Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 1, 1 January 2003 — English Essay Competition Winners [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

English Essay Competition Winners

I Am Proud to be Hawaiian By Kawehionōlanl Kēhaulani Kōneakua Grade 10 Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Ānuenue lsland of O'ahu First plaee, Engiish essay Grade category 9-12 Iam proud to be Hawaiian because it is who I am I am not ashamed of it, and have no reason to be. Being part of a culture as strong as this one is a true blessing, and for that, I am truly grateful. The blood that onee flowed in the veins of my kupuna continues to do so in mine. The language that they onee spoke continues to be spoken by me. I do not consider myself to be Hawaiian

because of my blood and the language I speak, that is how others know I am Hawaiian. I am Hawaiian of ehoiee. I choose to speak it, learn it, and live it. It is my sense of pride for my eulture and my determination to help it grow and be passed down to the next generation that makes me Hawaiian. Living in a time where everything is changing at top speed ean be a little overwhelming. I am glad that I ean eome to school, Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Ānuenue, and feel a great sense of relief to see others who share the same pride and strength as I do as a Hawaiian. I have had the opportunity to leave Ānuenue and enroll in a regular school, where I could meet new people, and perhaps get a better edueaūon. I have considered this, but as always, have stood by my decision to remain exactly where I am, where my friends and teachers are, where my culture and family are. At home I do not speak the 'ōlelo makuahine often, because my parents barely understand it. They sometimes ask me to teach them so they

will be able to speak along with me, but I don't yield. I say

^^^that it is their K^>c.nnnrikiiav QG St

^C^Bresponsibihty \Ttnakua and a Hawaiian to earn on their own. Just like I did i T lAompH fn crv*alr T Hn wi.vii I nrst leamea to speaK. i ao

feel guilty that I don't teach them, but if you. truly want something then you must make the ehoiee of achieving it. Still they try, and I praise them for it. At times, I do wish that we could return to ka wā kahiko, where things aren't so materialistic and where things were said and done with good reason for them. People do wonder how we could survive without entertainment and distractions. But life shouldn't be about such things, it's about the hard work and the knowledge that you ean learn from your elders, just like ka po'e kahiko. See KĀNEAKUA on page 12

English essays (continued) KĀNEAKUA from page 10 I don't need to go out on the streets and protest all day, let it be broadcasted on the 'Ōlelo ehannel to show everyone that I too wish that we could live as our Kupuna did. I am Hawaiian because of the blood that will forever flow through my veins, because of the stories that are forever in my mind and my heart. I am Hawaiian by ehoiee. I choose to speak it, leam it, and live it. ■ He Hawail Au By Anniellen Kanahele Grade 8, Ke Kula Ni'ihau 'o Kekaha lsland ofKaua'i First plaee, English essay Graae category 6-8 Iam proud to be Hawaiian. I am proud to go to a Hawaiian church in Waimea town with my aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents. At church, I pray for my family and I read the Hawaiian Bible. I even pray to the Lord in Hawaiian to forgive us for all the bad things we do and to ask the Lord for help when we need it. We also sing Hawaiian hymns from Puke Himeni. I am proud to have a Hawaiian family that loves me for who I am. My father is full Hawaiian from Ni'ihau, and my mother is half Hawaiian from Kaua'i. I also have a brother and sister. In my family, we aloha kekahi i kekahi by showing we always support eaeh other. I am proud to have lived on Ni'ihau. On Ni'ihau, everyone speaks Hawaiian at the heaeh, at home, at church and at school. We don't have stores, cars, eleetricity, phones or water pipes. There are not that many people on the island, but there is a lot of aloha. I am proud to be a student at Ke Kula Ni'ihau 'o Kekaha. In our school we leam to speak, read and write in Hawaiian and English. We also learn how to use computers to do research on the internet, to do our lessons, and even to chat with friends from other schools on Leokī. Tūtū Ane teaches us songs that she sang on her CDs, and she also tells us to listen to our teachers. So, that's why I'm proud to be Hawaiian. ■ People Seeking Wisdom By Josilyn Mō'īwale Kalalakea Hu^eu Grade 5, Kanuikapono Charter School lsland of Kaua'i First plaee, English essay Graae category 4-5

