Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 1, 1 January 2001 — He haliʻa aloha no Waimea [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He haliʻa aloha no Waimea

ĪHE SMALL town of Waimea on Hawai'i island wiU always hold a special plaee in my heart. It was where my grandparents built their home and raised their chUdren. I fondly remember visiting my family there every summer as a chUd, and how it was so different from Honolulu. Traffic signals were unnecessary as there was no traffic. In fact, it was almost as eommon to see people riding on horseback as it was to see others driving. Everyone seemed to know.eaeh other. People knew their neighbors. Store owners knew their customers. People knew the name of the lady serving them at the post office. Most importantly, the spirit of the land was strong. Even after my grandmother eame to Uve with us at Washington Plaee, she would return to Waimea regularly. Waimea was where her heart was and the only plaee that she would eaU home. When she passed away, my grandmother was neither sick nor dying. It was therefore unexpected to aU of us, her famUy. Although she didn't know why, my grandmother knew that she had to go home to Waimea that weekend. In the home that her

husband built with his own hands and they raised their children together, my grandmother sat in a chair and fell asleep, never to awaken. I have not been back

to Waimea mueh since my grandmother's funeral. The last time I was there, however, the change was disheartening. There are now two traffic signals, where onee there were none, as cars crowd the roads. The previously unspoiled landscape is now desecrated with shopping centers, fast food restaurants, and dining establishments. Where the spirit of the land onee flourished, the ,infection of commer-

ciaUsm now spreads. It was as if my grandmother's home passed away with her. The hand of change is not always kind to Hawaiians. At this very moment despicable efforts are under way,

by privileged non-Hawaiians to have the Office of Hawaiian Affairs eradicated. The special relationship Hawaiians have with the United States as wronged, indigenous people, they contend, is unconstitutional. They beheve in this regard that Hawai'i needs to change to be more like the mainland. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who have built the Office of Hawaiian Affairs into the remarkable institution it is today. We must eontinue to build on the foundation of their accomplish.ments and draw from the vast reservoir of their knowledge and experiences if we are to prevail in this time of uncertainty. We must do everything within and beyond our abilities to ensure that the result of their labor is not undone. At the same time we must work to meet the needs of our beneficiaries with a sense of urgency as OHA ean be taken from us at any minute. In life there are many changes we have no control over. There are many, however, that we ean affect. I will always find strength in the spirit of my grandmother and the plaee she inhabited. Although I will never be able to look upon either ever again with my own eyes, both wUl forever exist in my heart and mind. I would never be able to forgive myself, however, if I didn't do everything within my power to prevent OHA from becoming nothing but a memory. ■

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