Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 6, 1 June 2017 — THE EYES of the LAND [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE EYES of the LAND

By Joan Lander, NaMaka o ka 'Aina Abraham "Puhipau " Ahmad OcTober 24, 1937 - Febmary 9, 2016 >- Abraham "Puhipau" Ahmad was a Hawaiian Kingdom patriot and documentary filmmaker with Nā Maka o ka 'Āina who dedicated his hfe to enlightening himself, his people and the world about Hawaiian history, sovereignty and aloha 'āina. He was born in Hilo to Caroline Aku of Kealia, Kona, and AbrahamAhmad, formerly of Palestine. Raised in Keaukaha and on O'ahu, he attended the Kamehameha Schools (Class of '55) and was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Oregon. He worked in the Merchant Marine for 10 years, sailing around South America, and to the North Pacific and Asia, while raising three sons in Cahfomia with his wife Vivian Aulani (Fish) Ahmad. Retuming to Hawai'i, he eventually found himself in the middle of a land rights struggle at Sand Island in Honolulu Harbor, where a group of Hawaiians, unable to afford the high cost of hving, had estabhshed a community in an area used as a rubbish dump. They subsisted off the sea, living the hfestyle of their ancestors in one of the most productive fisheries on O'ahu, Mokauea. In 1980, Puhipau and others were evicted and arrested by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, an event that was documented by Victoria Keith and Jerry Rochford in "The Sand Island Story" and broadcast on PBS stations SEE AHMAŪ ON BACK PAūE

ABRAHAM "PUHIPAU" AHMAU

Photo: Joan Lander

> AHMAP

CONTINUED FR0M INSIDE throughout the United States. During the subsequent trials, Puhipau read Hawaii's StotybyHawaii's Queen. Determined to document the history of Hawai'i and its culture under threat, he formed a video production team with Joan Lander called Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("The Eyes of the Land"). Over the next 36 years they produced numerous documentaries, recording efforts to protect the district of Ka'ū, the rainforests of Puna, ancient burials on Maui at Kapalua, the sacred landscape of Mauna Kea, historic sites and anehialine ponds at Kohanaiki, the streams of Waiāhole and East Maui, the valley of Mākua and the island of Kaho'olawe. They focused on the efforts of families to hold onto ancestral land, from Waimea, Makua and Waimānalo on O'ahu to the remote area of Ka Lae. Knowledge of fishponds, lo'i kalo, ahupua'a management, oeean navigation, healing and horticulture were documented, along with the revival of the Hawaiian language, hula, music and art. Historic events such as the attempted overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom were explored as well as subsequent efforts to restore recognition of Hawaiian sovereignty. (See HawaiianVoice.com.) Puhipau personally brought his story to film festival audiences in Berlin, Yamagata, New York City, Santa Cruz and Aotearoa. Nā Maka o ka 'Āina productions have been seen on television networks in Hawai'i, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa and Canada, and have been used as part of educational eunieula in classrooms and universities throughout the islands and the world. ■