Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 3, 1 April 2009 — Aloha Kalaniana'ole ... 1918 to 2009 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha Kalaniana'ole ... 1918 to 2009

ChairpersonHaunaniApoliona invited Leimomi Khan, President of t.he Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. to write t.his month's eolumn. The association celebrat.es t.he vision of Hawaiian Civic Club fou.nders, leaders and members who eonūnue that legacy for t.he generat.ions present andfu.t.u.re. On April 18, 2009, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the "Association" of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, whieh is the result of a growth of clubs nationwide since the establishment of the first, the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, on Dec. 7, 1918. We live Prince Kūhiō's vision and like him remain an advocate in the communities we reside. Prince Kūhiō at the age of 22 participated in a rebellion against the Republic of Hawai'i for whieh he was sentenced to prison. Later, he went to South Africa to fight in the Boer War against missionaries because he was unable to do the same in Hawai'i. When he returned to Hawai'i, he became active in the Home Rule Party, whieh represented native Hawaiians and continued to fight for Hawaiian independence. Subsequently, he joined the Republican Party and was elected as a delegate to the U.S. Congress, where he steered the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

One of the reasons for forming the civic clubs was Kūhiō felt he had to find a way for Hawaiians to get together to talk, in safety. For years after the overthrow and so-called annexation, Hawaiians were forbidden to assemble in groups. They lived in fear of retribution via job loss and other kinds of unwritten policies directed toward them. Hawaiians at the time were like captives in their own land. Kūhiō devised a way to bring people together to ostensibly talk about social issues and concerns, but underneath it all to discuss the poliīieal future of a people who had been subjugated to the loss of their nation. This man was profound and visionary. Hawaiian Civic Clubs' general membership meetings and the Association's annual convention are "safe places to talk" where civic club members gather to debate issues, to plan programs and to formulate strategies addressing issues. These topics include nation building, education, heahh, eeonomie development, housing and others. Civic club members are active in their eommunities. They ean be found as caretakers of such sacred lands as: • Kūkaniloko (Wahiawā HCC) • Ulupō Heiau (Kailua HCC) • Ha'ikū Valley (Ko'olaupoko HCC) • Iosepa (Kauwahi Anaina Hawai'i HCC (Utah), and • Pu'ukoholā Heiau (Waimea HCC) Performing community service, such as: • Kalihi Pālama HCC feeding the homeless • Prince Kūhiō HCC adopting a charter school

where 80 percent of its students are from homeless communities • Waimea HCC initiating the first charter school on Hawai'i Island • Pearl Harbor HCC supporting the Great Aloha Run and the Aloha Festivals Floral parade, and • 'Ewa-Pu'uloa HCC participating in partnership with Kōkua 'Ohana, a Native Hawaiian foster care program Conducting culturally rich educational programs such as: • E Ala, a double-hulled eanoe educational seafaring program (Wai'anae HCC) • Organizing poliīieal events, such as the First Hawaiian Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C. (Ke Ali'i Maka'āinana HCC), and • Producing, directing and conducting the Kū 'ē

Pet.it.ion play (Ka Lei Maile Ali'i HCC) Serving on various boards and commissions and forming new entities, such as: • Island Burial Councils • LHah Board of Education • The Hawai'i sister-to-sister State Council • The Prince Kūhiō Federal Credit Llnion • Hawai'i Maoli, and • The Prince Kūhiō Community Center We thank and express our sincere "Mahalo nui loa" to Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole, Republicans John C. Lane, William Legros and Alexander G. M. Robertson; Democrats William H. Heen, Noah Aluli and Jesse Uluihi for their initiative in forming the first civic club as a means to elevate the social, eeonomie, civic, cultural and intellectual status of Native Hawaiians. 4/48 ■

LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES KA WAI OLA ĪHE LIVING WATER 0F OHA

Haunani Apnlinna, MSW ChairpErsūn, TrustEE, At-largE

State Sen. Brickwood Galuteria and members of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, including Leimomi Khan, second from leff, who is also fhe presidenf of fhe Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, whieh will celebrate its 50th anniversary April 1 8. The Senate and House on AAarch 24 honored the civic clubs for their work celebrating the host culture and perpetuating the vision of Prince Jonah Kalaniana'ole Kūhiō, ū former Congressional delegate and founder of the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu in 1918. Plctured from left are: Anita Naone, Khan, Charlie Rose, Momi Clark, Galuteria, Civic Club of Honolulu president Leatrice Kauahi and Manu Boyd. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom