Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 11, 1 November 1989 — Mainland Hawaiians attend Blueprint meetings [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mainland Hawaiians attend Blueprint meetings

By Ann L. Moore

Hawaiians living on the mainland are expressing their interest in the establishment of an Office of Hawaiian Affairs branch office on the mainland. Richard Paglinawan, OHA administrator, told OHA division officers and staff at a recent debriefing following his return from the mainland. Paglinawan and the government affairs division officer, Jalna Keala, held informational meetings on the draft Blueprint, and other aspects of I Luna A'e, in September in Utah, the District of Oolumbia, Washington, and the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento areas of California. These meetings were the subject of a report made to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs by Paglinawan and Keala.

The meetings, Paglinawan said, served to introduce mainland Hawaiians to the draft Blueprint document and other I Luna A'e projects; to provide information and respond to questions; to sign up Project 'Ohana volunteer registrars; to enroll native Hawaiians in Operation 'Ohana; and to provide general information on recent OHA activities. The jointly submitted summary of the trip stated the response, by native Hawaiians to presentations, was uniformly positive, enthusiastic, and well-focused on the issues. Mainland Hawaiians are highly motivated, eager and ready to respond to the draft Blueprint with ideas, comments and suggestions, the report said. Keala said the presence of OHA representatives brought together many people who did not know one another but who are ready to act with a singleness of purpose. Many people drove long distances to attend. Meetings ran at least three hours, and some people had to drive as long as three to four hours to return home, but none left the meetings early, she noted. At every meeting Paglinawan and Keala heard

of more Native Hawaiians living in cities and towns not on the itinerary, including the states of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, New York, Alaska and even on the European continent. Two instances whieh exemplified the strong ties to the Islands felt by mainland Hawaiian families were cited by Keala and Paglinawan: Two Operation 'Ohana volunteer registrars made a special trip on their way home to Vancouver, Wash., to enroll the American IndianNative Hawaiian granddaughters of John Kalama. Kalama, a NaFive Hawaiian, was a Hudson Bay Company fur trader who married three daughters of an lndian chief. The chief gave Kalama extensive land parcels. Kalama's granddaughters, now in their 50s and 60s, live on the reservation in Kalama Valley near Vancouver. In Utah, 50 enrollment forms were provided for the Hussey family of Idaho. The Hussey 'ohanamember who asked for the forms is the third generation of his branch of the family in ldaho but he still knows of, and identifies with, his Kohala and Maui roots. He is an attorney in Salt Lake City. He said there are many other Hawaiians in Idaho in addition to his family. During a meeting in Washington, D.C., Paglinawan and Keala were told about John Kanui who was a prisoner of war held by the Germans in World War I. After the war, Kanui lived out his life in Paris, died and was buried there. Whether Kanui has a family in Paris is unclear. However, according to information received by the OHA representatives, there may be Native Hawaiians living in Paris.

Paglinawan and Keala said mainland Hawaiians do not take their culture for granted and are proud to be Native Hawaiian. Mainland Hawaiians retain many of the values they learned as children and many practice the Hawaiian crafts they learned from their kupuna. The OHA representatives said they were amazed to hear the Hawaiian language spoken in every city they visited. The video tape on 'ohana, by Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole and her mo'opuna never failed to bring a few tears and many requests for copies of the tape, the report said. One of Aunty Edith's daughters, also named Edith Kanaka'ole wasatthe Utah presentation. Over 300 people attended the mainland meetings. Sixty-one new volunteer registrars were signed up for Operation 'Ohana, Paglinawan and Keala reported.

OHA administrator Richard Paglinawan explains Operation 'Ohana to Hawaiians in San Francisco.

Listening to Blueprint discussion in Hayward, California.

Filling out Operation 'Ohana forms in Washington, D.C.

Watching the video on 'ohana featuring Aunty Edith Kanakaole, in Seattle.

Photos by Jalna Keala and Richard Paglinawan.

Sharing na mea Hawai'i with children in Malihu Canyon, Caiifornia.

Hawaiians in Provo, Utah study the Biueprint document.