Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 8, 1 August 1991 — Brother, Sister, inspired by ʻAha ʻOpio [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Brother, Sister, inspired by ʻAha ʻOpio

When Frank Nathaniel I of San Antonio, Texas, heard about the 'Aha 'Opio O OHA while visiting Hilo two years ago, he knew a good opportunity when he saw one. Nathaniel suggested | enrolling mainland high

school students of Hawaiian ancestry into the program after finding out other students from outside the Hawaiian Islands, such as Native Americans, were eligible. The rest is Nathaniel history. Two of Nathaniel's children have now participated in the program, Nakana'ela Scott Nathaniel and Ui Lani Kaye Nathaniel. Frank Nathaniel could not be more proud of their involvement. "I wanted them to get to know kids from Hawai'i, to let them know what some of their problems are growing up in Hawai'i, as well as share and interact with them," said the father. But the two were elected into an office, an added bonus for their experiences. "It was very unexpected," he said. "For them (the loeal participants) to actually vote for them into an elected position was tremendous." Nakana'ela Nathaniel was elected the 1990 'Aha 'Opio O OHA speaker of the house, while Ui Lani Kaye Nathaniel was the 1991 'Aha 'Opio O OHA president of the senate. "I eame to the 'Aha 'Opio last year to watch my brother participate, and it looked very interesting," Ui Lani said. "When I eame this year, I didn't know many people, but I thought I'd just try it (running for senate president) anyway. I didn't expect to win, but I did. "It was exciting, and I was nervous, but there were a lot of people there to help me out," she said. "My brother helped me out a lot." Nakana'ela was a junior staff member for this year's 'Aha 'Opio O OHA. He was able to brief his sister about the program on the plane ride to Hawai'i, before the legislature started. "She was apprehensive that she would get overwhelmed, so I was surprised and happy when I heard that she was elected president of the senate," he said. Nakana'ela's experiences as speaker of the house helped him understand more about Hawai'i. "I was very naive about the whole situation in Hawai'i before I eame," he said. "I didn't realize until my freshman year in high school that people in Hawai'i were discontented." Now Nakana'ela said he feels he has learned more about Hawai'i from this program than he has from any other experience in his life. "I want to keep coming back, to keep learning and understanding the (Hawaiian) system," he said. "Hawai'i is not what I thought it was." Frank Nathaniel said his children's experiences have significantly impacted their future goals. Nakana'ela, who will be a freshman at the University of Texas, has added a political science major to go along with his communications major. And, Ui Lani would like to attend college at the University of Hawai'i. But he also has one more daughter Pomai, who will be a freshman in high school. She also would like to participate in the 'Aha 'Opio O OHA program. While Frank Nathaniel's wife, Cheryl, is also proud of her two older children, she has high hopes for Pomai too. "Well, Pomai can't be speaker of the house or president of the senate. I guess she'll just have to go over and be governor," she said.

Ui Lani Nathaniel