Bringing you today’s stories on issues important to Native communities.  NewsClips is a complimentary service of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.  For information and updates on our training workshops and events, please visit our Web site at: www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

March 8, 2006

 

 

 

March 8, 2006

 

Native Hawaiians and Alaska Natives Embark On Trade Mission

 

HONOLULU, HI -- Representatives from the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) left the United States on March 5th to Manila, Philippines, for meetings with officials from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).  Talks will include social and economic development strategies and experiences of indigenous peoples.

 

"We have a lot to learn and share in the Asia Pacific region," said Jade Danner Vice President of CNHA and mission delegate. "The traditional ideas and approaches of Native peoples are as relevant today as they have ever been, whether its commerce, caring for the environment or engaging in sustainable economic activities that are founded in cultural ideas and identities."

 

AFN President Julie Kitka is leading the mission along with Barry Brickman, a consultant for AFN, and Chuck Becker, Director for the Alaska Export Assistance Center in the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Meetings with several ADB divisions are scheduled, providing opportunities to engage in dialogue about the projects supported by the Asian Development Bank and the implementation of its Indigenous Peoples policy.  The U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Liaison Office in Manila assisted mission delegates to plan and execute the trip.

 

CNHA will review its information technology social enterprises that include partnerships with multiple Indian Nations and Alaska Native firms from around the country, as well as social enterprises that support Native Hawaiian businesses operating in the islands.  "Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians have incredible histories and experiences both from a cultural perspective and the challenge of engaging in enterprises that support our traditions", Danner stated.  "Planned meetings will discuss not only our enterprise models, but national public policies that protect cultural treasurers and respect the right of Native peoples to govern their own resources and decision making.  Certainly, language, culture, education and social development are all vital and continue to be mainstay priorities in the economic activism of Native peoples."

 

CNHA is a national, member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting community development in Native communities.  Operating a Public Policy Center, CNHA conducts educational workshops on federal legislation of interest to Native communities in the areas of healthcare, education, affordable housing, cultural preservation and economic development. For more information, please contact CNHA via telephone at 808.521.5011 or toll free at 808.709.2642, via e-mail at info@hawaiiancouncil.org or visit our website at www.hawaiiancouncil.org.

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Isle GOP hopefuls eye seat in Congress

 

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle and state Sen. Bob Hogue might make a run

 

By Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.com

 

Hawaii GOP candidates are showing interest in being the first Republican to go to Congress since Pat Saiki in 1990.

 

Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said yesterday he is seriously considering the race for the 2nd Congressional District (rural Oahu, neighbor islands).

 

Also Sen. Bob Hogue (R, Kaneohe-Kailua) confirmed yesterday that he is looking at the contest.

 

Other Republicans have said former state Rep. Quentin Kawananakoa was a possible candidate, but the Star-Bulletin was unable to contact Kawananakoa for confirmation.

 

Carlisle, who is in his third term as elected prosecutor, described himself as "actively considering the possibility."

 

Like other elected office holders in the middle of their terms, Carlisle would not have to resign his municipal office to run for federal office.

 

The office is expected to be open this fall because incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Case says he will run against U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and not run for re-election.

 

Already, three Democrats have filed for the office: state Rep. Brian Schatz and state Sens. Gary Hooser and Ron Menor.

 

Carlisle said he has not made up his mind yet on the race and thought more comments would be premature.

 

"I don't want to stir up anything in case I decide not to do it," Carlisle said.

 

Hogue sounded more definite, saying he has been looking at "what I need to do to set up an exploratory committee and doing serious research into the race."

 

"I consider it all very exciting, and I will make my final decision whether or not I pursue the race in the next several weeks," said Hogue, who is up for re-election to the Senate this fall.

 

State GOP Chairman Sam Aiona welcomed Carlisle's interest in the race, saying "he shares the same views as us, he wants to see a bipartisan delegation in Congress."

 

Aiona said former City Councilman Mike Gabbard, who ran unsuccessfully against Case, is also considering the race.

 

The race is likely to have national interest, according to Aiona, who says that both the Republican and Democratic national organizations are expected to campaign heavily in Hawaii.

 

"This race will be watched by the national media, and this is a chance to send a Republican to Congress -- something that has not happened since 1990" with former U.S. Rep. Pat Saiki, Aiona said.

 

Former state Rep. Kawananakoa has been out of the political spotlight since he withdrew from a race against U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie in 1998.

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Hawaiian remains returned to the aina

 

The remains had been in state storage for more than 10 years

 

Star-Bulletin staff
citydesk@starbulletin.com

 

In a pre-dawn ceremony, about 38 remains of native Hawaiian ancestors that had been held in state storage for years were reburied amid torch lights and ceremonial prayers at Kualoa Recreational Park last week.

 

The remains, found over the last decade, were reburied Friday in a burial mound that already held the remains of 67 native Hawaiians that were reinterred in 1995.

 

Kalei Kini of the Oahu Island Burial Council said he was surprised how smoothly the reinterment went and that the "focus was on the kupuna and nothing else. There was unity among us, a single-minded purpose that is rarely felt."

