Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 1, 1 January 2001 — Political football [ARTICLE]

Political football

Trustee Machado's reprinting a letter to the editor regarding Ke Kula Ni'ihau O Kekaha (KKNOK) as "her eolumn" in the December issue of Ka Wai Ola o OHA was irresponsible. As an OHA trustee, she should be seeking resolution and utilizing her eolumn for providing information about other issues facing the larger Hawaiian eommunity. She instead used her eolumn again to discredit the 'Aha Pūnana Leo. OHA provided no funds for our facility or program, Ke Kula Ni'ihau O Kekaha, but was a passthrough agency for our lease. OHA's commitment in 1997 was to lease the armory to the 'APL for KKNOK as a Hawaiian immersion program. Machado used OHA's polhieal in-fighting to exploit internal divisions in the Ni'ihau community. KKNOK heeame OHA's political football. OHA's interim trustees confirmed the 'APL lease, despite Machado's voting against it. It has finally been signed after waiting over three years! KKNOK is the only indigenous immersion education option available to the Ni'ihau community. If helping the Ni'ihau community is so important to her, then Trustee Machado should not only fund her special interest group ($397,000 has already been awarded) but she should also support funding the other Ni'ihau programs including ours. Luahiwa Nāmāhoe 'Aha Pūnana Leo, Hilo

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