Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 8, 1 August 1997 — lncrease the trust, but program support is crucial [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

lncrease the trust, but program support is crucial

There has been mueh said in recent months regarding OHA's securing certain potential ineomeproducing properties such as Diamond Head, Pali Lookout, Molokini Island, etc. The premise was laid that these properties would allow OHA to generate additional continuous ineome to strengthen and

increase the trust assets. On the surface this idea seems reasonable. Yet I think the whole idea of selecting property for settlement puts the cart before the horse. How ean we even begin to settle trade offs as compensation for debts whieh have not yet been determined? We must determine the size of the settlement before we ean begin negotiating the method of payment. What we are doing now is like saying, "You owe us a lot of money! We want $50 per month until the debt is paid." Then later when we tally the total amount owed we find that at $50 a month. It would take the State 3,000 years to fully pay the debt. There is no logic in this approach. However, in the absence of any further consideration, this idea is certainly worth looking into. First, is the primary purpose of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to make money, increase the trust assets? Although increasing the trust is arguably a good and necessary goal, it cannot be the primary goal. The trust was created so that its assets, intellectual and material, would better the conditions of the Hawaiian people. Merely making more money does not directly contribute to bettering the conditions of the Hawaiian. Do we concentrate on making money and spending little or nothing on its primary purpose of educating Hawaiian children?

When are we going to put greater emphasis on programs to address our Hawaiian health problems, housing needs, educational problems, employment requirements and eeonomie welfare? In other words, as the oId eommercial says, "Where's the beef?" My next eoneem is the targeted ineome assets. Are we sending a

signal that UHA wants to get involved in the tourist industry? That it is our wish to obtain physical control over certain assets whieh have close ties with our cultural heritage in order to sell ourselves? I, as an individual, find that morally repugnant. Let me stop being so one dimensional. Let us look at the other side of the eoin and ask why not? Why shouldn't we? How long do we remain humble and let nonHawaiians, implants if you will, settle in our Hawai'i making millions improving their quality of life while we, the indigenous people, stmggle from one day to the next? We have many talented people working for and with us. Let us use their talents and become multi-directional. Let us address our problems on a wide basis and move on with the betterment of the conditions of our Hawaiian people. A i mana'o kekahi e lilo po'okela i waena o 'oukoū, e pono no e lilo 'ia i kauwā na 'oukou.

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