Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 9, 1 September 2023 — Two Native HawaiianCentered Films Streaming on PBSHawai'i [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Two Native HawaiianCentered Films Streaming on PBSHawai'i

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Justyn Ah Chong's film Ola Hou: ]ourney to New York Fashion Week documenting Native Hawaiian fashion designer Sharayah Chun-Lai's trip to the world-renowned Runway 7 to showcase her brand, Ola Hou Designs, is currently airing online ffee of charge on PBS-Ha-wai'i. It is featured in season 12 of Paeihe Heartbeat.

Ateam of Native Hawaiian models, musicians and dancers graced a New York Fashion Week runway in February to highlight one-of-a-kind creations by Chun-

Lai. The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa alumna was the first kānaka oiwi wahine to accept an invitation ffom fashion week producer Runway 7. Also currently available online on PBS-Hawai'i is Island Cowgirls. The film highlights the uncertain future of two Native Hawaiian cowgirls (paniolo). On the northwest side of Hawai'i island, La'i Bertelmann prepares to graduate ffom high school, and must make a difficult decision whether to stay home and continue her family tradition of land stewardship, or leave. On the south side of the island, Lani Cran Petrie is at a crossroads as she continues to plan for the future of her ranch while faced with the uncertainty of the state-held lease of the land expirmg soon. 'Ōiwi Nonprofit Distributes $1.25 Million For Maui Disaster Relief 'Āina Momona, a grass-roots-based and Native Hawai-ian-led organization, announced it had distributed $1.25 million for relief efforts following the devastating Maui wildfires. The nonprofit organization began

fundraising via its website on August 9, and says it has eollected over 25,000 contributions ffom individuals worldwide. "We are devastated by this tragedy. We consider West Maui part of our Āina Momona 'ohana," said Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat, Āina Momona vice president. "We are so grateful that we have fundraising partners who enahle us to turn around donations coming into us quickly and get them families who have lost so mueh." The nonprofit has provided over $150,000 to individual families for emergency assistance and made a $100,000 donation to the Maui Historical Society for a Cultural Resource Recovery Program. It also made a $1 million contribution to Hawai'i Community Foundation's Maui Strong Fund. Sodaro Named Board ChairforTPL

Ka'iulani Sodaro has been named as Hawai'i board chair for the Trust . for Puhlie Land (TPL). TPL is a national nonprofit that works with communities to

create parks and protect puhlie land. Sodaro is senior vice president with Howard Hughes Corporation at Ward Village. She has previously worked for The Resort Group, Pūlama Lāna'i, Kamehameha Schools, Maui Land & Pineapple, and Hiltons Hotels. Sodaro attended Punahou School and holds a master of planning degree from the University of Southern California. She is a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Fellow, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Land Institute, and the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club. She has previously served on the Board of PBS Hawai'i and the Honolulu Planning Commission.

Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of puhlie land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and ieonie outdoor places, raised $93 hillion in puhlie funding for parks and puhlie lands, and eonnected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. HTAAnnounces Appointmentsto its Board of Directors

Ihe Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA) announced the appointment of three Native Hawaiian women to serve as new members on its Board of Directors. They are: hospitality and eommunity leader Kimberly Leimomi Agas; social entrepreneur Mahina Pais-hon-Duarte; and Kaua'i community affairs specialist Stephanie Iona. Agas is the general manager of Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, where she oversees resort operations and community, stakeholder, and owner

5tephanie lona partnerships. A seasoned hospitality management executive with more than 35 years of experience, she previously served in leadership positions at Outrigger Resorts in Hawai'i and French Polynesia. Paishon-Duarte co-founded Waiwai Collective in 2016, a soeial enterprise that blends eulture, community and commerce to achieve wellbeing and abundance outcomes for Hawai'i and beyond. Previously, she served as Kanu o ka 'Aina's head of school for the secondary level. Co-au-thor of the Āina Aloha Eeonomie Futures declaration, Duarte has worked with various cultural and community organizations

throughout Hawai'i. Iona specializes in eommunity and government affairs on Kaua'i. She has five decades of experience serving Hawai'i's communities, primarily in the agriculture and hospitality industries. She currently provides community affairs services to Kaua'i Shrimp and the Kekaha Agriculture Association. Previously, she was the community and government affairs manager for Dow Agrosciences and has also served as the general manager of Waimea Plantation Cottages as well as Aston Papakea Resort. NaHHASeeks Vendorsfor Kuhikuhi Marketplace Ihe Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA) is seeking vendors to participate in its Kuhikuhi Marketplace during its Ho'okipa Hawai'i Weekend September 30 and October 1, at the Royal Hawaiian Center. The marketplace is specific to Native Hawaiian-owned small businesses that have a product or service that aligns with NaHHA's mission and fundamentals. Ho'okipa Hawai'i Weekend is a two-day family-friendly event dedicated to the inclusion of Hawaiian culture and knowledge systems through the medium of Hawaiian cultural practitioners, exhibits, demonstrations and vendors that engages eommunity and visitors in a greater understanding and appreciation for the Native Hawaiian culture and Hawai'i. NaHHA is also seeking organizations and community groups to be given a free space for their related advocacy efforts or mission relative to the targeted audience. The purpose is to provide cultural education, learning, and outreach directly to those who attend the event including eonducting research or surveys to the puhlie. Space will be provided to eultural practitioners to facilitate demonstrations, exhibitions and information exchanges both onstage and off-stage to share eul-

