Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 12, 1 December 1991 — The Plantation way of life [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Plantation way of life

By Christina Zarobe Assistant Editor Elaine Kaopuiki talks about Lana'i, the only home she has ever known, as if it was her child. "I feel so sorry for my little island of Lana'i. For me, she is so untouched by human hands," says Kaopuiki whose Hawaiian family ancestry ean be traced back five generations on Lana'i. "But now she's getting it." For more than half a century, Lana'i has been known as the pineappie island. It was a plantation town where Kfe revolved around the Dole Food Co.'s vast pineapple operation, where job security was never an issue and the island was spared the harsh realities of urban life and spiraling progress. It was, in other words, a way of life that had vanished from mueh of the United States. But with the announcement of Dole Food Co., a subsidiary of Castle & Cooke Properties, to phase out pineapple production over the next year, the future of Lana'i is precarious. Faced with adopting a drastically different industry — tourism — as their livelihood,

residents are apprehensive, fearful as changes happen almost daily on the isolated island. Community activists and loeal government officials are feverishly negotiating with representatives of Dole, owners of 98 percent of the land, in an effort to maintain the island's quality of life, its environmental beauty and its rich ancient Hawaiian history. "I ddn't think people realize how mueh ean be lost on the island of Lana'i," says Councilman Goro Hokama, who has represented Lana'i for the past 37 years. "I agree there had to be some development but my perception was that it would be mueh slower and that Lana'i would sell what it was, its history and its people rather than compete with other resorts." But in the high stakes world of tourism, time is money. Dole officials have moved into the public forum to state their case taking out full-page ads in the Honolulu dailies outlining past accomplishments and future goals for the island. For example, the company points out in its ad

that residents have been given priority in the hiring of the staff at the hotels — The Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay Hotel. The result is that 75 percent of the staff are either from Lana'i or have returned. They also note that, thus far, over $250 million has been invested by the company on the island, "a large portion of this is infrastructure improvements for the benefit of loeal residents." Dole officials vow to maintain the intimate appeal of the island as well as its acres of rugged countryside. And some say having Lanai's control under the domain of Dole is preferable to a buyout by a foreign investor. The ad, whieh is identified as "An Open Letter on the Issues from David Murdock," chairman of the Dole Food Co., acknowledges that Lana'i is a "special" plaee. "Lana'i is very special. I want to work with all groups to provide an improved future — economically, socially, and culturally — for all of the residents and employees of Lana'i," Murdock states in the advertisement. Castle and Cooke officials could not be reached for further comment. Throughout interviews with island residents, loeal and state officials and staff at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) familiar with the situation on Lana'i the word "special" was, in fact, the most commonly used description of the island. Lanaians for Sensible Growth was founded in 1987 in response to the possibility of the Manele Bay Hotel, then under construction, blocking public access to Hulopo'e Beach and destroying archeological sites. Its president, Martha Evans, teaches 6th grade at the island's only school. Born and raised on O'ahu and part-Hawaiian, Evans has been teaching on Lana'i for 15 years. She sees the encroachment of urban woes working its way into the remote island society. School counselors are seeing more problems with drugs, Evans points out by example. "Their parents are working two and three jobs, children are not being supervised." While the scourge of drugs may not be a new story for many American cities, it signals on Lana'i the end of an era, the end of a kind of exclusion lifetime residents prized and newcomers eagerly sought. "Things are moving very quickly. There are a lot of physical changes but 1 am concerned about what is happening to people emotionally," says Evans. Clearly frustrated, Evans says residents are failing to "rally together" leaving the community involvement to "only a handful." "At least to know where people stand. It's really difficult to defend a lifestyle . . . maybe people don't want to continue the way we are," she says as if thinking aloud. "I feel people need to take an active voice in their future. We will be the ones living with the change." Yet some on Lana'i have already shifted gears into the tourism field. Elaine Kaopuiki spent 12 years working in the pineapple fields of Dole Co. and her husband, Sam, recently retired after 41 years with the company. Today, Elaine Kaopuiki plays Hawaiian music in a three-person group at both Lana'i resorts. For the past 40 years, she also has taught hula. "You can't stay outside looking in. I feel one way or another through my hula or music, they need me," she says. Kaopuiki treasures the way of life on Lana'i and advocates residents to express their opinions about Lanai's future, "to be seen and to be heard." But she also believes by working at the hotels she is teaching interested non-Hawaiians about a rich culture and helping Hawaiiana live on. Trustee Louis Hao, who represents Lana'i and Moloka'i on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) board, echoes Evans' observations about Lana'i residents who are silent about the direction the island takes. "I guess the question is are the people

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Hulopo'e Beach, a favorite is located helow the Manele Bay »wimmlng area of l»land residents, Hotel.