Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 1, 1 January 2016 — HĀʻENA AHUPUAʻA Subsistence fishing with the collective wisdom of the community, past and present [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HĀʻENA AHUPUAʻA Subsistence fishing with the collective wisdom of the community, past and present

By Wayne īanaka The bite of the morning ehill keeps the lawai'a alert as he crouches, low, along the rocky shoreline of Hā'ena. Scanning the surf for moving shadows, an irregular swirl of water, Keli'i lets his throw net fly. Soon after the splash, llashes of silver-gray give away the nenue caught in the suji 's embrace, their last meal of limu kohu quickly forgotten. What would be a typical har\rpct tr\ I

or to share among neighbors, will today go toward a more extraordinary meal. For today, the Hui Maka'āinana o Makana will celebrate the adoption of the first community-based subsistence fishing area rules for the Hā'ena ahupua'a, resurrecting practices, values, and a management philosophy that had sustained the people of the land

for generations past. The state's adoption of a community-driven management approach for Hā'ena countered a trend set over a century ago, when Annexation and the Organic Act sought to replace the ahupua'abased konohiki system with a more Western, top-down approach. The eventual abolishment of the konohiki would deprive many Hawaiian communities of their ability to manage the loeal resources upon whieh they and their ways of life depended: notwithstanding subsequent and substantial declines, Honolulu continued to maintain its authority over all waters under state jurisdiction. The Hā'ena rule adoption eame about only after thousands of volunteer hours and hundreds of community meetings over the course of 20 years, by the tireless, patient, and passionate members and friends of the Hui. In the hnal push, it was the coming together not only of the Hui and its

members, but of other subsistence communities throughout Hawai'i, that overcame the bureaucracy, skepticism and political turbulence that had obstructed the Hā'ena rule proposal for half a decade. The shared vision of all supporters - of continuing cultural traditions and values, of restoring fabled abundance, of providing for their families for generations to eome - proved more powerful in the end than the fears of change and uncertainty, underpinning the status quo. So on Nov. 15, 2015, in the nearby ahupua'a of Waipā, the families of Hā'ena hosted a eelebratory lū'au for all who had supported their work. Under the watchful eyes of Aunty Jodie, Aunty Nalani and the Hui's cooking crew, Hui members unloaded pot after steaming platter of foodprepared that day, by their ancestral Ke'e lo'i fields: Unele Tommy's ehieken hekka, roast pork, kalua pig, deep-fried nenue, limu kohu, poi and Noah's famous imu-baked rice pudding, among

others, weighed down the serving tables. Not present in the locallysourced meal: 'opihi, whieh the Hā'ena community had, through their rules, given up for the next five years, to ensure that the delicacy could be available for the next 50. A mouthwatering fragrance wafted over the guests as they arrived, while a growing group of children splashed in the mud, chased chickens and captured spiders in the fading sunlight. As the sun set, the keiki of Halele'a - the true motivation for the work ctnrl

Hui over the years - formally welcomed all assembled with an 'oli that raised the skin. Later that night, during a round of speeches, Kevin Chang of Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo would eall out to the 16 or so communities represented under the Waipā Foundation's tent: "Mo'omomi, Miloli'i, Kāpahulu, Waimānalo, Ho'okena,

Lāna'i, Wailuku ... " Eaeh name, for him, was a symbol of hope for a future Hawai'i that could boast the long-lost abundance of its past. Eaeh community representative, perhaps, saw Hā'ena as the first trickle of water into an 'auwai that been cleared for the first time in decades; the weight of their collective efforts would soon tum that trickle into a gushing stream, to grow the fields that would feed their families for generations. There was still mueh work to be done, relationships to maintain, strategies to be developed in the years ahead; the lū'au was in fact the beginning of yet another intense weekend workshop, for all to plot the next course forward. But this evening, for a rainy, muddy, joyous moment, it was time for all to rest and reflect. As Hui Vice President Unele Keli'i would observe in his own speech, with hope and humility in his shaking voice: "This is history, all the way. We made history." ■

LAND & WATER

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Hui Maka'āinana o Makana members and guests celebrate the adoption of the Hā'ena CBSFA rules. Photo - Kim Moa

Kua'āina from across the Pae 'Āina seeking to restore traditional community stewardship and sustainable subsistence practices.