Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 3, 1 March 2002 — Kaʻu eviction [ARTICLE]

Kaʻu eviction

On Oct. 15, an eviction notice was issued by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to my 'ohana at Ka Lae (South Point), Ka'ū. Our first response was to try to meet with DHHL to ho'oponopono, but when a month went by with no response, we sent out a kāhea to the Hawaiian community for kōkua. The response was overwhelming, heartwarming, and made us proud of the decision we made 11 years ago to be the caretakers of this historic landmark and to provide cultural experiences for the children of Ka'ū. We've had a lot of bad press about our activities at Ka Lae. My mana'o is that DHHL needs to give out misinformation to justify their threats of eviction. After a video about our struggle was aired on public access, the Jan. 15 eviction was called off but not officially cancelled. Since then, we have tried numerous times to meet with DHHL with no results. But we will not put our lives on hold because of their inaction. We will continue our caretaking and our educational efforts with lifelong commitment. Mahalo. M. Leimomi Viernes Ka Lae , Ka'ū Editor's note: For more on the struggle at KaLae, Ka'ū, tune in to First Friday on 'Olelo Channel 53, fridays at 6:30 throughout the monīh of April. The Viernes 'ohana will be guests on the show.