Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 1, 1 January 1989 — Resolutions Reflect Growth Of Civic Club Movement [ARTICLE]

Resolutions Reflect Growth Of Civic Club Movement

The breadth and depth of the 25 resolutions adopted at the 29th annual convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in 1988 is a clear sign of the growth of the civic club movement in the 70 years since its founding. It also is a sign, as Association president Jalna Keala put it,, that . .when exciting events are taking shape in health and social issues, education, land and politics. . .if things are happening to Hawaiians, civic clubs will be involved." The resolutions commend individuals or groups for their actions on behalf of Hawaiian issues, and some have in the past served as the basis for proposed legislation. Among the resolutions adopted were the fo!lowing: • urging the State Legislature to repeal certain exemptions governing the use of agricultural lands (such as for golf courses) in Hawai'i and to require environmental and social impact assessments and archaeological surveys for significant changes in agricultural land use or ground disturbance; • requiring public notice and hearings by the State Department of Health before disinterment permits may be approved; • supporting "Project Kua'ana," a pilot program to encourage the recruitment and retention of Native Hawaiian students at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa;

• supporting families who are helping to perpetuate the Hawaiian language by sending their ehildren to Punana Leo and Department of Education Hawaiian language immersion schools; • commending the Waiaha Foundation for its programs concerning Hawaiian values; • supporting the 1987 amendments to the 01der Americans Act specific to Native American and Native Hawaiian elderly; • commending and congratulating the trustees of the estate and family of Samuel Mills Damon for the planned restoration of the Kamehameha V cottage at Moanalua, O'ahu; • requesting that water users statewide file a declaration of use with the State Commission on water resources by May 1989. One purpose of this resolution is to develop a record of water use by farmers to protect their future water use; • requesting the Governor of Hawai'i to appoint a Hawaiian language commission to promote and encourage proper use of Hawaiian language as a living and official language of the state. Article XV, Section 4 of the Hawai'i State Constitution designates both English and Hawaiian as official languages of the State of Hawai'i, making Hawai'i the only officially bilingual U.S. state. • supporting a nuclear-free world starting with a Pacific Oeean free of nuclear weapons testing; • urging the establishment of Native Hawaiian desks in federal agencies; • urging that Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) entitlements to ceded land trust revenue be reaffirmed; • supporting the establishment of a Hawai'i stream protection program; • requesting the State Legislature to direct the U.H. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to conduct a study on the reasons for the recent poi shortage; • commending the contribution made by KHVH radio to the support of the Hawaiian civic club movement. For nearly 25 years KHVH has supported a weekly radio program by the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, since 1980 titled, "E Kipa Mai Me Na Po'e No'eau." • requesting the Queen's Hospital to restore the original intent of the will of Queen Emma for the hospital's treatment of "indigent, sick, and disabled Hawaiians." Several resolutions were also adopted to eommend various individuals for their contributions to the Hawaiian community, including: • U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye for compassionate and exemplary leadership on behalf of Native Hawaiians; • the late Benson Waldron Kealaokamalamalama Lee, Sr. for his leadership and contributions to the Hawaiian Civic Club movement as Association president and member of the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club;

• George E. Richardson, president of the Ewa Hawaiian Civic Club, a beloved and outspoken longtime civic club member; • Na Hoku Hanohano award winner Haunani Apoliona for her musical contributions to Hawai'i and the Hawaiian people. Apoliona is president of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu. • Gard Kealoha, for outstanding community work as community relations officer for Alu Like, past OHA trustee, outstanding communicator by the Year of the Hawaiian Ho'olako Committee; and member and officer of numerous civic and private organizations; • Father Joseph Damien Deveuster for his sacrifice in service to the exiles of Kalawao known to be afflicted with the dreaded "ma'i pake" also known as leprosy, later as Hansen's disease. The centennial of his death will be observed April 15, 1989.