Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 6, 1 June 2016 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

Where is the Office of Hawaiian Affairs going to be in five or 10 years? I don't mean physically, but fiscally. That statement may make it appear as if we are a money-grabbing organization. But in order to protect our lands such as Wao Kele o Puna, Pahua Heiau, Kūkaniloko, Palauea and other legacy properties, we need resources. Protecting our land, culture and traditions through advocacy and research takes more resources. Things aren't getting cheaper. As with your family budget, as the cost of living keeps going up, it puts a real squeeze on the things you are able to do. So rather than stay stagnant, I am looking to the wisdom of our ancestors through a cultural lens to halanee our needs so we ean protect our resources while growing our revenue. Why? Because the needs of the Hawaiian people continue to grow, and our charge is to give those who need help a hand up. In the western capitalist world, we talk about highest and best use. But we have a responsibility beyond that. For Hawaiians, perhaps the term ought to be best use. The best thing to do isn't always to go for the highest value. It is to protect our values as well. So we are sharpening our pencils and deciding how best we ean make a difference. We need to carefully decide on our priorities.

Instead of spreading ourselves too thin to be effective, we need to focus on areas where we ean make a difference to uplift Native Hawaiians. We must demand quality that moves the needle, not quantity where there is a lot of activity, accomplishing little. And we can't do it ourselves. No one ean anymore. Funding from the federal government is getting harder to eome by, and the state has many competing needs for every dollar it spends. We need a new paradigm. Hawaiian organizations, non-profits and government seem to be working in silos to solve the same problem. We at OHA are guilty of this as well. Its time to bring everyone together to get the best value we ean. We also need to find new and creative ways to make sure we are sustainable for future generations, and to do it responsibly. By becoming more focused we ean make a difference. Creating the right partnerships will allow us to leverage our resources to truly benefit not just Hawaiians but all of Hawai'i. 'O au iho nō me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o,

A V I S 1 0 N 0 F THE FUTURE

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

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