Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 5, 1 May 2023 — Lei Nāhonoapi 'ilani i ka Hanohano [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Lei Nāhonoapi 'ilani i ka Hanohano

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In Hawai'i, our mele are a repository of knowledge and lifeways. Mele ean serve a number of functions such as encapsulating history, expressing feelings of aloha, and manifesting pride for our aina. Lei Nāhonoapi'ilani, written by Mima Apo, is one such mele. Set to the tune of the familiar Hawai'i Aloha, Lei Nāhonoapi'ilani captures the beauty of the famed bays of Pi'ilani. Like many of our mele, Lei Nāhonoapi'ilani is also a roadmap for that whieh is important — the tranquility of Hauola, the lehua of Līhau, and the fragrant maile of Halona. All of these things are dependent on a thriving aina. And for aina to thrive, our people integrated pono resource management into the fabric of our native society. Following western contact, however, our intricate and effective systems of resource management were upended by foreign values and interests. Wai, a resource essential for life in these islands, was treated as a commodity, rather than a kinolau, or a physical embodiment, of our akua. Today, Hawai'i continues to grapple with the remnants of this imbalance. Maui's kupa, in many ways, have been on the frontlines of advocating for a return to pono management of wai over the past several decades. In partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Laws elinieal courses seek to learn ffom and co-power our communities in their efforts to return to pono natural resource management and bring the law to life on the ground. Disrupting Pono: Historical Context Around Maui Komohana Maui Komohana, an area often referred to as "West Maui," was a bastion of Kānaka Maoli ingenuity, agriculture, and strength that boasted an abundance of freshwater and countless lo'i stretching from ma uka to ma kai. Onee the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, the area could produce enough food, and kalo in particular, to feed the entire Hawaiian Kingdom with surplus. When malihini arrived on Maui Komohana's shores during the early 1790s, they described Lāhainā as "the Venice of the Paeihe." This abundance of fresh flowing water was maintained throughout Maui Komohana via a complex system of waterways, 'auwai, and drainage systems. The piko of this freshwater abundance was Moku'ula Island and Mokuhinia, a 17-acre pūnāwai - the sacred pond that served as the royal residence of the high chiefs and as the center of politics and governance for the Kingdom. True to the biocultural resource management practices of pre-contact times, wai was a resource that was to be managed sustainably and effectively into perpetuity. The rise of sugar and pineapple plantations across Hawai'i, and Maui in particular, during the mid-1800s altered and disrupted the landscape of wai in Maui Komohana. Spearheaded by Pioneer Mill, Honolua Ranch, and Maui Land & Pineapple, Co. through the construction • and development of extensive concrete ditch systems and wells, there was a coordinated effort to obtain, extract,

and monopolize wai in Maui Komohana. In what heeame a broader effort to subsidize the mass cultivation of sugarcane and pineapple, plantation interests levied a war against Kānaka Maoli by diverting massive amounts of water and sending this wai out of their ahupua'a of origin, away from their natural flows. These diversions, in some cases, left historically perennial rivers and streams across Maui Komohana entirely dry, and others with barely a trickle. Given that extraction, many 'ohana lacked sufhcient water flow to cultivate kalo consistent with traditional and customary practices, whieh led to an exodus of many Kānaka from the land on whieh they had lived since time immemorial. As plantation interests continued to expand operations over the following century, more and more wai and land was diverted from Maui Komohana to feed the capitalist maehine that was sugar and pineapple eultivation. Because these are among the thirstiest crops, the amount of water being taken from this onee bountiful region had devastating impacts on Kānaka Maoli life and culture, on the region's agricultural potential, native plant and wildlife communities, as well as on the preservation and exercise of traditional and customary rights. In the early 1990s, after many years of declining profits, the plantation industry in Hawai'i collapsed and the cultivation of sugarcane ceased in West Maui. Despite this eollapse, it was not long before another actor stepped in to further monopolize and withhold water resources across Maui Komohana: the tourism and hospitality industry. This undeniable opportunity to re-examine the alloeation and prioritization of water to better repair and restore harms to Kānaka Maoli following the collapse of sugar plantations was, instead, exploited for a new, more "modern" capitalist endeavor. Today, the same freshwater diversions that onee fed the thirsty demands of sugarcane and pineapple fields now feed the exorbitant water requirements of golf courses, luxury pools, artificial waterfalls, manicured lawns and lush gardens at the hotels and resorts that line the coast of Maui Komohana. As a result, aina in Maui Komohana has been significantly transformed. Moku'ula and Mokuhinia, whieh were onee home to the famed mo'o, Kihawahine, now lies beneath an abandoned baseball field on the margins of Front Street - a tourist destination hot spot. Hauola, boasted by haku mele Mima

Apo as a tranquil plaee in the sea spray, is now inundated with malihini chasing the best view of the setting sun. These sacred and storied aina as our kūpuna onee knew them are now mostly accessible via mele. The intricate systems of resource management waiting to be fulfilled. Cultural practitioners and 'ohana with generational ties to Maui Komohana endeavor to reassert their pilina as well as to combat long-standing and foreign interests in the region. Oftentimes, with constitutional protections around traditional and customary practices such as lo'i kalo eultivation, these beneficiaries' work is a matter of bringing the law to life on the ground. For many of these 'ohana, getting wai back to their aina is an immense task and undertaking — one whieh Ka Huli Ao's law students are trained for and humbled to be of service in, with support from OHA's A'o Aku, A'o Mai Initiative A Turning Point Recognizing the struggle for water equity in the area, and as a part of its kuleana to steward our natural resources, the Commission on Water Resource Management designated the entire Lāhainā Aquifer Sector as a Surface and Ground Water Management Area. Designation, whieh was unanimously approved by the Commission in June 2022, is one of the principal tools by whieh Hawai'i's Water Code seeks to manage and prioritize water resources. In short, designation is a process by whieh water allocations are re-examined using current legal standards, whieh prioritize Native Hawaiian traditional and customary use for practices such as lo'i kalo cultivation. Designation represents the first meaningful step in obtaining water equity and serves as an instrumental pieee in the broader tapestry of restorative justice for Kānaka in Maui Komohana. Through OHA's A'o Aku, A'o Mai Initiative, the Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic (Clinic) provides current law students and soon-to-be lawyers the opportunity to work directly with Native Hawaiians to advance legal and administrative justice on a wide range of issues relating to Native Hawaiian law. Recognizing the immensity of designation in Maui Komohana - especially given the complex history in the region - the Clinic began conducting community outreach throughout Maui Komohana to provide education regarding the process of designation. Designation is complex and has profound implications. Maui Komohana's designation is the first complete (both Ground and Surface) water management area across our pae aina. For the community to participate actively and effectively, the Clinic recognized the importance of early and in-depth outreach around the process and its far reaching implications for the future management of wai across this region. A number of informational workshops were conducted for the community. Given the ongoing pandemic, the sessions were held both online, via Zoom, and in-person on Maui. The law students were first tasked to grasp the complex background of Hawai'i's water law, policy, and its close SEE MAUI K0M0HANA ON PAGE 18

Maui Komohana "West Maui"

'Ohana Kapu guides the Law Clinic team to examine the stream diversion in Kaua'ula Valley.

The Law Clinic team supported 'ohana in Ukumehame Valley who ore continuing their traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights ond practices. L to R: Rose Marie Duey, R. Tereari'i Chondler-'lao, Hi'ilei Cosco, Erik Meade, ond Roselle Bailey.

Law Clinic students visit the Woiluku River in 'loo Valley. In 2008, the Stote Water Commission designated the Wailuku River os port of o Surface Water Monagement Area to protect traditionol ond customory Notive Howoiion rights ond proctices. Lto R: Dov KorffKorn, Moononui Peleiholoni Blonkenfeld, lonotono Tuo, and Anno Weightmon.

