Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 10, 1 October 2006 — S. KAUʻI NAʻAUAD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

S. KAUʻI NAʻAUAD

IA loha kākou ! /\ My name is S. Kau'i A. A. Na 'auao, and I am lunning for the O'ahu seat as a

trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I am

one of the many descendants of Komomua and eome from a family deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture and arts. My mother (Aloha Dalire), sisters (Kapua Dalire-Moe, Keola Dalire) and I have all earned the prestigious title of Miss Aloha Hula for the Merrie Monarch hula festival. Our family traditions are passed on through two schools of hula: Keolalaulani Hālau 'Olapa 0 Laka, originated by my grandmother (Mary Keolalaulani McCabe Wong), and Hālau Ka Liko Pua O Kalaniakea. My father (John Dalire) is a Hawaiian drum maker and craftsman. I am married to Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning Hawaiian entertainer Sean Na'auao and am the mother of five sons. I graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in 1991 and received my bachelor's degree in Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawai'i in 1996. I worked in the Hawaiian community at both the Center for Hawaiian Studies and Alu Like ine. and am currently a licensed realtor for Arquette Properties. Through my work experiences, I have seen first-hand the struggles of our people. As a realtor, I have seen Native Hawaiians being displaced and dispossessed because of the booming real estate market. I have worked with families that could neither qualify for home loans nor afford the deposit and first months' rent to put a roof over their child's head. I have seen the need for Hawaiians to find employment and have helped them develop the necessary skills to pursue a career. Many of our youth have been labeled "at-risk" and "kolohe" and are classified as special education students. I have stressed to them the importance of staying in school because not only is it their kuleana, but knowledge is power. As a member of the Hawaiian community, a cultural practitioner and a family woman, 1 am the bridge between my parents' generation and my children's generation. I must preserve the teachings and works of those who have eome before me and protect the birthright of our future generations. I will work to preserve that whieh is authentic versus that whieh is artificial. Protection and perpetuation of environmental and eultural resources are of great importance in maintaining the balance with nature and in keeping things pono. It is the essence, not the gadgetry. Access to quality education, good heahh care, affordable housing and basic human services are issues that need to be addressed immediately. The time is now for the next generation to step forward and make a differenee. I will be koa and 'onipa'a as the voice of the Hawaiian people in the advocacy and perpetuation of all things Hawaiian. "Maka'u 'ole nā holomoku i ka 'ino." (Good sailors are not afraid of the storm.)