Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1 September 1983 — MOLOKAʻI TRUSTEE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MOLOKAʻI TRUSTEE

The Struggle of Kalaupapa

by Walter L. Ritte, Jr.

Who will end up with this beautiful isolated Peninsula? For the patients of Kalaupapa, these are trying times as the transition begins to unfurl. Workers are being laid off; buildings and equipment run down; patients work hours are being cut; the storekeeper sheds tears as she explains the food shortage; the residents are short tempered about visitors who don't sign in; angered at those fishing along their Peninsula; calling for more arrests and a permanent game warden; angered that they are now drinking "unsafe" water due to the breakdown of the chlorination process. The culprit is all of this "seems" to be the Department of Health (DOH). Some of the comments from the pa,tients include, "They, DOH, want this plaee to run down just like Hale Mohalu, so they ean kiek us out!" "We fight to get minimum wage and they turn right around and cut our hours!" "We don't even have sugar or rice!" "They (DOH) have the ultimate responsibility for the patients, "They brought me here against my will. . ,so now they owe me." But alas, a neh Savior looms on the horizon, it's none other than good old Unele Sam. . ."This is a historical plaee where Hansen's Disease is talked about in the open and bluntly." "A plaee beneficial to all of mankind whieh should be preserved as a National Historic Preserve." Congressional Law passed, Kalaupapa Commission set up, two-and-a-half million dollars is set aside just for land purchase, agreements with Department of Heakh, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Department of Transportation and Catholic Church are drawn up, water wells dug as the Federal Government starts its move to acquire beautiful Kalaupapa. The Federal Government is anxious. . ."We would like to get on

with it. . ,it is illegal for us to be spending money on Kalaupapa without signing the agreements." The Kalaupapa Commission is cautious. . ,"ī don't like the pressure from the Government. . .We have an obligation to review the agreements before any signing." "Too many times we agree on something and a few words are changed and we end up with something entirely different." The State (DOH) is willing and except for a few minor changes, ready to sign the agreement with the National Parks Service. Hold everything, someone else is looming on the horizon. . .why it's the Hawaiians. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is reluctant to sign an agreement. They own the Ahupua'a of Kalaupapa. One homesteader eomments, "1 would give up my Ho'olehua lot if lands were made available at Kalaupapa. . .you cannot beat Kalaupapa." Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is under mueh pressure to follow the law and make their lands available for Native Hawaiians and to stop using Hawaiian lands for general public use. The Federal Government is persistent. . ,"DHHL is willing to lease the lands to us. . .give me a month and I'll convince the United States Attorney General's office to allow us to enter into a lease agreement, it's cleaner and better for all parties involved." Questions: "How long does Congress intend to have this National park?" The Federal Government says, "The terms eall for 20 years. . .but the Federal Government does not pour millions of dollars into a project for just a flash in the pan." In the struggle for Kalaupapa, will the patients find happiness? Will the lands ever be used for homesteading, or will the Federal Government gain a priceless peninsula and a Cannonized Saint.