Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 7, 1 July 1991 — Building a foundation for the future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Building a foundation for the future

by Moses Keale, Sr. Trustee, Kaua'i & Ni'ihau

Aloha kakou, Eleven years ago, this I simple laborer from Ni'ii hau stood in his back yard pondering a major | decision. The decision to enter into the world of politics. No one really told me what it was aoinq to be like in this

new world. No one told me about the great joys that eome from seeing a program that you fight for become a reality. No one told me about the frustrations of seeing good ideas get bogged down in the petty foolishness of selfishness and clouded vision. But even if I know then what I know today, I would not change the decision I made that day. So often leaders speak of dreams of the future. Tomorrow, we say, we shall engage ourselves in the process of rebuilding the Hawaiian Nation. Tomorrow, we say, we shall implement programs to help our young people obtain a better education so that they ean have better choices for their

future. Tomorrow, we say, we will implement programs to assist our people get better health programs so that they ean afford to take their families to the doctors when medical problems persist. Soon, we say, we will begin our programs to help our Hawaiian people afford to buy or rent proper homes. But what is so sad, so tragic, is that these problems are problems of today. They are problems of the moment. They are not problems of the future. Promises of solutions that will eome "tomorrow or some time soon" do not soothe the homeless, the under-educated, the jobless, the underpaid, the infirm. Well, tomorrow is today. We faced the task of addressing and transforming a "pot full" of eeonomie, social, and health ills into something productive and healing. But to do this it will take a great deal of money. Money to address housing. Money to address health care. Money to intervene in land issues and education. Money to assist our people with eeonomie issues. Where will this money eome from? Certainly not the state! We have been at the state feeding trough for 11 years and every single year we

eome up short of funds we need to make a real impact on the issues that face us. After 11 years it should be obvious that our solutions do not rest at the doorsteps of the legislative budget committees. No, our solutions reside within our ability to eome up with innovative approaches to finances and eeonomie survival. A strong package of eeonomie development of the assets of OHA is the answer. We, the Hawaiian people and our agency the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, are entitled to land. We are entitled to develop this land where necessary to produce ineome to fund our programs. We are entitled to build houses on this land to house our people. We are entitled to ineome from lands whieh rightfully belong to the Hawaiian people. We are entitled to use this money for the betterment of the conditions of the native Hawaiian as we see fit. We are entitled to demand accountability from the state and counties when leases are undervalued or taxesare unfairly levied against our people. We are entitled to determine when, how, and in what fashion we choose to exercise our right to eeonomie freedom. Eeonomie freedom comes in packaging various income-producing programs developed by and for this office or in conjunction with private enterprise. One such step is the creation or purchase of a Hawaiian bank. This is not a foolish idea or whimsical joke! A bank is recognized throughout the world as the cornerstone of the eeonomie stability of a people. There are few countries who survive without this essential flagship of eeonomie symbo!ism. When the immigrant groups eame to Hawaii to work as laborers, they quickly realized the importance of establishing banking institutions to handle their investments. The Chinese founded the Chinese-American Bank (First Interstate Bank), Liberty Bank and Hawaii Nahonal Bank. The early Japanese immigrants organized Central Facific Bank and City Bank. And of course we cannot forget that the missionary families began Bishop Bank (First Hawaiian Bank) and Bank of Hawai'i. The American Indians own banks as do the American Blacks. We should begin our eeonomie development package with a strong statement to the financial world. The Hawaiians, through their representative the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, shou!d establish a Hawaiian bank. This will be our bank. We will deposit OHA money in our bank. We will encourage other Hawaiian businesses and businessmen to support our bank. We will encourage all people of all races who support our efforts for eeonomie independence to become a part of our campaign to bring Hawaiian people into eeonomie focus. Let this be the first step, the foundation, for our future eeonomie development projects whieh will gain us eeonomie sovereignty. This is not a new concept! Eleven years ago, former trustee Roy Benham advocated that OHA buy a bank and establish an eeonomie foothold in Hawai'i. But years ago we had no money! There was no way to proceed with that dream. Times have changed! We have eome full circle. Today, Moses Keale advocates that OHA establish a bank. Today, OHA has the opportunity to buy a bank that is for sale. We must act with determination and diligence. But we must act! Let us not be detracted from our mission. Let us not allow others to dictate distrust among our people. We are capable of governing ourselves. We have the ability to be successful in business, education, and human relations. Let us demonstrate our resolve. Support me in my efforts to bring about a strong independent eeonomie future for OHA and the Hawaiian people. A i manao kekahi e lilo i pookele i waena o oukou, e pono no e lilo ia i kauwa na oukou. Na ke Akua e malama a e alakai ia kakou apau.

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(This eolumn is open to all OHA Trustees as a vehicle for them to express their mana'o. Opinions expressed are those of the individual Trustees and do not necessarily represent the officia! position of the OHA Board of Trustees.)