V MO'OLELO NUI V ^ COVER STORY "

Plantation agriculture and resource monogement hos chonged the environment in Maui Komohono. L to R: Meleono "Mono" Shim, Rochel Kapu, Kūipo Kekono, Suzette Felicildo, ond Mopu Poli exomine orid eonditions in Kouo'ulo Volley. - Photos: Ka Huli Ao

A'o Aku, A'o Moi: The Low Clinic teom visits o dom in the upper reoc_hes of Honokōhou River. Lto R: Anno Weightmon, R. Tereori'i Chondler-'loo, lonotona Tuo, Moononui Peleiholoni-Blonkenfeld, Dov Korff-Korn, ond Troy W. Bollord (center).

MAUI KOMOHANA Continued from page 17 relation to Water Management Areas, and then translate that for eommunity members. The Clinie was intentional in offering direet outreaeh to more rural areas of Maui Komohana — eondueting muhiple site visits to meet in-person on the aina of eommunity members to diseuss designation in more detail. Over several years, the Clinie's many law students have provided direet serviees to Kānaka Maoli aeross Maui Komohana regarding designation and the further proteetion of its preeious wai. In addition to edueation and outreaeh, volunteer attorneys and law students provided extensive pro bono assistanee. While the students' primary kuleana in the Clinie involved sharing legal information, services, and resources, the students often learned important lessons from eommunity members in return. This exchange is best embodied in the practice of A'o Aku, A'o Mai - one of Ka Huli Ao's core educational philosophies. A'o Aku, A'o Mai Ihe reciprocal relationship between teaching and learning is embodied in the A'o Aku A'o Mai Initiative. As a partnership between OHA and Ka Huli Ao, the initiative gives law students real-world practice experience, while also providing direct legal services to rural eommunities throughout Hawai'i. Established in 2011, the partnership initially supported Native Hawaiians navigating the Bartell v. Heroes or Assigns ofManuela case. ihe Clinic's assistance primarily focused on Kānaka impacted by clearing title to Native Hawaiian ancestral land on Moloka'i. Through the support of the Clinic, nearly 40 law students worked with

more than 156 individuals and their 'ohana in receiving direct services, including community workshops and a legal primer on Quiet Title and Land Partition law. Due to the resounding success of the initial elinie, OHA continued to support the A'o Aku A'o Mai Initiative and has greatly expanded the scope of services. This continued partnership includes providing free trainings and workshops on various legal rights and issues, the distribution of legal primers as one-stop-shop legal reference resources, and direct legal assistance on a range of pressing topics related to Native Hawaiian law and justice. OHA's ongoing support is vital for beneficiaries across Hawai'i, but particularly those in rural neighbor island communities who most often face a dearth of legal resources and significant barriers to exercising constitutional and statutorily guaranteed Native Hawaiian rights. Maui's communities continue to strive to return wai to aina of abundance. With credit to many of the fearless community leaders who drive these efforts, Ka Huli Ao is grateful to learn from and work in solidarity with the individuals who know best: the kupa of our sacred places. When we strive to co-power one another and center aina and its natural resources in our work, we make progress at reinstating the model of prosperity for whieh Maui Komohana was famed. Lei Nāhonoapi'ilani i ka hanohano - Nāhonoapi'ilani is bedecked in glory! ■ Ka Huli Ao Centerfor Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law is an academic center within the William S. Richardson School ofLaw. This article was written by_Post.-J.D. Fellows Troy W. Ballard and Tereari'i Chandler-Tao,AssistantPro-fessor Hilani Tanigawa Lum, and Professor Kapua Sproat. For more information about Ka Huli Ao Centerfor Excellenee in Native Hawaiian Law or the A'o Aku A'o Mai Initiative go to: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/kahuliao/ or email nhlawctr@hawaii.edu.

Adequate streamflow is necessary for lo'i kalo cultivation in Honokohau Valley and the perpetuation of traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices.