Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 1, 1 January 1985 — "Be More Sensitive" to Needs, Culture of Hawaiian People, Trustee Warns Group [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

"Be More Sensitive" to Needs, Culture of Hawaiian People, Trustee Warns Group

Estrangement of the Hawaiians and increasing reliance on limited resources with an increasing influx of people were among topics targeted by Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Gard Kealoha in a talk delivered Dec. 1 1 at the Governor's TourismCongress in the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel Ballroom. Kealoha warned the large outpouring of representatives from government, business, labor, the public and the tourist industry that they must be more sensitive to the needs and culture of the Hawaiian people. Of the estrangement, Kealoha asked: "Why are there so few Hawaiians in management positions? What kind of incentives and programs are being provided within the visitor industry for employees desiring upward mobility? How does the native Hawaiian community participate in the decision-making processes that lead toward the development and building of the industry? Are Hawaiians in general so stereotyped that one is more likely to find them playing music during the cocktail hours and floor shows or tending the gardens and fixing the beds? Are profits being shared with all employees? Are Hawaiians being treated like one sees Hispanics and other minorities on the mainland as eheap available labor, easily replaced?" "Our visitor industry," he said, "may well be able to exist in a vacuum of ledgers, profit sheets and eomputer files without the native Hawaiians, but 1 think

not for long." Kealoha stated that opportunities for Hawaiians must be available to "establish decent self-sufficiencies and the recognition perhaps that there is a unique and special heritage that defines Hawaii." He asked developers, the visitor industry and government to be more aware of loeal concerns. "Mistrusts deepen when developers do not keep their promises in exchange for certain land rights. Further

doubt occurs when attempts are made to actually shorten or obliterate the Hawaiian names for places and sites in order to make it easier for our visitors to pronounce them," he declared. Kealoha added: "The whims of the lazy and unwilling and insensitive ean erase the history of a plaee if one is not vigilant. Barriers erected to deny traditional accesses to the shore and mountains fuel the resentment." As an example, he cited the current flap over the closing of an old road at Makena whieh vividly illustrates the build-up of animosity toward the visitor industry. "While we depend heavily on the ever-burgeoning demands of the visitor industry we must be sensitive to the loeal needs of our people and their communities. Their eoneem for their rights are just as paramount. For after all, that is what constitutes one's personal sense of self-worth and dignity," Kealoha continued. He concluded: "For while the romantic image of the happy go lucky Hawaiian may have been early public relations hype and the old characterization of the Hawaiian as the guy who would give you the shirt off his back may have been pure Hollywood hokum, our innate sense of aloha has endured through the vicissitudes of tremendous changes. "lt is our one and dearly precious value ihat has enabled us to face the constant challenges of change. And it is the singular and universally understood value that is perceived by all as the bottom line of human relationship." Kealoha spoke on the overall topic of "Social lssues," sub-topic "Hawaiians and Tourism; and Social Change in Hawaii." He was given a resounding standing ovation.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Gard Kealoha addresses Governor's Tourism Congress in a stirring talk on Hawaiian concerns that brought a standing ovation.