Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 1, 1 January 1995 — OHA's trustees take office, look to future [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA's trustees take office, look to future

by Jeff Clark Kūpuna presented the nine Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees with nā lei hulu (feather leis) symbolic of their leadership positions during OHA's investiture ceremony Dec. 2. Trustee Billie Beamer, the oniy newcomer on the board, joined Trustees Abraham Aiona, Moanike'ala Akaka, Rowena Akana, A. Frenchy DeSoto, Clayton H. W. Hee, Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i, Moses K. Keale, Sr., and Samuel L. Kealoha, Jr. in proceedings at Kawaiaha'o Church that included chant, song, and words of encouragement from members of the Hawaiian community and the community at large. The Hawaiian people elected Beamer and re-elected Aiona,

Akana, DeSoto and Hee to fouryear terms Nov. 8; the seats held by Akaka, Kamali'i, Keale and Kealoha will be up for election when their current terms expire in two years. Immediately prior to the cere-

I mony, the trustees were sworn in by Justice Robert Klein in the OHA conference room. Under the temporary chairmanship of Keale, the trustee with the most seniority, the Board then reelected Hee and Aiona as chairperI son and vicechairperson, respectively. 7 In a speech at

Kawaiaha'o, Hee reviewed some of the accomplishments made by the board over the two years since he addressed the Hawaiian public on the occasion of the 1992 investiture. He also paid tribute to outgoing governor John Waihe'e

and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Hoaliku Drake, commending their work toward bettering the conditions of ka po'e Hawai'i. Hee welcomed those in attendance by telling them, "By your presence today you share in the shaping and acceptance of our mutual obligations, responsibilities and duties to eaeh other and, more importantly, to the Hawaiian people." The trustees were given charges by members of three generations of Hawaiians and by a representative of the community at large. Kupuna Leilani Violet Hughes told the trustees that although their diversity and their divisiveness may be reflective of the Hawaiian community, their purpose is not to reflect but to lead. "Yours is not an easy job," Hughes said. "Please become those leaders we ean look up to. When we are proud of you, we are also proud of ourselves." Luana Sala represented the

mākua, those of the "parent" or middle generation. Hidi Naeole, elected kia'āina during 'Aha 'Ōpio 1994, flew in from Puna to represent the Hawaiian youth. "As OHA trustees, a great responsibility is ... placed on you," Naeole said. "You will pave the road for us nā 'ōpio o Hawai'i nei. What decisions you make, good or bad, will affect all of us Hawaiians, now in the present as well as (in) the future. "We the 'ōpio challenge you, as the kūpuna have challenged us, to remain humble, go with your first intuition, listen to your pu'uwai as well as your na'au." Hardy Spoehr, a non-Hawaiian • active in Hawaiian affairs (he's currently the executive director of Papa Ola Lōkahi), represented the community at large. "Don't forget us in your deliberations," he said. "We want to help. ... As island people we are one." The ceremony concluded with the singing of "Kaulana Nā Pua" by the roughly 600 people in attendance.

The lei hulu, or feather lei, is symbolic of OHA trustees' leadership positions. Photo by Patrick Johnstor