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

Building another foundation for the future

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

I Aloha Kakou. Last month I talked about building an eeonomie foundation for the future of the 1 Hawaiian people. This I month 1 address building a different kind I of foundation for our people. Different and

yet very related! When we build a structure such as a house we must begin with a sound foundation. When the house is completed, it stands as an achievement of the builder's purpose. But to make a house a home we must add people to live in the house. No matter how strong a foundation we put in plaee, no matter what the strength and durability of the structure materials that make up this building, the true reflection of this monument is represented by the spirit of the people that inhabit this dwelling. This month I address the need to build a people — an identity. We must lay out a firm foundation of cultural values, lifestyles and identity for our people that will last for generation upon generation. Every year for the past four years, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has sponsored an Hawaiian youth leadership conference at the state capitol called 'Aha 'Opio O OHA. My special thanks go out to that small group of adult volunteers who have dedicated themselves to making this program a special success. They freely and without hesitation give up their valuable time, take leave from their regular employment, and give up their families for the many days of planning, preparation and execution needed for this conference. The Aha Opio O OHA is a model youth legislature made up of talented young Hawaiian men and women who meet for a period of five days in a most intensive, 24-hour day training program that assists young Hawaiians to understand government, citizenship, leadership, and Hawaiian cultural values. These young adults assume the role of elected representatives and senators and deliberate in the chambers of our state capitol. It is not enough to reflect on the poise and dignity in whieh they conduct themselves. What is far more important is the expression of their thoughts and feelings through legislation. Numerous bills and resolutions were introduced by these young leaders. In fact, a total of 62 measures were introduced and debated and in the end 31 passed both houses of legislature. These measures reflect a wide range of concerns covering education, Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian language, historic and general preservation, Hawaiian Homes reforms, alternate energy resource development, the homeless, eeonomie development, and the drunk driving law. It it important for eaeh of us to take an active role in understanding our young people. Their maturity and innoeenee reflects a valuable lesson for us all. Of the 12 education measures that were enacted by this youth legislature, several emphasized the need for young Hawaiians to have more access to counselors in the school who assist students with their problems and keep them interested in completing their education. Several bills addressed the need for scholarships and financial assistance for post-secondary education and quite a number of bills sought the addition of Hawaiian language and cultural awareness programming.

Hawaiian children are interested in education! By listening to their debates and speeches it is very apparent that they fully understand the need for education as it applies to their ability to have choices in their future lives. They are asking for help and it is our duty to respond appropriately. Several measures were introduced regarding changes in the policies and procedures in Hawaiian Homes. Two were of particular interest. A strong protest was lodged by all youth legislators about using Hawaiian Home Lands to locate public works projects that would otherwise not be wanted in someone else's neighborhood, such as sewage treatment plants, garbage dumps and major roads. Finally, and most significant, was the introduction of a bill to exempt Hawaiian home lessees from real property taxes, a position that some of us advocate very strongly. Again, these young adults expressed early understanding of the need to be vocal about a people's likes and dislikes. To remain silent implies consent and the results of this silence are major highways built through school properties, sewage treatment plants placed in Hawaiian neighborhoods without regard to the people's wishes, ceded land used for garbage dumps with no compensation to the Hawaiians. There were other measures whieh brought about debate and disagreement such as the issue of abortion whieh failed to pass and the issue of driving under the influence whieh did pass. But it was the way in whieh these youngsters conducted themselves that really made an impact on me. We tried to teach them cultural values from the first day's op>ening ceremony and their absorption of these teachings was amazing. They practiced their cultural values every single day. When the usual problems of differing or opposite ideas surfaced, they practiced OHANA values. They met together! They loved eaeh other! They understood eaeh other's needs and where necessary they implemented hooponopono to resolve their differences. In winning their points they were gracious! In victory they were humble! In their losses they were loving! In their times of need they were supportive.

IN SHORT THEY WERE HAWAIIAN. They had HA! The breath of life that is eommon to all of us. The breath of life that we share! They expressed and exemplified the Hawaiian values of alu like, laulima, and 'ohana. We ean all leam a great deal from this conference. How to share our seriousness and humor, our joys and despair, our defeats and success — our Hawaiianess. We shall eonhnue this effort because our fondest hope is that these young men and women will become the responsible leaders of the future. The seeds we plant in this generation will represent the hybrid Hawaiian into whose hands we entrust our nation. I stand firmly behind these young people and am very proud to have been a part of building this very solid foundation of Hawaii's future. I eall upon eaeh and everyone of you to leam about this program and to support it. One of the most discouraging aspect of our recruitment program has been our inability to reach the schools. Eaeh year we send notices to the school and ask their kokua! The response, especially from the schools with the highest concentration of Hawaiian students, is poor. We allocate 76 slots eaeh year and eaeh year there are vacancies. The program is free to the participating student. Transportation, housing, and meals are provided. All a student needs to do is apply. All the schools need to do is to encourage our young Hawaiians to become a part of this golden opportunity. This program has operated for over four years and there are over 200 young men and women out there that I would be proud to eall my children, the children of Hawai'i. We must eonhnue to assist them in their growth. We must provide positive role models for their emulation. We must act with responsibility in carrying out our duties to make Hawai'i a better plaee for Hawaiians to live, work and raise a family. We also must demonstrate the Hawaiian values of alu like, laulima and 'ohana in our everyday activities. 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.

Trnstee's Views

(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 official position of the OHA Board of Trustees.)