Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 1, 1 January 1996 — The burden and the blessing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The burden and the blessing

by Kina'u Boyd Kamali'i Trustee-at-large The traditional Hawaiian new year is eelebrated as the season of makahiki. Makahiki begins with the appearance of the consteliation makali'i above the horizon, and a three month period of peaee, worship. and community is declared. Also

central to the time of the makahiki was the eolleelion of taxes, an accounting and sharing of the weahh of the year's harvest from the sea and the land. This same spirit continues in our celebrations of Christmas and the New Year. At one level we know the happiness of giving and reeeiving presents, of honoring the birth of Jesus, and of

gathering with family and friends. But there is also the deep joy of acknowledging the presents whieh are not wrapped wkh ribbons, the daily gifts self-offered freely day after day. This deeper joy is experienced and interwoven into the work of OHA and the Board of Trastees. Let me share some of these gifts of self: • Thc attorneys and staff at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation who defend Hawaiian family lands and rights. Their determination and skills are effectively halting the quiet theft of kuleana and other lands that went virtually unchallenged for 150 years; • The builders and crews of the Hawaiian voyaging canoes who fill their sails and our hearts with pride and courage. Their spirit has reunified and joined the long-separated cultures of Polynesia and the Pacific Northwest; • The planters and families who raise taro and ncver eomplain of thc back-brcaking work. Central to their work are thc attor-

neys and staff of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council who never shrink from the heart-breaking fights to return water to the fields after a century of diversion; • The members and staff of the Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council who struggle but persevere in finding the money, the time, and the will to provide a process for Hawaiian self-determination. The conduct

and outcome of the plebescite will continue the rebuilding of the Hawaiian nation; • The members of the OHA Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council, Hui Mālama i Nā Kūpuna Kahiko o Hawai'i Nei who protect i and keep safe the anceslral souls of sacred places and nā | iwi. Their work guards our | souls as well; • The staff and members of

the Hawaiian Homes Trust Individual Claims Panel who seek to heal the harms of waiting and being disappointed by the first Hawaiian public trast. Their eoneem and care may help restore the Hawaiian trast and confidence in a better future; • The parents, teachers, and students of Pūnana Leo and Kula Kaiapuni who cherish and sustain the voice and heart of our mother tongue; and • All the countless others who help carry the burden and the blessing of being Hawaiian, especially the patient, eompetent, and caring staff at OHA. There is no way to list all our gifts. Selfless giving surrounds us — often ignored, overlooked, or unthinkingly left unappreciated. Take a moment to join me in saying Mahalo a nui loa for all the gifts we receive. We are traly blessed as a people. We have eaeh other. Hau'oli makahiki hou!