Iam Hawaiian because ... I am Hawaiian in many ways. First, I cherish the stories of my elders. Second, I ean speak my mother's tongue. Third, my ancestors are Hawaiian. I listen to the stories of my elders. My favorite is about the freshwater pond of Pu'uhaoa. Pu'uhaoa runs through our family land in Kīpahulu, Maui. There is a stone that is shaped like a heart that stands for love. I ean talk story in Hawaiian with my friends, parents, and elders too. I learned to speak Hawaiian from my elders and teachers at school. When I was a young child I went to a Hawaiian Immersion Preschool on Maui for two years. I learned to speak Hawaiian there. Soon after that, I entered into Hawaiian Immersion Elementary School at Pā'ia. I didn't know Hawaiian all that well, so I continued at Pā'ia School until last year. I am proud to speak Hawaiian. In the fourth grade, with Kumu Kamaka'eu, I did a genealogy project. I learned that I am related to the chiefs of Hawai'i. Here are some lines from my genealogy: Kamehameha the man, Manono the woman, they lived together and birthed Kapapauai, a woman; Kapapauai the woman, Keali'ikanaka'ole a man, they lived together and birthed Mariana Manono, a woman: Mariana Manono the woman, Thomas Pahukoa the man, they lived together and birthed Harry Kumukoa Pahukoa Sr., a man; Harry Kumukoa Pahukoa the man, Mary Ann Aima the woman, they lived together and birthed Margaret Maleka Pahukoa, a woman; Margaret Maleka Pahukoa the woman, James Keolaokalani Hu'eu Jr., the man, they lived together and birthed Harry 'Aukai Hu'e, Sr„ a man; Harry 'Aukai Hu'eu Sr„ the man, Sandra Gail Chaves the woman, they lived together and birthed,JJ Keola Hu 'eu, a man; JJ Keola Hu*eu the man, Sunnie Dauhn Kaikala the woman, they lived together and birthed Josilyn Mō'īwale Kala'iākea Hu'eu, a woman. I am Josilyn Mō'īwale Kala'iākea Hu'eu. This is the genealogy of the Pahukoa family, long live this family, LIFE! I am Hawaiian in many different ways, these are only a few. Mahalo nui. ■ Hawaiian essays (continued) GIONSON mai ka 'ao'ao 1 1 mea e 'ā ai kēia ahi i loko o ka na'au o ke kanaka, pono 'o ia e ho'oikaika ma loko ona e ho'ā i ke ahi a lapalapa ikaika mau. 'O ia nō ka mea e Hawai'i ai ka Hawai'i i ku'u 'ike. ■

He Hawai'i Au Na īa'nia Pohaikealoha Pau'ole Papa 6, Ke Kula 'o 'Ehunuikaimalino Moku 'o Hawai'i Kūlana 'ekahi, mo'olelo Hawai'i Māhele 6-8 Ha'aheo au i ko'u koko Hawai'i no ka mea, waiwai loa ka 'ōlelo makuahine ia'u. A maopopo au ua hana nā po'e Hawai'i, nā kūpuna, a me nā ali'i he nui no mākou. Maopopo au he mau po'e akamai nā Hawai'i. He mau po'e lokomaika'i lākou a inā ua lawai'a a i 'ole mahi'ai, e ka'analike ana kekahi me kekahi. A hana lākou no ke aloha a kōkua wale. 'A'ole pono lākou e loa'a i ke kālā. Pono wale 'oe e ho'ā'o nui e hana 'oi aku ka maika'i ma mua o nā po'e 'ē a'e e a'o i nā po'e 'ē i ka waiwai o nā Hawai'i. 'A'ole ke kālā ka mea waiwai no nā Hawai'i akā 'o ka lokomaika'i ka waiwai o nā Hawai'i. A maopopo 'oe inā 'ike 'oe i kekahi po'e Hawai'i a'e, e hau'oli ana 'oe no kou 'ano Hawai i. Inā 'a'ole ka Hawai'i ma 'ane'i, e lawe ana nā po'e 'ē i ko mākou 'āina a pau a 'aka'aka iā mākou. He mau po'e kupaianaha nā ali'i a me nā kūpuna.'O mākou keiki e hāpai ana i ka 'ōlelo makuahine a e a'o ana mākou keiki a pēlā aku. A mahalo au i ke Akua hiki ia'u ke 'ōlelo Hawai'i, a HE HAWAI'I AU! ■ HeHawai'iAu Na īehani K. Louis Papa 5, Kula Kaiapuni 'o Pū'ohala Moku 'o O'ahu Kūlana 'ekahi, mo'olelo Hawai'i Māhele 4-5 He Hawai'i au no ka mea, 'ōlelo, kākau, hīmeni, hula a hana au i ka'u mau ha'awina ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. Hana au i ka'u Makemakika, Puke Ho'omana 'o, Puke Kākau, ka makua 'Ōlelo a me ke oli ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. Ha'aheo au i ko'u koko Hawai'i no ka mea, maopopo ia'u he Hawai'i au. Ua lilo au i Hawai'i mai ku'u kupunahine, a me ko'u mau kūpunakāne. He 'ōlelo no'eau 'o "'A'ohe pu'u ki'eki'e ke ho'ā'o e pi'i" he mea e kōkua ai ia'u. Inā pa'akīkī kekahi mea ia'u, hiki i kekahi mana'o Hawai'i me kēia ke kōkua ia'u. ■

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