tural knowledge and education. NaHHA invites cultural practitioners that eome ffom all areas of traditional practice. Honoraria will be provided. This event is supported through a Hō'ihi Grant offered by the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations through Native Act funding. Center Stage activities are supported by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs through 'Ahahui event grant funding. There is a fee to participate as a vendor. Please visit https: // www.nahha.com/event for more information and to apply. Celebrate Queen Lj|j'uokalani,sBirthday at 'lolani Palaee Ihe Friends of 'Iolani Palaee is saying Hau'oli Lā Hānau to Queen Lili'uokalani with a pair of weekend events on Saturday, Sept. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 3. "Our ali'i enjoyed celebrating their birthdays and other milestones with delicious food, mele and hula, and what better way to mark Queen Lili'uokalani's 185th birthday than with a poi supper right here on the grounds of 'Iolani Palaee," said Paula Akana, executive director of The Friends of 'Iolani Palaee. On Saturday, kamaaina are invited to take free self-led audio tours of 'Iolani Palaee ffom 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A valid Hawai'i State ID, Hawai'i driver's license, or proof of Hawai'i residency is required for eaeh complimentary ticket. One complimentary ticket per Hawai'i resident. On Sunday, Sept. 3, The Friends will host a special poi supper from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Guests will enjoy Hawaiian food and live musical performances on the beautiful grounds of 'Iolani Palaee while supporting The Friends' mission to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the rich history of this important pieee of Hawaiian history. Individual tickets are $50 for Luau Lawn Seats, $100 or $150 for Lū'au Table Seats and are SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 30

Kimberly Leimomi Agas

Mahina PaishonDuarfe

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NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 29 available to purchase online at https://www.iolanipalace.org/ poisupper/. Tables of eight (8) ean also be purchased by emailing development@iolanipalace. org or calling (808) 522-0830. 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Shakespearean Play at UH Mānoa

The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Department of Theatre & Dance and Kennedy Theatre present Kaisara, a world premiere hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre) performance written and directed by Iāsona Kaper and inspired by four scenes ffom William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar that were translated into olelo Hawai'i by James N. K. Keola and published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in 1896. Kaper is an actor, director, writer, and translator currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Hawaiian Theatre at the UH Mānoa, with a projected graduation of December 2023. Kaisara imagines an 1890s gathering of Kānaka Maoli intellectuals who explore the intersection between Shakespeare's portrayal of ancient Rome and the political landscape of Hawai'i at that time. The play poses timeless questions about division, conspiracy, and political violence. A fusion of Shakespearean drama and Hawaiian history, Kaisara presents an intriguing narrative that invites audiences

to contemplate parallels between ancient Rome and the political landscape of 1890s Hawai'i. Kaisara will be performed predominantly in olelo Hawai'i at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre ffom September 20-24, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 24, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Tickets range from $8-$18. Tons of Marine Debris Removed from PMNM A team from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP), a Hawai'i-based nonprofit organization, returned aboard the 185-ft ship M /V Imua with 86,100 pounds of marine debris removed from shallow coral reefs and shorelines of the islands and atolls within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Using their team of free divers and small boat operators, PMDP conducted 20 days of cleanups at Kamokuokamohoali'i (Maro Reef), Kamole (Laysan Island), and Kapou (Lisianski Island), focusing on carefully removing ghost nets ffom the shallow coral reef environments. The ghost nets pose entanglement threats to protected endemic wildlife and suffocating negative impacts to the living coral reef habitats. The team also disentangled and saved a Hawaiian green sea turtle ffom a net, as well as several protected seabirds. "If PMDP isn't there to elean up Papahānaumokuākea, no one is," PMDP Executive Director James Morioka said. "We happened to be in the right plaee at the right time to save that turtle. You ean only imagine how many more lost animals there would be if PMDP wasn't preemptively cleaning up these reefs". DeFries Named HPF CE0 Ihe Hawaii Paeihe Loundation, ine., (HPL) has named Jeanine DeLries as president and CEO. DeFries brings more than 23 years of experience in operations management, leadership and team-building to the role. She graduated from UH Mānoa with

a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian studies; she is a small business owner; and she worked as a procurement manager at Hawaiian Host Group, prior to assuming

