Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 8, 1 August 2007 — David Roy's legacy [ARTICLE]

David Roy's legacy

I am not comfortable with Ahu'ena Heiau Ine. assuming stewardship of Ahu'ena Heiau because I have yet to see any individual, recognizable to the eommunity, publicly associated with this entity. It doesn't make sense to trust an unproven group with such a serious mission when the Kulana Huli Honua foundation is already operating transparently and successfully. During the time that I have lived on Hawai'i Island, mainly in the Kailua-Kona area, Ahu'ena Heiau has been administered by members of the Roy family. In fact, this heiau was restored by Bishop Estate in 1975 with David Roy as supervisor and has been

periodically renovated under his guardianship since then. Many in this community have attended kumu's Hawaiian language and pre-contact Hawaiian history classes over the years. Now his family continues his educational legacy through Kulana Huli Honua, a nonprofit organization. Perhaps it is time for us to show appreciation for what David Roy and his family have accomplished by accepting responsibility for an important cultural legacy, Ahu'ena Heiau. Please join me in advising the new ownership conglomerate of King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel to continue the previous owners' nurturing attitude toward the host culture. Surely this unfortunate situation ean be made pono, if we all work together. Beth Robards Kona, Hawai'i lsland