Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 8, 1 August 2006 — Ex-pat Hawaiians [ARTICLE]

Ex-pat Hawaiians

I applaud OHA for reaching out to Hawaiians around the globe and especially in heavily Hawaiian populated areas like California. It is this Hawaiian populahon that ean, will and has helped the cause for Hawaiians in Congress by writing letters to their

respective representatives in their state to support such issues as the Akaka Bill. These ex-pats who moved to the continent or elsewhere to improve their lives and the lives of their family members spend more time and effort to stay in touch with their roots than the Hawaiians who live on the 'āina. How do I know? I was an ex-pat who lived on the continent for many years. I drove as far as 60 to 90 miles one way to attend civic club meetings and to advocate for my "loeal" friends and family. So, in defense of the so-called "mainland Hawaiians," who has the power or the right to distinguish who is a Native Hawaiian and who is not? Hawaiians who live on the continent must put more effort into staying in touch with their roots by aligning themselves with other Hawaiians or groups of Hawaiians in their areas. They work harder at keeping their culture alive without the natural resources that the homeland offers. Most products must be imported from Hawai'i to the various areas on the continent. This helps the loeal economy since there is money exchanged for the various products. They are not able to gather as the "locals" are accustomed to get the natural flora. They eonhnue to share the Hawaiian customs and traditions with eaeh other and their neighbors of all races, thereby educating others in the Hawaiian ways and gaining more support for Hawaiian issues on a federal level. I now reside in Waikōloa on the Big Island. Like most Hawaiians living abroad, I always wanted to move back to Hawai'i, but I could not make the move until I knew that I would not be another statistic "on the dole." In order for me to help my fellow natives, I had to be solvent. Unfortunately, Hawai'i is still a state that has not

stepped up to the nonn as far as comparable wages are concerned. Lahela Jarrett Waikōloa, Hawai'i