eomposer, philosopher and activist. "The Story of Everything is my most important work, it's the culmination of everything I have learned throughout life," said Kealoha, founder of HawaiiSlam, Youth Speaks Hawai'i and a MIT nuclear physics graduate. "It took me half my life to study the science behind this pieee, half my life to study the art of poetry

and storytelling, and about half a decade to actually create this work." For more information or to purchase tickets go to: www. HIFF.org. Film screenings and special appearances by Kealoha will also be offered on Kaua'i, Maui and Hawai'i Island Bill Will Protect Maui CountyWetlands The Maui County Council recently passed a bill to restore and protect its wetlands. Under the new law, wetland areas will be identified and mapped if they contain at least

two indicators of hydrology (evidence of groundwater, hydric soils and hydric vegetation). It is intended to prohibit the loss of additional wetlands to development and ensure the perpetuation of these areas that help maintain a healthy watershed. "Wetlands are environmentally sensitive ecosystems whieh create habitat for important species and environmental resilience to the effects of climate change," Councilmember Kelly Takaya King said. "They serve essential functions, including slowing, capturing and filtering the flow of runoff and sediment in storm events."

South Maui experiences frequent major flooding that causes significant erosion, power outages, transportation delays and other issues. "Wetlands are essential for environmental heahh, biodiversity, protection of the marine environment and coral reefs, flood mitigation and protection of property and freshwater resources," said King, chair of the Climate Action, Resilience and Environment Committee. "Wetlands play an important role in Hawaiian culture, and we rely on them for erosion control SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 35

and protection of endangered species as well as freshwater and oeean water quality."

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Sai-Dudoit Wins Falsetto Contest

Falsetto contest ehampion Heun'olu Sui-Dudoit (center) wns presented with nwnrds by Culturnl Advisor Clifford Nue'ole (left) und Genernl Mnn□ger Andrew Rogers (right) of the Ritz-Cnrlton Knpalun. - Pholo: Courtesy Hilo's Heua'olu Sai Dudoit was crowned the 20th annual Richard Ho'opi'i Leo Ki'eki'e Falsetto Contest ehampion at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Sept. 24 after impressing the judges with his rendition of the classic, Kalama'ula. Sai Dudoit is a graduate of Ke Kula O Nāwahīokalani opu'u and is currently a student at UH Mānoa pursuing degrees in Hawaiian Language and Business. He is a contributing artist to the music innovation program, Mana Maoli. He also received the eontest's Hawaiian Language Award and the Sheldon Keahiawakea Brown Music Award for his musicality. The Richard Ho'opi'i Leo Ki'eki'e Falsetto Contest is held during Festivals of Aloha. In eelebration of the contest's 20th anniversary, Festivals of Aloha along, with Haku Collective, has released a legacy project entitled Hawaiian Falsetto Vol 1. Ola Resilience Trail Dedicated in Hau'ula The community of Hau'ula recently celebrated the dedica-

tion of its new Ola Resilience Trail with oli, pule, music and food thanks to an $18,000 AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Livable Community Challenge Grant. "Ola means to survive, thrive and be resilient," said Dotty Kelly-Paddock, the executive director of Hui O Hau'ula, whieh received the grant. Popular with everyone from keiki to kūpuna for exercise and play, the Ola Resilience Trail goes around the site of the future 5-acre Ko'olauloa Community Resilience Hub. The building planned for the hub will house heahh, education, social, eeonomie, food, housing and other services and will also serve as a Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Safe Room in the event of a hurricane, tsunami, or other disaster. Most government buildings on the northeast Windward O'ahu coastline are in flood or tsunami zones - and there are no disaster shelters between Kāne'ohe and Mililani. "It's critical for this community to have a resilience hub because it is so at risk," she said. In a disaster, Kamehameha Highway, the only road eonnecting Hau'ula to the rest of the island, would be shut down leaving residents without power, water, shelter and food for weeks. "We have to prepare so we ean protect our community," KellyPaddocksaid. Netflix Debuts lndigenousAnimated Series "Spirit Rangers," a new animated series for young children debuted on Netflix on Oct. 10 to coincide with Indigenous People's Day. It is the first kids show in the U.S. to be created by an Indigenous woman. The series is about a modern native family who lives and

works in a national park. The three main characters are siblings Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar who share a secret whieh allows them to transform into spirit animals to protect their national park home. Together, the children take on challenges like helping a lost thunderbird and waking the sleepy sun. When the children transform into their animal forms, the physieal environment around them changes as well - for example a thunderstorm is revealed to be a family of thunderbirds in the spirit world. "We see that that connection

to nature is really important - that everything is alive and connected," said show creator Karissa Valencia (Chumash). "So [I hope] the next time a child kicks a rock or wants to kill a spider - that they are thinking about how everything is alive and has a purpose and a plaee and is connected to our land." Valencia assembled a talented team of all-Indigenous writers, whieh is at the heart of the series. In addition to the writers, Indigenous talent was tapped in other areas as well, including animators, composers, editors and voice actors. Spirit Rangers is streaming on Netflix and includes 10 episodes that eaeh run about 28 minutes long. Keiki Market Swap Meet Fair "For Kids By Kids About Kids" is hosting their first Keiki Market Swap Meet Fair on the lawn at Ke'elikōlani Middle School on Nov. 11 and 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The fair will provide keiki who