 

Peter Young, director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, praised the cooperative effort that made the reinterment possible.

 

"In this case, the families, which included lineal descendants, the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Parks and Recreation, the State Historic Preservation Division, the Oahu Island Burial Council and Pacific Legacy Inc., a private archaeological consulting firm, shared responsibility for planning the reinterment of these remains," Young said in a press release yesterday.

 

When State Historic Preservation Division administrator Melanie Chinen learned that these individuals had been awaiting reinterment for over a decade, she made it a division priority to plan for their reburial.

 

"We believe the iwi kupuna must not be forgotten, and our cultural program staff were instrumental in bringing the community together," Chinen said.

 

The city Parks and Recreation department has volunteered to assist the state and families by maintaining the burial site, according to Wilford Ho, park manager for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

 

Archaeologist Paul Cleghorn of Pacific Legacy Inc., who has cared for the remains for over a decade, also participated in the reburial.

 

 

 

 

March 6, 2006

 

Elders celebrate new nursing home

"We need to take care of them"

CHINLE AZ
Rick Abasta
Native American Times

Community members, elders and tribal officials braved windy and cold conditions to celebrate the new facility for the Navajoland Nursing Home.

The new assisted living center will house 16 elders and bring the residential capacity of the nursing home to a total of 83 clients.

William Clay, vice president for the NNH Board of Directors, said the new home was created for the purpose of providing Navajo elders comfort and a space for visitations from family and friends.

Speaking in Navajo, Clay said, “For a long time now, our Navajo elders, men and women, have struggled with the realities of old age. We need to take care of them.

“With this new home, we will be able to provide care for 16 elders. Too many of our elders today are living at home alone. We are here to provide services for them,” he added.

One person who works closely with the Navajo elders of NNH has formed a bond with many of the residents. Crystal Chee is a medical records technician for the nursing home and has been working at the center for the past two years.

“I like working with the elders, it’s a learning experience for me,” Chee said. “I like to be around my elders because it’s keeping the Navajo traditions, culture and language alive.

While many of the elders prefer to keep to themselves, she said once they begin socializing and opening up, there isn’t a subject matter that most of these elders wouldn’t discuss. Therein lies the opportunity to learn, she said.

Ella Dalton, an administrator for NNH, said the home was funded through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act block grant funds in 2002.

“Because of the NAHASDA funding, we will now be able to house 16 clients in this home. We’re all very appreciative of this funding for the planning and construction of this home,” Dalton said.

The assisted living center was designed by a Navajo architect, Loren Miller, principal architect for the LAM Corporation. Designing the home was a cinch for Miller, who said the primary concerns for the project was staying within budget.

“The design was primarily based on providing housing for 16 residents, whether they are male or female,” Miller said. “(NNH) wanted the central facility to be a hogan shape for the dining and living room area.

“The bedrooms were put off into the two wings and we had residential-style kitchen facility,” he added.

Miller said the design for the facility began in the fall of 2002 and construction was initiated in the summer of 2003. Originally, NNH wanted the whole facility to be in a hogan shape, but he said it was cost prohibitive.

Besides the Chinle Assisted Living Center, Miller has worked on NAHASDA-funded projects previously, constructing single family hogan-style units in 2000 on the Navajo Nation.

“That project was for elders too,” Miller said. “The community, elders, adults and children need to respect these new developments. This funding is not free.

“Each year, we have to deal with less and less funding. You read about it in the papers every week about funding cuts. We have to appreciate what we’re given,” he added.

Louis Shepherd, grants manager for Navajo Housing Authority Grants Management, said the initial funding from the assisted living center came in 2001, when the NNH received $172,453 from NAHASDA for planning purposes.

Once everything was planned out for the center, Shepherd said NNH received an additional $1,495,583 for construction of the center.

“This is a significant achievement and we commend the Navajoland Nursing Home for bringing this project to completion,” Shepherd said. “There’s a tremendous need for these services and facilities to address the aging Navajo population.

“This is one of our success stories for providing group housing for elderly Navajos on the reservation,” he added.

The new assisted living center has opened doors for the construction of more group homes for the future, Shepherd said.

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Akaka Statement on the PATRIOT ACT

 

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today voted against the final passage of the PATRIOT Act. The bill passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 89 to 10. Below are Senator Akaka's remarks for the record:

 

Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the conference report for H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. This bill does not protect the cherished civil liberties and freedoms of the American people.

 

I voted for the PATRIOT Act in 2001. I believed then, as I do now, that we must give our government the tools it needs to fight, detect, and deter terrorist acts. While I had reservations about the PATRIOT Act and the possibility that it would allow the government to infringe upon our privacy rights and civil liberties, I supported the bill since the more controversial provisions were not made permanent. Granting the government this time-limited authority allowed Congress an opportunity to review how these broad new grants of power were being used.

