Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 3, 1 March 2005 — Not the band of old [ARTICLE]

Not the band of old

The present Royal Hawaiian Band is no longer the Royal Hawaiian Band of old. I counted at one of the performances and recognized just two members of Hawaiian descent. I'm 81 years old and ean remember a time when Native

Hawaiians made up the majority of the band. What happened? Where are the Hawaiians? And now even the Hawaiian bandmaster Aaron Mahi has been replaced by a non-Hawaiian. This action reminds me of the attacks on the programs Hawaiians benefit from, such as Kamehameha Schools, Queen Lili'uokalani Trust, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and OHA. Paul D. Lemke Kapa'a