Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 5, 1 May 2015 — Step up and step out [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Step up and step out

Trustee 's note: This month 's eolunm was contributed by Winona Kealamapuana EUis Rubin, who shares some thoughts relating to Native Hawaiian Governance. Mrs. Rubin has served in leaderslnp with the Kamehameha

Schools, ALĪJ LIKE ine., Department ofHuman Services, the Offce o/Hawaiian Affairs and has worked for decades 011 behalf of Native Hawaiians. Aloha kakou. īeehnology and electronic devices have altered our collective lifestyles prompting print and television media to retain readers and viewers by accelerating airing of competitive programming and increasing politically oriented coverage of events. Native Hawaiian (NH) self-gover-nanee opponents avoid factual eommunieahon pushing misinformation to challenge and preoccupy Native Hawaiians on several concurrent fronts. Consequently, our NH priorities get diverted from major outcomes and, instead, suffer diffusion by disguised and confusing multiple issues. Top priority for NHs must be self-governance. Without elected delegates deliberating with community constituents on a NH governing entity; and without ratification by all NHs of the 'Aha-recommended form of governance, we continue to be challenged (as we currently are) by an unending progression of orchestrated issues. NHs deserve to pursue our urgent solutions in a central location

with State and Federal representatives. We NHs do not deserve being forced to take our issues to the streets or mountaintops for fair resolution of eaeh separate eoneem. The planned 'Aha preparation culminating with the eleehon of delegates by the last quarter of this year, and ratification by the electorate of a form of governance by March or April of 2016 may appear to be rushed; but driven by a "hiki nō" work ethic, is possible. NH governance, while not perfect, ean take a significant step forward. Waiting and languishing is a luxury we all cannot afford. The upcoming 'Aha is the next step in the

evolution of NH history as envisioned by our ancestors. Our ancestors saw Hawai'i as the center or umhilieal cord of our global island universe. NHs would nurture people of the world in peaceful pursuits through shar-

ing our culture, values, expertise in navigation, aquaculture, environmentally sound agricultural practices, healing and medicinal herbs and cures, and spiritual strength linked through an appreciation of our music, dance and art forms andpractice of problemsolving ho'oponopono. Ourlist is incomplete. With that global vision and cultural survival as the outcome, our ancestors established private Trusts through whieh to perpetuate our NH legacy into the future, i.e. The Kamehameha Schools (education) and even mentoring of potential leaders by sending them to foreign eountries (global insights); Lunalilo Home (elderly care); Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center (orphan and indigent care); Queen's Medical Center and Kapi'olani Center for Women and Children (health and medical care); Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (cultural history and preservation); the NH Royal Societies (funeral support); and later, Hawaiian Civic Clubs (education and political issues) as well as the puhlie trusts - Hawaiian Home Lands (housing and food production); and another puhlie trust still later, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (poliīieal and eeonomie opportunities). What more logical step toward the

dream of global nurturing and international coalescence than to re-establish a center of NH governance as the physical embodiment of the visionary spiritual umhilieal cord. With that awesome global outcome as the unstated but positive result of the current steps toward convening the 'Aha, no delegate ean run for election without serious preparation and commitment for paving the way to mueh more than an insular idea of our future. 29/48 ■ Next month's article will eonūnue focus on Aha delegates.

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Haunani Apnlinna, MSW TrustEE, At-largE

Winona Rubin. - Courtesy photo