Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 August 2012 — Lānaʻi culture center gets temp staffer through an OHA grant [ARTICLE]

Lānaʻi culture center gets temp staffer through an OHA grant

By Kepā Maly More than 25 years ago, the families of Lāna'i envisioned a plaee where the history of their island home would be collected, where artifacts and historic memorahilia (photos, papers and textiles), and the stories of our island families would be cared for and passed on to future generations. In 2007 the Lāna'i Culture & Heritage Center was organized as a nonprofit charitable organization, and immediately trustees and staff of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs stepped forward to support the efforts. Since then, the program has moved from a closet space to a l,100-square-foot, climatecontrolled museum with world-class exhibits, developed funding resources, partnered with community members, and archivists and museums across the state and beyond. The programs include the indoor museum experience, as well as ethnobotanical gardens, cultural resources recordation and fieldwork in stewardship of Lāna'i's heritage resources. Lāna'i CHC's programs

have heeome a model for other small communities in honoring the past and enriching the future. This work has been made possible through broad community support and funding from a wide range of sources. But at the forefront of this support has been the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. As the Lāna'i CHC works toward building capacity for ongoing operations, OHA trustees approved a one-year staffing grant to support an Operations Assis-tant-Interpreter position at the Lāna'i CHC. The $38,000 grant makes it possible for a Hawaiian resident of Lāna'i to develop skills in documenting and sharing Lāna'i's history with island residents and visitors, and will run from September 2012 to August 2013. The position sets the foundation for longterm work at the heritage center. For more information from Lāna'i, and Lāna'i CHC programs, visit lanaichc.org or eall (808) 565-7177. ■ Kepā Maly, is executive director of Lāna 'i Culture & Heritage Center.

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