Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 12, 1 December 2010 — A Christmas wish for all Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Christmas wish for all Hawaiʻi

Aloha mai kakou, As we approach the end of 2010, may I express my deep-

est gratitude to all for your interest and commitment to all things Hawaiian, whether you be Hawaiian or not. I am grateful not only to readers such as you but to my wife and family and a loving Heavenly Father upon whom I ean always rely. I thank Him for my family living and dead and commit to linking us altogether in the eternities. Having gone through two family reunions this

year, I acknowledge that families are the strength of our nation(s), that they are the basic unit of society and that they ean be forever. As such, we need to look at our eollective history as a people and a family. Those who survived the many wars of our ancestors ean connect to eaeh other via their roots and thus we as the indigenous, native, aboriginal people of this land ean conclude that our Hawaiian roots connect together as one large family. The vast majority of Hawaiians have other ancestors from other lands of whom they should also be proud; however, as a family of this land who tie physically, spiritually and emotionally to the 'āina and to eaeh other, we are definitely not united as a family ean and should be. Hawai'i has been the homeland of our people for centuries. But now others eomplain when we say this is our homeland and land of our inheritance, having passed family to family until the overthrow. Other native peoples have experienced the same thing and all have found it difficult to recover and press forward as one. One reason is that we have succumbed to western ways, whieh have divided us, diluted us and defeated us

as a people. Not to say western ways are all bad, but as applied to our family, they have compelled us to live not as a united family but as individuals with our own game plans

instead of our own family plans. As we approach the last opportunity for the Akaka bill to pass this year, we still remain divided every whieh way and fail to understand the importance of unity in preserving our family. Without eventual recognition, the Hawaiian family will be no more but will be absorbed into the larger human family and our existence will be

only a memory. We therefore need to not only support recognition but also prepare for it should the bill pass. We ean gain so mueh united, and lose so mueh divided. In 2011, OHA will again try to resolve the ceded lands dispute with the State Legislature. Your kōkua and help will be most beneficial to all Hawaiians. There are only a eouple of power brokers who consistently frustrate all we at OHA do. Let them know it is time they gave back to Hawaiians what they owe us. With a potentially new governing entity down the line should the Akaka bill pass, it is even more urgent that the Legislature pay up. As duly elected Trustees we have and will continue to work as best as ean be expected with all legislators but especially those who are reasonable and willing to cooperate with us in our quest to provide for the benefit of our people and the rest of Hawai'i. And so my wish for Christmas is that the Akaka bill pass, that all of Hawai'i benefit and that our culture be preserved for nā mamo a me nā kupuna. Our ancestors eall, Ke Akua calls, so let us not forget them especially this time of the year.B

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