Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 6, 1 June 1990 — He Mau Nīnau Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He Mau Nīnau Ola

by Kekuni Blaisdell, M.D.

Ka Ho'ona'auao Le'a i ka Wa Kahiko a i Keia Wa — Mokuna 'eha Sex Education in Old Hawai'i and Today — Part IV

Ninau: My 15-year-old mo'opuna must leave school because she is hāpai (pregnant). Young people these days know so little about sex and taking care of themselves. How did 'ōpio leam about sex in old

Hawai'i? Shouldn't we teach these things at home instead of depending on the school? Pane: I kēlā mahina aku nei (last month), we described the cultural kū'ē'ē (conflict) between ka na'auao le'a a ka hana le'a (sex education and behavior) i kahiko loa (in preWestern times) and the repressive teachings of the Calvinist mikanele (missionaries) after their arrival in 1820. The result was ka mea kaumaha (tragedy) as portrayed in the case of Nāhi'ena'ena, sister and mate of Kamehameha III, related in my May eolumn. This cultural kū'ē'ē continues within eaeh of us who identifies as kanaka maoli while we struggle to survive in the haole-dominated society in our homeland i kēia wā. The Western domination, sometimes called cultural imperialism or colonialism, reaches into every dimension of our lives, not merely i ka na'auao le'a a ka hana le'a. For those kānaka maoli who are well assimilated in haole ways, the inner cultural kū'ē'ē may be less 'eha (painful). No laila (therefore), some alaka'i (leaders), even from early 19th century mikanele times, have recommended Westem assimilation as the only way to ho'opakele (save) us po'e Hawai'i. Akā (however), in spite of pressures by the dominant anti-Hawaiian educational, political, eeonomie, religious and social system, we are still here and we retain some traditional values and practices. Some say to our detriment. 'Oia ho'i (for example), we kānaka maoli have the highest birth and teenage pregnancy rates compared to the other ethnic po'e in our 'ailana (islands.) Most

Hawaiian hāpai teenagers prefer to keep their kamaiki (babies), rather than seek 'ōmilo (abortion) or hānai (adoption) out of the 'ohana. Contrary to the implieaūon in the ninau above, hāpai students are not compelled by the public schools to leave. State law requires that all between the ages of 6 to 18 attend school. If a kaikamāhine hāpai is married with parental permission, she is considered "emancipated" and, no laila, may be exempted from attending school. Otherwise, schooling for the hāpai teenager ho'omau (continues) on campus as ma'a mau (usual), or in alternative programs on or off eampus. If for medical reasons, the hāpai student goes to the hospital or remains at home, then special instruction is provided in the off-campus sites. Pēlā, the above options depend on the haumana hāpai (pregnant student), her family, health consultants, the high school, counselors, teachers, loeal eommunity sentiment, and available programs and facilities within the particular school district. Hāpai youngsters at Kailua High School are fortunate to have the creative caring of social studies teacher Sylvia Ing, founder of the Young Mothers Program at that institution on O'ahu Ko'olau (Windward O'ahu). In 1981, Ing sensed the need for such a program when high school kaikamāhine began to drop out because they were hapai. A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, she also felt a special kinship with these youngsters because most of them were of Hawaiian ancestry. She began to visit them in their homes, helping them with their course work and parenting. But she also felt their need for peer socialization. No laila, she created a special papa (class) and found a lumi papa (classroom) for these young mothers-to-be and subsequent mothers with their kamaiki on campus. Now they number 15 or so at any one time plus their offspring. Most continue to be kānaka maoli. Because of demonstrated success of the program in helping the teenagers eomplete their high-schooling, Ing has recently been

able to engage another experienced wahine Hawai'i, Rae Green. Green, who holds a master's degree in education, assures coverage of all regularly required courses, and a breadth of electives, such as in home economics and job-training, and always eoneem for the needs of the kamaiki as well as the teen mothers. Direct attention is also given to the kamaiki, who are weleome after age one month, with the assistance of work-study haumāna. Experts from other agencies are involved such as Jan Fong, a social worker who focuses on positive nurturing of teen parent-child relationships, self-esteem, and building 'ohana support. Consideration is being given to including young fathers in the program. Since 1975, the Teen Center in Kāne'ohe has provided off-campus schooling for the pre-natal kaikamāhine in the Windward school district. Wai'anae also has an off-campus program at the Methodist Church, while the Honolulu districthas a separate Booth Memorial School for pre- and post-natal teens in Waikiki. Since surveys reveal that more than 70 percent of school kamali'i do not receive ka ho'ona'auao le'a in their homes, the kula (schools) have had to fill the need. With more makuahine (mothers) joining makuakāne (fathers) in the work force, and retired kūpuna (grandparents) living separately from their mo'opuna in this increasingly fast-paced nonHawaiian modern world, it seems unlikely that 'ohana at home will be teaching i ka na'auao le'a, as in kahiko loa, in the near future. Akā (however), whatever the outcome, we need to somehow ensure that our ancestral heritage stemming from ka ho'oipoipo (love-making) of sky father Wākea and earth mother Papa endures through persons like Sylvia Ing, who gives caring na'auao le'a to the youngest of those who bring new generations of kānaka maoli into our modern uncertain world . . . a koe no na pua.