Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 9, 1 September 2015 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

've never seen people so happy — satisfied with life and with what they have. In early August, I visited the Cook Islands with Chair Robert Lindsey, Maui Trustee Carmen Hulu Lindsey and members of our staff. The people govern themselves in free association with New Zealand. There are 15,000 people living there, most of them part-Māori. In many ways, it's like peering into our own past. The population is twice that of Moloka'i but its land mass is less than half the size. In many ways, they reflect a bygone area, except for this: they have the same modern conveniences as we do today but they are very satisfied with what they have. They might not have the nicest movie theatres, or the biggest cars. But they are watching the same movies we're watching and have the same technology we have. They are dependent on tourism like we are, and while everyone does some farming or fishing, they are also dependent on imported food. So what is it that makes them so happy? Ask the Cook Islanders and they talk about the values they cherish. They talk about their Christian faith, governance and cultural traditions. And it got me to thinking. These days, everyone seems to be caught up in rhetoric. It seems to be dividing us and making us all

unhappy. Look at the Presidential elections and anger and loathing it has inspired. There's a lot of shouting at eaeh other. Look at the biggest issues locally: one person yells and the next one has to yell even louder. But what if we looked at our shared values. If we spoke with aloha instead of anger, could we bring more people together? Do we realize that those issues that divide us are small in comparison to the values that unite us. We all want to care for our keiki and kūpuna. We all want to make a better life for ourselves and our neighbors. My trip to the Cook Islands reinforced my belief that we ean attain self-governance if we use our cultural traditions and values as a guide. We ean do it without sacrificing our cultural identity. And most of all, we ean all be happy. 'O au iho nō me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o,

CULTURAL VALUES AND GOVERNANCE

'ŌLELO A KA LUNA HO'OKELE V ^ MESSAGE FR0M THE CE0 r

Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive 0fficer