Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 1, 1 January 2002 — 2002: a new opportunity for a better Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

2002: a new opportunity for a better Hawaiʻi

In this new year, we need to cel~ ebrate the achievements of Hawaiians, We are moving for~ ward on many fronts, We are proud of the perseverance of our kupuna who did not succumb to the humiliation of the loss of our government and institutions under the Organic Act, They set the stage so that this generation ean re~build our nation using the strong legal foundation that our far~seeing queen left for us, Let's talk about some of the progress we Hawaiians have made, At the beginning of the 20th centu~ ry, there were only 39,656 Hawaiians in a total population of 154,001. But the latest census report shows that our total population is 476,000 with 240,000 strong here in Hawai'i, Themajority of our populahon is 18 and under, OHA needs to ensure that our children are physically and spiritually healthy, that our children are intellectually stimulated to take their rightful plaee in their nation and the world, We need to spend our money wisely in support of these broad goals, There are many more Hawaiians

in the professions: lawyers, doctors, nurses, researchers, teachers, social workers and more that own their own businesses, We have overcome the misconception of the early 20th century that Hawaiians were only capable of "using their hands" whieh limited Hawaiians to the trades and work in security, We have many more college grad~ uates, and it is mueh easier for our children to be awarded scholar~ ships, But we must not fail to insure that all our children have strong basic skills upon whieh they ean build their educational futures, We hear our language being spo~ ken more, especially by our ehildren, And Hawaiian creativity is flowing in literature, in hula, in the fine arts including traditional art, and especially in all forms of our music, We must look to the source of progress in the Hawaiian eommunity, Our strength and our values emanate from our kupuna who sur~ vived very adverse conditions, They were not, however, afraid of hard work, They were tenacious,

sincere, honest and reliable, Most important, they were generous and hospitable, Their values were taught

through example, They could uphold these values as they had a strong spiritual base, We need to continue to uphold these strong val~ ues in our families, We have a legal legacy from our rulers and constitutions, We must

always remember that the Kingdom of Hawai'i was recognized as a nation state throughout the world, īt is the responsibility of everyone to understand what those legal rights really are: through first~hand knowledge and research, īn knowing the facts ourselves, no one ean manipulate us, īt is OHA's duty to disseminate complete information and complete truths to its beneficia~ ries, We Hawaiians ean play a major role in this state, We have the numbers to be a powerful political block, īn the coming elections, we need to really study the issues and candidates and to support only those who will help to promote our goals and our future, We ean make changes that will better not only Hawaiians but everyone in Hawai'i, Eaeh of us should be asking, "What ean ī do to make life better in my family and my community? How ean ī use my skills to help rebuild my nation?" He mau mea kā kākou e ho'olako ai. We all have something to eontribute, I mual ■

Our strength and our values emanate from our kupuna who survived very adverse conditions. They were not, however, afraid of hard work. They were tenacious, sincere, honest and reliahie. Most important, they were generous and hospitable.

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Donald Cataluna Trustee, Kaua'i anel Ni'ihau