Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 3, 1 March 2014 — CARRYING ON A TRADITION OF SKILLED AND THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CARRYING ON A TRADITION OF SKILLED AND THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP

Aloha mai kākou, Long before "sustainability" became the latest catchword, our ancestors were already practicing it. They were the first stewards of our 'āina, but more importantly skilled and thoughtful stewards in every aspect of their lives. Today, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is committed to this tradition. In February, Ni'ihau residents eame to OHA seeking support as they fought to prohibit fishing, by non-Ni'ihau residents, in their nearshore waters. Simply put, their stewardship practices are being jeopardized, whieh in turn threatens their main resource for food and ultimately their survival. Upon hearing their emotional testimony, our Trustees took a strong position to protect Native Hawaiian sustainable practices by asking the Governor to impose restrictions that will safeguard the traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians and ensure those living on Ni'ihau ean thrive for generations to eome. Meanwhile, at the Legislature, OHA is advocating to make sure we take a more holistic approach to heahh. We are supporting legislation that recognizes heahh is more than family history, but includes economics, social policies and politics. Onee again, we have a kuleana to be thoughtful stewards as our ancestors were.

Thoughtful stewardship is a theme we are following with our plans in Kaka'ako Makai. We are actively pursuing residential development for some of our parcels. In 2012, when OHA agreed to a settlement with the state, we did so knowing we had to eome up whh a stewardship plan that would not only sustain the properties but would also benefit OHA's strategic plan to improve conditions for Native Hawaiians: in heahh, education, housing and many other areas. But in balancing our kuleana we must also be skilled stewards of the 'āina, and maintain the preservation of our traditional and customary practices. To put this in a modern context, private developers must maximize results for their shareholders. For OHA's shareholders - our beneficiaries - h has always been the skilled and thoughtful stewardship of our traditional and customary practices that we look to, to improve the condition of Native Hawaiians while benefiting all of Hawai'i. 'O au iho nō me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o, V—*Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive 0fficer