her current role. "DeFries has served HPF as a distinguished board member," said Edwin A. "Skip" Vincent, HPF founder and board chair. "Her knowledge of Hawai'i's culture, professional experience, standing in the community, and the social conscience she eontinually exhibits will be a great asset to our organization." The mission of HPF is to empower Native Hawaiian eommunities by supporting programs that improve access to opportunities for success. HPF furthers its purpose by advancing education; primarily through science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education, and preserving cultural practices to inspire hope, strengthen families, foster learning, cultivate leadership, and develop stewardship. Grant Writing Course Offered Changemakers Hawai'i, a Hi-lo-based Community and Eeonomie Development Financial Institution (CDFI) for Native Hawaiians and communities with limited or no access to resources, is offering a hands-on grant-writing course from September 26 to October 31. Led by Cornell University leeturer and grant-writing expert Dr. Leslie Whitcomb, "Writing in Plaee: Identity Integration in Grant Writing" is an online, four-module skill-building course that includes mentoring for fund development professionals in Hawai'i. "We begin where we are at, aeknowledging our ancestors and plaee on this earth with gratitude," said Whitcomb. "1his empowers our grant-writing skills with the resonance and realities

of home." "We are excited to work with Dr. Whitcomb, an expert curriculum developer, who will help us develop a rigorous and impactful professional development program for Native Hawaiian grant writers and fund developers," says Changemakers Hawai'i's Executive Director Olani Lilly. Tuition is $120 for those who register on or before August 31. Thereafter, the fee is $150. To register, visit changemakershawaii.org. Taparra Selected to First Cohort of Ohama Foundation Leaders Program Four leaders from Hawai'i have been selected as part of the first cohort of emerging changemakers in the Obama Foundation Leaders USA program, former President Barack Obama has announced. Out of a eompetitive pool of applicants, they were among 100 leaders chosen nationwide for the program. The four selected are: Kekoa Taparra, Scott T. Nishimoto, Whitney Aragaki and Ashley Mariko Johnson.

Taparra is a Native Hawaiian resident physician at Stanford Health Care, where he is training to care for patients diagnosed with various eancers. He is origi-

nally from Mililani and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools. Nishimoto is the executive director of Ceeds of Peaee, a Ha-wai'i-based nonprofit organization whose mission it is to raise peacebuilding leaders. Aragaki is a teacher leader in the Hawai'i State Department of Education and was chosen as the 2022 Hawai'i State Teacher of the Year. Johnson is the founder of Mohala Eyewear, an eyewear brand that helps to send girls to school by donating to Room to Read.

Scientists Discover Marine Life Thoughtto be Extinct A team of scientists from the Paeihe Remote Islands Coalition mapping the deep sea made some astounding discoveries. Among those, is a marine animal thought to have been extinct for millions of years. Scientists said they discovered the stalked crinoid during their deep sea expedition at Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, located in the Paeihe Remote Islands Marine National Monument. They were thought to have gone extinct before the arrival of dinosaurs. Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk are eommonly called sea lilies. They arose during the early Paleozoic Era and were so abundant that their fossils produced vast limestone deposits in many places around the world, including the American Midwest. More than 5,000 fossil species have been described. Crinoids have declined in diversity since their peak some 300 million years ago, but over 650 living species are known, and they are still enormously abundant in many marine habitats, ffom shallow coral reefs to the floors of oeeanie trenches. The Paeihe Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) consists of five management units: Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef, Howland and Baker Islands, and Jarvis Island. In 2009 President George W. Bush established the monument, with protection to 50 nautical miles around eaeh site. In 2014, President Barack Obama expanded three of these five management units (Wake, Johnston and Jarvis) to 200 nautical miles. SEE NEWS BRIEFS ON PAGE 31

L-R: Noelani Montas as Emma Nōwahī/ Kalapunia, Kaipo Dudoit as Joseph Nōwahī/ Kaisara and Joshua "Baba" Kamoani'ala Tavares as George Markham/Barutusa. - Photo: Christine iamhom

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Greenpeace USA RespondstoMining Company'sPlansto Sidestep lnternational Poliīieal Processes In response to The Metals Company's Announcement to submit a deep sea mining application following the July 2024 meeting of the International Seabed Authority, Greenpeace USA's Deep Sea Mining eampaign lead Arlo Hemphill said: "The recent announcement by The Metals Company (TMC) to submit a deep sea mining application in 2024 goes against the growing wave of global objections to this destructive industry. It is the latest manifestation of the industry's reckless and aggressive profit-driven approach to circumvent international political processes. They are trying to force the hands of global governments to allow them to start mining before any form of international agreement is made on how and if such an activity should be allowed to move forward. Despite the outlier eountry of Nauru pushing for progress without regulations and a few pro-mining governments advocating for a quicker timeline, the ISAs member states placed no caveats on their decision that mining should not proceed until the code is completed. TMC should respect that." TMC, together with nine members of Congress, recently submitted a letter to President Biden and the Pentagon, urging the Administration to consider deep-sea mining for minerals and military applications. U.S. Congressman Ed Case recently introduced two measures calling for a moratorium on deep seabed mining unless and until its consequences are fully understood and an appropriate protective regulatory regime is established. ■

; Justyn Ah Chong

£l 1 Ka'iulani Sodaro

1 A Jeanine DeFries

Kekoa Taparra