have an entrepreneurial spirit and are interested in learning about owning a business with the opportunity to buy and sell products ffom other keiki "business owners." For Kids By Kids About Kids is a new nonprofit created to increase the knowledge of Native Hawaiian keiki and other keiki in Hawai'i about economics, culture, politics and community development. The keiki swap meet is their first event. They also offer a seminar to introduce keiki to these concepts. For more information or to register your entrepreneurial keiki for a booth at the fair go to: www.ForKidsByKidsAboutKids.com. Hawaiian Organizations Awarded Native American Agriculture Grant Two Native Hawaiian-serv-ing organizations are among 49 grant projects to receive a share of $12 million in funding from the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF). The grants are given to eligible organizations serving Indigenous farmers and ranchers. The Hawaiian Lending & Investments' Food Producer Resource Program (FPRP) was awarded a grant for its unique lending approach. With NAAF funding, FPRP will deliver opportunities for access to capital to Native Hawaiian producers through a blended debt and equity investment to strengthen successful food production on Hawaiian Home Lands. Grantee Ma Ka Hāna Ka 'Ike is an award-winning training program for youth in Hāna. Nā 'Oihana Āina (Trades of the Lands) helps Native Hawaiian trainees and community producers overcome established SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 34

obstacles to agriculture and harness the full potential of East Maui's abundance through intergenerational knowledge and use of modern techniques.

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NAAF provides grants for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services and is the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community. 'Ulu Cookbook Now Auailahle

'Ulu is easy to grow and is nutritionally and culturally important for Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders - yet many Hawaiians do not know how to eook and prepare this nutritious and versatile native food. A new eookhook entirely devoted to 'ulu aims to change that. The 'Ulu Cookbook is a eollaboration of the Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative and noted Chef Sam Choy. The collection includes recipes created by Choy, recipes contributed by some of his friends and recipes from the Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative. No 'ulu tree? No worries! 'Ulu ean be purchased at farmers' markets across the pae aina - and for cooks that don't want to

start from scratch, the Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative offers frozen, recipe-ready 'ulu available in stores throughout the islands as well as via mail order. The recipes are both traditional and contemporary: 'Ulu chips with a multitude of dips; salads that pair 'ulu with island favorites like hō'i'o (fern shoots), opae (red shrimp), and hearts of palm; soups made substantial and creamy through the magic of 'ulu. There are also recipes for burgers, croquettes, hash and more - including a variety of 'ulubased desserts, like decadent sour cream eake. And Choy's secret (until now) recipe for braised short ribs over 'ulu grits. OWP Demands Action After Mid-October Water Main Breaks After muhiple water main breaks over in mid-October, thousands of O'ahu residents on the US Navy water system were onee again left without access to elean drinking water. The Department of Defense (DOD) had to rely on the Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) to provide emergency assistance to affected households. The BWS opened a temporary water connection to provide water for those who rely on the U.S. Navy water system whieh provides water to 93,000 people living on current and former military lands, including dependent families, civilians, schools, and businesses. O'ahu Water Protectors (OWP) said in a press release that this most recent catastrophe confirms that the DOD cannot be trusted to steward 0'ahu's precious potable water. To protect sustainable access to drinking water for all O'ahu residents, OWP has made the following demands for immediate action by both the state and federal governments: 1. The DOD must downsize its

military presence on O'ahu. 2. The State Commission on Water Resource Management must revoke the Navy's permits to access our sole source aquifer, and issue fines for exceeding limits on the amount of water they are allowed to take. 3. The Hawai'i Department of Health must revoke the DOD's authorization to purvey water, levy fines for on-going violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Underground Storage Tank regulations, hold military leaders accountable, and force the military's eomplianee with the current emergency order on the Red Hill fuel facility. 4. The University of Hawai'i must establish a robust water testing and reclamation program funded by, but independent ffom, the DOD, to develop new techniques for rapidly identifying contamination in water and removing contamination from the water supply. New Fund Announced for Equitable Good Food A new fund could become a hnaneial resource for farms, ranches, fisheries and food businesses. Growing Justice is a new initiative that aims to raise $50 million to transform food systems in the U.S. The fund is the first of its kind focused on equita-

ble 'good food' procurement and prioritizing the leadership and collaboration of people of color in the food value ehain, from funders and farmers to workers and distributors. Equitable good food procurement means purchasing food ffom locally or regionally owned, environmentally and eeonomically sustainable farms, ranches, fisheries and food businesses that prioritize low-ineome eommunities of color and treat workers with dignity. The goal is to transform food systems through procurement practices that increase opportunities for food producers and social enterprises led by people of color in innovative, locally led ways. In the U.S., approximately $120 hillion is spent annually on food, but the benefits often do not reach the food producers and distributors from the eommunities themselves. The fund will distribute $50 million over the next 10 years to community leaders committed to transforming these systems. Agro Resources Acquired by Hawaj'j-Based Transformation Terraformation, a Kona, Hawai'i-based global forest restoration company, announced the acquisition of certain assets of

Agro Resources, another Hawai'ibased agroforestry company. "The acquisition of Agro Resources' assets provides the pathway with equipment, eontracts and an experienced crew," said Terraformation Founder and CEO Yishan Wong. Located in Waimea on Hawai'i Island, Agro Resources has 20 years of experience in the management of fruit and nut farms, and native forest restoration. "Agro Resources expands and deepens our expertise to tackle the next level in native ecosystem restoration and agroforestry," said Johannes Seidel, director of Hawai'i Forestry Operations at Terraformation. "Contributing to Hawai'i's well-established conservation and agriculture community and supporting our state in sequestering atmospheric carbon to reduce the negative impacts of climate change is at the heart of our global journey. Already our existing projects have benefited ffom the equipment and expertise the Agro Resources team has brought to our operations." The company is now planting 7,000 trees to restore a 45-acre site with a native Hawaiian dry forest ecosystem, planting 900 trees in a Hawaiian dry forest ecosystem in Kona, and is currently planting 25,000 plants at its 'Ōhi'a Lani site between Waimea and Honoka'a. ■

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Mahina Eleneki Hugo

1J Joseph

Meloni Pualani Hao