Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 1, 1 January 2001 — Thinking of home [ARTICLE]

Thinking of home

Aloha e nā po'e Hawai'i. Although we may be thousands of miles ffom home, we the Hawaiians housed here at the Diamond Back Correctional Facility in Oklahoma keep ourselves busy and focused in positive ways such as education deahng with cultural pride and the ability to share our mana'o and aloha spirit. This year at Oklahoma's annual Watonga County Cheese Festival parade, we Hawaiians donated our time and effort in building a Hōkūle'a float. We received the proposal to build a fioat two days before the parade, so we all pulled together and the float was completed on time! Out of 60 entries, the Hōkūle'a float eame in third plaee. Being so far away from Hawai'i, we miss our 'ohana and long for the day we will return to the islands. Until then, we'll do the only thing we ean, and that is "being Hawaiian." Mahalo for what Ka Wai Ola o OHA is doing for our people. It provides us with insight on what's happening with our people today in our islands. With aloha from the Oklahoma Pono Coahtion. Wally Shimabukuro, Norman LaniAkau III, JeffSantos, Kalani Varber and Kenneth Adams, Oklahoma