Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 2, 1 February 1995 — Pelekai sits on board of Keepers of the Treasures [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pelekai sits on board of Keepers of the Treasures

OHA culture officer Plkake Pelekai has been named to the

board of directors of Keepers of the Treasures, the federally funded eultural eouneil of American Indians, Alaska natives and native Hawaiians. Formed in 1990, Keepers of the Treasures exists to bolster the eultures and traditions of

native Americans, including ka po'e Hawai'i. Pelekai said the organization concentrates on repatriation, sacred sites, preservation, and language. Pelekai was elected to the board by the Hawai'i delegation to the May 1994 Keepers conference in Warm Springs, Oregon. She also attended a November planning meeting held in Washington, D.C. during whieh the group worked on organizational matters and

tried to identify long-range goals. The group has also been busy

reviewing amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act and looking at ways to implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The next meeting, scheduled for May,

will be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In addition to forming a regional chapter of Keepers of the Treasures in Hawai'i, Pelekai sees her goal to be: "to learn as mueh as I ean and to advocate and advance the Hawaiian cause. We're all native people, so we all have the same concerns. "It was interesting to see that the same kinds of cultural problems we have, they (the other native American groups) also have: loss of identity, loss of language, loss of sacred sites, the impact of colonization. ... how we remain distinct, and how we eontinue to preserve our traditions in light of that." Hawaiians can't go wrong, Pelekai said, by "supporting them and having them support us and the cause - the cause of first peoples everywhere."

Pīkake Pelekai