Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 9, 1 September 2012 — Reflections of a Trustee [ARTICLE]

Reflections of a Trustee

amgrateful for the opportunity I have been afforded to serve my fellow Hawaiians at this significant time in Hawai'i's history. I am pleased to share the recent accomplishments and the new challenges these achievements will present in the short term. THE CEDED LAND SETTLEMENT Now that we have accomplished resolution of the 32-year dispute between the state and OHA by

accepting 30 acres of Kaka'ako Makai parcels that constituted the basis for the $200 million settlement, we must now address the development of these lands. Kaka'ako Makai is an area in Honolulu that has great potential for development that ean generate ineome for OHA and our people, provide opportunity for small and large businesses, provide expanding employment opportunities for Hawaiians and others in labor and assist OHA in developing an office for itself and other Hawaiian agencies on land whieh it owns. I feel that OHA should undertake planning for this area as a priority and should ensure that competitive bidding for any development contract in Kaka'ako is transparent and conforms to real estate best practices as well as trust law. THE 'AHA MOKU COUNCILS For years, Hawaiian cultural practitioners have sought formal recognition by the state and asserted that cultural and traditional knowledge relating to Hawai'i's land and marine resources should be included in the state's management of these resources. I learned quite a lot from our moku eouneil members who possess the traditional knowledge our state resource managers need to protect Hawai'i's unique and precious natural resources. The OHA trustees provided badly needed hnaneial support and agency oversight for the moku eouncils, because we felt it was a worthy and critically important law. The passage of this Act will now ensure that Hawaiians with traditional knowledge ean participate in the Department of Land and Natural Resources' undertakings in an advisory capacity. I was proud to stand with all of the Hawaiian representatives of the moku councils when the governor signed the bill into law, because it demonstrated to every-

one that Hawaiians ean work together with other state bodies to ensure that culturally appropriate approaches to resource management ean be integrated into modern resource protection planning. I congratulate the 'Aha Moku Councils for a job well done and look forward to working with them on future endeavors. THE PALAUEA ACQUISITION

In August of this year, OHA trustees took action to accept a gift of 20-plus acres of land located on Maui known as the Palauea Cultural Reserve. The parcel is home to 13 known "extremely significant" cultural sites, including heiau. This land is the last remaining intact concentration of cultural sites in the Wailea-Mākena area of Maui. For years, Maui heneheiaries have expressed eoneem that this area was at risk because of expanding resort and hotel development in the vicinity. In accepting this gift, OHA has committed itself to developing a management and stewardship program for the preserve in partnership with the University of Hawai'i and the Hawaiian community. CLOSING Since my appointment as OHA Maui trustee in January of this year, I have had many uplifting and humbling experiences. My tenure has shown me that while OHA faces challenges and obstacles, these issues and problems ean be addressed by working with our beneficiaries and others in the state to find solutions that will benefit Hawaiians and the state. Hawaiians are resilient. Our culture is vibrant, and we, as a people, have mueh to give, share and teach. I thank Akua and all those who have contributed to making progress on these and many other issues. Hawai'i is facing trying times, a fiscal crisis and many difficult issues. Hawaiians and OHA ean and will play an important role in the social, eeonomie and political arenas of our state where the decisions will impact the future of our mo'opuna. By practicing our cultural values - lōkahi and aloha - we will not only preserve our culture but ensure that these values eonhnue to be the foundation of our state. ■

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Carmen 'Hulu" Lindsey TrustEE, Maui