 

Unfortunately, the Administration has been less than forthcoming in disclosing how the PATRIOT Act has been used. According to the reports we have received, the government has used the PATRIOT Act to:

 

 

This information is disturbing and may be indicative of other abuses that the Justice Department has not told us about.

 

Given these abuses, meaningful checks and balances on the government's authority to investigate Americans are essential. Last July the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act with substantially stronger protections in place. However, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives objected to the Senate bill and tried to pass a conference report lacking the protections that the Senate insisted upon. Last month, a compromise bill was introduced, S. 2271, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006.

 

I voted for S. 2271 because it is an improvement over the PATRIOT Act. Any improvement is good. However, S. 2271 does not go far enough to correct the flaws in the PATRIOT Act and convince me that the changes made to the underlying bill will preserve our civil liberties. S. 2271 will make explicit the right to counsel and the right to challenge in court an order from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to turn over records sought in an intelligence investigation, called section 215 orders, but it does not correct the underlying standard for issuing these orders. As such, the FBI, after going before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court, can demand a wide array of personal information -- including medical, financial, library, and bookstore and gun purchase records -- about an individual without any cause to believe the person is involved in terrorist activities. S. 2271 does provide an express right to challenge the gag order that accompanies a Section 215 order, but only after waiting a year. However, if the government certifies that the disclosure would harm national security, the gag order cannot be lifted.

 

S. 2271 would also remove the conference report's language requiring recipients of National Security Letters (NSLs) to inform the FBI of the name of any attorney they consult about the demand for financial or Internet records. NSLs can be issued without FISA Court review. Again the bill still does not require that there be any connection between the records sought by the FBI and a suspected foreign terrorist or person in contact with such a target. This is especially troubling since news reports show that 30,000 NSLs are issued by the government per year, a hundred-fold annual increase since the PATRIOT Act relaxed requirements on the FBI's use of the power.

 

In 2003, the State Legislature in my home state of Hawaii passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to civil liberties and called the entire Hawaii congressional delegation to repeal any sections of the PATRIOT Act that limit or violate fundamental rights and liberties protected by the Constitution of the United States. In good conscience I cannot vote to support the PATRIOT Act because I believe that it allows the government to infringe upon the rights and protections we hold most dear.

 

I do not believe that the PATRIOT Act makes our nation safer. It makes our country weaker by eroding the very freedoms that define us. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither." I am afraid that by passing this legislation today we will in fact have neither a more secure nation nor the freedoms for which we are fighting.

 

 

 

 

National American Indian Housing Council’s Annual Convention in Honolulu, HI

 

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement & the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands supports the 32nd Anniversary Convention & Trade Show of the National American Indian Housing Council.  The Convention will take place at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa in Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 22-25, 2006.

 

Founded in 1974, NAIHC has a membership of over 220 members & tribal housing entities and is the only national organization representing housing interests of tribes and tribal housing entities across the United States. NAIHC offers technical assistance, develops research and has trainings to assists tribal housing agencies. 

 

NAIHC successfully advocated for the Native American Housing and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), which was amended to include native Hawaiians and provides annual affordable housing funds for low to moderate income families.  NAIHC’s most longstanding annual event, the Annual Convention & Trade Show is an opportunity to learn about Indian & Native housing, attend training courses, and network with successful housing professionals and vendors from across the country.

 

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS APPROACHING, so REGISTER NOW!

For more information on the convention, please visit http://naihc.net/conferences/index.asp?bid=3750.

 

 

 

 

Hawaiian Film wins Telly Award in Cultural Documentary Category

 

ALOHA LIVE: ON THE ROAD WITH WILLIE K. & AMY, directed by Heather Guigni and edited by Lisa Altieri is a funny and poignant road movie of this musical duo’s west coast U.S. tour.  Shown in the 2005 Hawaii International Film Festival, Juniroa Productions, Inc. is proud to announce that ALOHA LIVE: ON THE ROAD WITH WILLIE K. & AMY has been selected by the judges of the 27th Annual Telly Awards as a winner and won in the cultural documentary category.

The Telly Awards competition received over 12,000 entries from the finest ad agencies, production companies, television and cable stations and corporations in the world.  It is a tremendous achievement to be selected for this recognition.  For more information on the film please contact Juniroa Productions at 808.533.4788 or visit their website at http://www.juniroa.com/index.html

 

 

 

 

March 6, 2006

 

Survey on planned solar telescope up for comment

By EDWIN TANJI, City Editor

Maui News

 

HALEAKALA – If he has a choice, Native Hawaiian cultural specialist Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr. says he would prefer that all of the observatories and facilities on the Haleakala summit be removed.

 

But he doesn’t have that choice, and he can only request that developments being planned for the summit respect the host culture.

 

“I feel we are going through the right processes to bring forth all of the nuances of Native Hawaiian rights, that people fully understand if they are going to build, they have to give recognition to the Native Hawaiian culture,” he said.

 

“Permission has been asked.”

 

Maxwell, a Pukalani resident, was the primary investigator in a cultural evaluation prepared for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, a $161 million observatory planned for the summit.

 

“E Mala Mau Ka La’a, Preserve the Sacredness” has been released by the ATST Project for public review and comment with a March 20 deadline set for the public to submit comments or questions. The document is available at all public libraries on Maui or online at http://atst.nso.edu/library/ 36CFR800.shtml

 

The study prepared with associate researcher Adrian Kamalii notes that the evaluation is required because of the potential impact of the planned observatory on Native Hawaiian cultural values. The agency planning the development, the National Solar Observatory, is required to consider options for mitigating the impacts including effects on Native Hawaiian cultural and traditional practices.

 

The National Solar Observatory is preparing an environmental impact statement on the observatory, which is being considered for two possible sites in the vicinity of the Mees Solar Observatory, operated by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy on the summit.

 

When completed, the ATST will be the largest solar telescope in the world. It will be the leading facility for studying the physics of the sun with an aim of better understanding how the sun affects life on Earth, according to the National Solar Observatory.

 

Haleakala was selected as the preferred site from among six candidates around the world, with officials involved in the selection saying the atmosphere above Haleakala is more dust free than any of the other sites, is more frequently clear, has low humidity and is less affected by high altitude aircraft contrails.

 

“The survey data indicated a number of advantages that put Hawaii at the top of the list for final consideration for this particular project,” said Thomas Rimmele, ATST project scientist with the National Solar Observatory in a December 2004 announcement of the selection of Haleakala.

 

For Native Hawaiians, however, the choice means further development and activity on an area of the island that is considered “wao akua” or the realm of the gods, Maxwell said.

 

A number of Native Hawaiians interviewed for the cultural evaluation opposed development on the summit.

 

“It is being used because it is a high place, and you can get a clear view,” said Hokulani Holt-Padilla, a kumu hula and cultural program director with the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

 

“When you put this foreign material on this mountain, that makes it more important than the mountain itself. That is unacceptable behavior and in Hawaiian culture, that is maha’oi (rude),” she said. The fact that there are observatories already on the summit “does not take away from the spirituality of it but does prevent full spiritual use of it. The mountain is greater than all of us,” she said.

 

Kamalii said work on Haleakala must include a sense of place “that this telescope is being built on Hawaiian soil and not anywhere else in the USA.”

 

“Whoever constructs facilities in places like Haleakala should understand that we should reserve the right to say what is pono (righteous), and what is not,” he said.

 

Maxwell said he agreed to participate in the evaluation because he felt the facility will be built no matter what Maui residents or Native Hawaiians say.

 

“The bottom line is if Congress puts this money together, it’s going to happen. But if that happens, we want to see some of the advantages someday not only to the haole people but for our own residents,” he said. “No more should we as Native Hawaiian people be left out of anything that makes use of our own land.”

 

He noted that he also participated in the production of a video on the cultural significance of Haleakala to Native Hawaiians in which Nainoa Thompson, the Native Hawaiian navigator with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, spoke of a correlation between astronomy and Native Hawaiian knowledge of the stars.

 

“The Native Hawaiian was reading the skies, navigating across the Pacific at a time when Western man was not aware that the world was round. Now it’s a matter of them catching up,” Maxwell said. “We had the pure knowledge from the cosmos that we deal directly with. They have to use artificial means, but our ancestors used everything that was natural to them.”

 

He said funding for the telescope should also include support for schools on Maui, including the Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus, to train students who wish to become astronomers or technicians working at the observatories.

 

“If they’re going to spend $161 million, some of it should be to educate our native people for these studies,” he said.

 

The ATST would likely be one of the last of an array of scientific facilities on the summit, since there would be only one possible site left for an observatory after ATST is built, according to Maxwell’s evaluation.

 

In addition to the Mees observatory built in 1964, Haleakala is now used by the Maui Space Surveillance System, which includes three telescopes; the University of Tokyo MAGNUM 2-meter telescope, the Pan-STARRS 1.8-meter telescope involved in locating and tracking asteroids, and the Faulkes Telescope, a 2-meter telescope that is linked to schools in Hawaii and Great Britain.

 

Possibly the most controversial of the facilities is the Advanced Electro-Optical System, a Maui Space Surveillance observatory housing a 3.6-meter telescope used by the Air Force for tracking near-space objects and observing planets in the solar system. The AEOS observatory utilized a reflective surface, rather than the traditional white coating, to minimize the effects of heating by the sun. But the size and the sunlight reflecting off the surface has turned the observatory into the most visible intrusion on views from and of the Haleakala summit.

 

Maxwell noted that he was consulted on the AEOS and cautioned against removing cinders from the site when construction began.

 

“The AEOS people took 150 tons of rock after they said they wouldn’t touch anything,” he said. “I have to say I had some confidence when they built AEOS, and they snookered me, they removed the most sacred rocks from the top of the mountain.

 

“Time will tell, but the fact is I fought hard and long against the observatories but they happened anyway.”

 

Edwin Tanji can be reached at editor@mauinews.com.

 

 

 

 

March 4, 2006

 

New bank to give 10% of profits to charity

 

Pacific Rim Bank opened yesterday at Restaurant Row

 

By Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com

 

Pacific Rim Bank, the first commercial bank to open in Hawaii since statehood, plans to pursue a broad client base, give 10 percent of its profits to nonprofit organizations and rely on an ATM network for most customer transactions.

 

The bank, which officially opened yesterday in Restaurant Row after a Hawaiian blessing, should be profitable in its second year, said Austin Imamura, the bank's chairman and chief executive.

 

"There's a financial component, but there's also a cultural component, and it was the lure of starting something on your own and also establishing a culture that I believe in," said Imamura in explaining why he started the bank.

 

Imamura, a former Central Pacific Bank executive and City Bank consultant, said there was a time when few Hawaii banks would lend money to churches and nonprofits. Although such lending is more prevalent now, he wanted to expand that philosophy.

 

"All of our board members are unanimous in our culture, which is to give significantly to nonprofits," he said. "We've set aside 10 percent of our profits for that in both direct giving, as well as special programs we're planning to establish."

 

Imamura also said the bank will offer one of the highest passbook savings account interest rates in Hawaii, a 3.04 annual percentage yield.

 

Mark Southwick, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Pacific Rim, said Pacific Rim won't charge its customers a fee for using other banks' ATMs, but customers could be assessed fees by the other banks. Non-customer ATM fees at First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawaii, for example, range from $1.75 to $2.50 depending on location, spokesmen for those banks said yesterday.

 

Imamura said Pacific Rim is still discussing whether to absorb other banks' ATM fees for a limited number of transactions if the customer holds a certain balance in a check or savings account.

 

Pacific Rim, which will be linked with the Pulse and Plus networks, plans to install one ATM at its 7,683-square-foot location in Restaurant Row that will be available in mid-April. ATM cards will be issued later this month.

 

Customers will be able to use Bank of Hawaii's ATMs, which are on the Plus network, but the availability of First Hawaiian's ATMs depends on that bank's network arrangement.

 

Southwick also said Pacific Rim customers will be able to apply for Visa debit cards.

 

Alan Pflueger, president of Pflueger Auto dealerships and a major investor in the new bank, said Imamura's leadership and planning will enable Pacific Rim to be successful.

 

"I think it will start through relationships, and there's a lot of senior management people who have left other organizations and are working here now who bring with them many years of relationships of working in Hawaii," Pflueger said. "Hawaii is about people, and people form a strong bond in working with close relationships in Hawaii. I think that's going to be a cornerstone to really hitting the ground running."

 

Kelvin Bloom, who is president of Aston Hotels & Resorts and helped contribute part of the $12 million that was raised by the bank's local investors, is excited to be a part of the new venture.

 

"I think it fills a niche in the market that is currently underserved and we intend to serve that niche very well," he said.

 

Imamura said individuals, small businesses and the commercial real estate sector would be the normal focus for a small bank but that Pacific Rim has staff members who are more accustomed to being with larger banks and working with larger clientele.

 

"So we're going to be targeting small, middle-size, as well as large (businesses), but we have certain approaches to approaching large (businesses) and that is to ask for a part of their business, not the entire thing," Imamura said. "That establishes a relationship with them for future growth of the bank."

 

Pacific Rim, which signed a 10-year lease at Restaurant Row, will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It becomes the fourth state-chartered bank along with First Hawaiian, Bank of Hawaii and Central Pacific.

 

Other locally based financial institutions are Finance Factors, American Savings Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Hawaii National Bank.

 

Imamura said he had been envisioning opening a bank for eight or nine years and still thinks there's room for more. Another startup, Ohana Pacific Bank, is awaiting federal and state regulatory approvals and hopes to open in the middle of this year.

 

Local business executives invest in new bank

 

Pacific Rim Bank's major investors, who are all directors, include several well-known names from the Hawaii community.

 

They include Austin Imamura, the bank's chairman and chief executive; Chief Financial Officer Mark Southwick; Senior Vice President Lawrence Miwa, a former business development officer at Central Pacific Bank; Ernest Lum, owner of Ernest K.F. Lum Construction Ltd.; Dwayne Betsill, president of Betsill Brothers Construction Inc. on Maui; Alan Pflueger, president of Pflueger Auto dealerships; Kelvin Bloom, president of Aston Hotels & Resorts; Thomas Ritchie, president and CEO of Transpacific Mortgage Group; David Kowalski, senior administrator of Avalon Healthcare Hawaii; and Gary Iki, president of Blackpoint Capital Advisors LLC.

 

In addition, Kelly Rosati, executive director of Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference and an investor of the bank, will become a director of Pacific Rim later this month.

 

 

 

 

February 8, 2006

 

Inter Tribal Economic Alliance to Co-Sponsor RES 2007 Convention

 

Las Vegas, NV – On Wednesday, February 8th, Chairman Tex G. Hall announced to the attendees of the 2006 Reservation Economic Summit (Res 2006) that the Inter-Tribal Economic Alliance (ITEA) has agreed to be a lead Co-Sponsor of next year’s Summit (Res 2007).

 

The annual Reservation Economic Summit is the largest Indian business convention in the country.  This year over 2000 Native American business leaders, entrepreneurs, tribal leaders, Fortune 500 corporations, investment banks, and White House and Government representatives are attending the current Summit at the Las Vegas Hilton.

 

Lead sponsorship of Res 2007 is a major financial commitment but the ITEA Board unanimously voted this week to go ahead become a lead sponsor.  Past lead Sponsors have included Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Tamsco, Toyota and others.

 

The ITEA is consortium of tribes and their social enterprises consisting of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian firms committed to bringing economic development back to Indian reservations and lands.  ITEA ventures to date include energy development, forestry, venture capital, natural beef, and Defense Department contracting.  

 

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development hosts the annual Reservation Economic Summit and American Indian Business Trade Fair which is the largest gathering of Native American Indian businesses in the country.  The Summit and Trade Fair attracts the highest leadership of Fortune 500 companies, the White House, Government Agencies, and Indian Tribes in the nation.

 

ITEA Board members who approved the sponsorship motion include Board Chairman Tex Hall, Chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation, Board Treasurer J.C. Crawford, Chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Board Secretary Robin Danner, President of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Board Director Charles Colombe, Chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Board Director Max Ahgeak, President of the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation, and Board Director Carl Venne, Chairman of the Crow Tribe.

 

Tex Hall said:  “This is an unprecedented opportunity for Indian Country to step up and start an economic revolution right here at home.  Today, with the initiative of tribally operated businesses like ITEA, we are officially taking a seat in America’s corporate boardroom.”

 

At the Summit, Thomas Dorr, Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spoke of the importance of the internet and broadband access for Indian communities.  Dorr pledged to make connectivity for Indian reservations a top priority and focus of the USDA and echoed Chairman Hall’s comparison of broadband access to the White Buffalo.

 

Tex Hall added: “Those of us attending Res 2006 were really impressed with UnderSecretary Dorr’s commitment to Indian Country.  Broadband access on our reservations is what has allowed us to participate in the global economy.  With the right tools and opportunity, dollar for dollar, Indian business can compete with anybody.  With broadband access, we will.  Broadband access – like the White Buffalo – will bring prosperity and success to our reservation communities.”

 

 

 

 

March 1, 2006

 

Secretary Chertoff Assures Akaka that Regional Office Structure Will Be Finalized

 

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today continued his questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the stalled effort to establish Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regional offices across the country. During a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on DHS's fiscal year 2007 budget request, Secretary Chertoff committed to Senator Akaka that DHS would finalize a regional structure within the next month.

 

"Some may think that regional offices would create an extra level of bureaucracy. However, I want you to understand, Mr. Secretary, that from the perspective of Hawaii -- which is 2500 miles from the mainland, has no contiguous states to rely upon in the event of a disaster, and has a six hour time difference with Washington, D.C. -- the benefits of regional offices outweigh the potential costs," Senator Akaka stated.

 

"I am pleased to finally receive some concrete answers from the Department on the issue of DHS regional offices. However it was unclear from the Secretary's comments what the regional structure will look like and whether it will include a Pacific office. I look forward to reviewing the Department's proposal," Senator Akaka said after the hearing. "I am meeting with Secretary Chertoff next week to discuss Hawaii's homeland security needs and I intend to continue to pursue this issue with him."

 

Senator Akaka is a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

 

 

 

 

March 8, 2006

 

Nā Lei Na‘auao presents the 4th Annual Indigenous Education Conference

 

Nā Lei Na‘auao has announced its fourth annual indigenous education conference.  The two day halawai (conference) will run from 8:30 am – 4pm.  “Ku‘i ka Lono,” meaning “spread the news”, is set for March 16 -17 at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel at Kamakahonu on Hawai‘i island.

 

Nā Lei Na‘auao is a hui of 13 Hawaiian focused public charter schools statewide, who joined together in 2000 to intiatei systemic change for Hawai'i 50,000 native public schools students through a charter school system. Nā Lei Na‘auao schools share a common educational philosophy of establishing models of education that are community designed and controlled, and reflect, respect, and embrace Hawaiian cultural values, philosophies and ideologies. 

 

The conference will be an opportunity for community and educational practitioners to network, share resources, and develop partnerships that will address the challenges and practices of Hawaiian charter schools on Hawai, Kaua‘i and O‘ahu.  Among the goals of the conference is to help Hawaiian communities create quality, culturally driven schools that empower Hawaiian students to successfully live in two worlds, and to assure that “No Child is Left Behind.”

 

Acclaimed Hawaiian musician and community worker, Brother Noland will be a keynote speaker at the conference.  His first smash hit, Coconut Girl, which launched the birth of Jawaiian music, is followed by his new album, Mystic Fish. He is also the author of the book, “Lessons of Aloha, Stories of the Human Spirit” and has done work with at-risk youth in teaching Hawaiian music and spirit.  

 

The conference will have workshops on various topics related to Native Hawaiian curriculum development, wood crafting, solar energy, traditional Hawaiian music, leadership development, health and healing and environmental restoration efforts.

 

To register and find more information, call Na Lei Na‘auao at 808-885-0328, or email dkaiulani@aol.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Sloan science grant bankrolls UA grad schools' Indian surge

 

By Eric Swedlund

 

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

 

The UA has become the top university in the country for American Indian graduate students in science and engineering, using a three-year grant to fund research stipends and recruiting efforts that have drawn dozens of students.

 

The grant, from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is up for renewal this week, and administrators hope the funding will increase to $1.4 million from the original $1 million. The UA's Sloan partnership is the first program in the country geared to American Indian graduate students in the sciences.

 

Before the Sloan grant, there were six American Indian students in graduate science programs at the University of Arizona. Now, there are 13 master's students and 11 doctoral students. Seven are expected to graduate in May and one Sloan scholar has already finished, said Maria Teresa Vélez, associate dean of the Graduate College.

 

American Indians have historically been the most underrepresented minority group in all of higher education, but the numbers are particularly low in science and engineering fields and even lower at the graduate level. The Sloan students represent 12 tribes, and part of the grant's success is the social and cultural support students receive on campus.

 

"We think Native Americans are unlike other minority groups because they have a greater tendency to go back to their own communities to help out," Vélez said. "Our sense is that many participating in the master's (programs) will go back."

 

Many of the students are researching areas that are particularly applicable to Indian reservations, including arid-lands studies, water issues and environmental engineering.

 

The stipends in particular — $15,000 a year for master's students and $36,000 total for doctoral students — make the difference between continuing school or not for many students. For others, the stipends free them from having to prolong their studies by taking teaching-assistant positions.

 

Vélez said the American Indian students in graduate science programs are essentially still pioneers because so few have come before them.

 

"If they want to be professors, great, they're desperately needed. If they want to become leaders in government, great, they're desperately needed. If they want to return to their communities, great, they're desperately needed," Vélez said. "We need them in any and every capacity."

 

Otakuye Conroy came to the UA in 2000 with an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and earned a two master's degrees before entering the Sloan program. She's expecting her doctorate in environmental engineering this spring and has earned the UA's Centennial Achievement Graduate Award.

 

Like most Sloan scholars, Conroy helps to mentor other American Indian students. An Oglala Sioux from Rapid City, S.D., she started in chemistry, but changed focus to meet needs she sees in Indian communities.

 

"There are a lot of water issues on reservations, so I chose environmental engineering," she said.

 

Conroy studies how to mitigate the effects of water contaminated by human hormones, which can cause sexual abnormalities in animals. She studies groundwater and recharge for human hormones excreted in waste that aren't broken down by treatment plants.

 

Currently job-hunting, Conroy is looking into faculty positions but also considering the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Indian Health Service, or even returning to her community to set up a water-testing program.

 

"The biggest obstacle will just be setting up a lab. The tribe just doesn't have that type of funds," said Conroy, 29.

 

Though it can be difficult returning to tribal communities with an advanced degree, Conroy said she isn't treated like an outsider. An experienced researcher and grant-writer can accomplish a lot in an area where few adults hold college degrees, she said.

 

"They're pretty valued. I've gotten a lot of support from my family and other tribal members," she said.

 

Recruitment is the most difficult part of the program, with so few eligible students, said Donna R. Treloar, coordinator of the UA/Sloan Native American Partnership.

 

Many of the Sloan scholars start with bachelor's degrees from the UA, with 11 alumni in the group and 15 students from 11 other schools. Northern Arizona University and the University of New Mexico each have three alumni in the program.

 

The University of Montana and Montana Tech have replicated the program with Sloan grants of their own, and Purdue University has also examined the UA's program.

 

Danielle Ignace, 27, is a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, studying how climate change affects both native and non-native grass species. Originally from Wisconsin, Ignace earned a master's degree from the UA and wasn't sure she'd pursue a doctorate until the Sloan program came along.

 

"It's huge. For me, it's definitely one of the reasons I stayed in my program," she said. "It's so supportive academically and financially. It's had a great impact on everybody."

 

Ignace, with ancestry in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho and the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, was born in Milwaukee and grew up in a mostly white area. At the UA, she said, the American Indian community and the Sloan cultural focus have been a big help.

 

"It completely went beyond my expectations. I didn't know how nice and supportive it would be," she said. "It's really nice to have a Native American community. I don't get that anywhere else, especially in the science world."

 

Ignace has developed friendships that extend beyond the Sloan group and has mentored undergraduate students, encouraging them to pursue graduate school.

 

"There are few opportunities, prior to getting to the graduate student level, so it's difficult for some Native Americans to even consider this," she said "A big thing for a lot of us is to bring something back to our communities. Outreach especially for a lot of us is huge."

 

Ignace, who expects to finish next fall, said she's not certain what she'll do, but the Sloan experience opened new possibilities for her.

 

"I've always been interested in research and teaching, but being in this program definitely solidified me wanting to do more outreach and give back to my community," she said. "I was on a narrow path about a career in academia, but having the Sloan program made me much more open."

 

Big boost in 3 years

 

In three years, the UA/Sloan Native American Partnership has increased the number of graduate students in science and engineering:

 

Before:

5 1

Master's Doctoral

 

After:

13 11

Master's Doctoral

 

"If they want to be professors, great, they're desperately needed. If they want to become leaders in government, great, they're desperately needed. If they want to return to their communities, great, they're desperately needed. We need them in any and every capacity."

 

Maria Teresa Vélez, associate dean of the Graduate College

● Contact reporter Eric Swedlund at 573-4115 or at eswedlund@azstarnet.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted: March 01, 2006

 

Language is on the agenda

 

by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today

 

From immersion schools to early learning centers

WASHINGTON - Don Wanatee could have been summing up the fears of many tribes when he said last summer, ''Since that casino came in, the most traditional thing left on our reservation is the dirt roads.''

As it happened, the former council member and longtime activist in national Native affairs was speaking for his own reservation, the Meskwaki Indian Settlement near Tama, Iowa. But the threat of fading cultural values and lost languages was a dominant theme at a recent Indian education conference at Wind River in Wyoming. There, too, Wanatee stood up and posed the important but often overlooked question: ''What do you use your language for?''

The answer was immediate: For ceremonies. Without the languages that grew up alongside the great ceremonies centered on the sun, horses, buffalo, salmon, corn, health and other features of Native culture, the ceremonies cannot be conducted. At that point, the culture perishes because no regular occasion demands its profound adoption. It may become a pastime, a language or history course at college. But without the ceremonies language makes possible, the power that sustained Native cultures through the centuries is depleted.

At Wind River, the proposed corrective to this menacing trend was language immersion schools on the model of the Maori of New Zealand. At immersion schools, students study the language for up to eight hours a day. They've been successful in Alaska, and the Administration for Native Americans has funded some of them around the country.

Mike Gross, an attorney in Santa Fe with a longstanding tribal practice, said research and his own experience on school boards have shown that students who study a second language are better off intellectually in many ways. Kathryn Manuelito, a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, added that Indian control of a school doesn't guarantee a break in ''the recycling of assimilationist knowledge'' - only the psychology of the teachers and the administration can do that, she said, and nothing prepares them for the task better than a psychology that has formed itself around the language of the particular culture.

At the same time, it's pretty clear that not every tribe with the will and the funding to establish an immersion language school could do so - the number of Native speakers able to teach a language is also a factor. With this cautionary thought in mind, it was a good time to catch up with Brian Patterson, Bear Clan representative of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, at a United South and Eastern Tribes ''Impact Week'' meeting in Washington, D.C. Patterson chairs the USET Culture and Heritage Committee.

''Culture and heritage is the backbone of all our communities,'' he said, adding that all USET member tribes have taken steps to preserve their languages. Ceremonies, and the ceremonial use of Native languages, are a regular concern of the 24 USET tribes, he said.

With the help of Apple Computer Inc., the committee is tracking a Cherokee program to put its language on the iPod, as well as other Web-based and high-tech applications.

''Language is paramount to our Culture and Heritage Committee ... It's continuously on our agenda.''

The OIN has made the revival of its language a priority since 1995, he said. But fluent speakers were not in abundance, and although many elders knew it they were not teachers. So an immersion school wasn't feasible then. An initial step therefore was to assemble the laws and data on the Oneida language in one place, so that the tribe could focus first on cultural preservation. Eventually the tribe hired eight Oneida women to teach the language.

''They can embrace our language with the love of a mother's heart,'' Patterson said, a significant factor given that Oneida can be a difficult child, linguistically speaking. It's a tough one to learn, featuring verbs in the middle of words.

But over time, students learn the language as a living, everyday medium. The teachers coin words and usages for the present, leading children to think Oneida in the midst of an English-speaking world. ''It's in our Early Learning Center, in the songs, the thought process of Oneida, of being Oneida.''

The program is headed in the direction of immersion schooling, he said, though only a step at a time.

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Akaka Cosponsors Bill to Better Prepare High School Graduates for College

 

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) earlier this week joined Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and John Kerry (D-MA) in introducing the College Pathway Act. Through grant assistance, this bill seeks to establish a dialogue between a state's early childhood, K through 12, higher education, and business communities to ensure students amass the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college.

 

"As a former teacher and school administrator, I have always said that education should be an interconnected pathway, from pre-Kindergarten through postsecondary levels and beyond, into the workforce," said Senator Akaka. "By encouraging states to establish P-16, or as in Hawaii's case, P-20 commissions, to align lower, middle, and high school curricular and assessment standards with what is expected in higher education, we will better assure college readiness and reach a fundamental goal: greater rates of college completion."

 

"This is an important and necessary initiative that will offer states an opportunity to craft a vision that will reach all students over time so that their educational pathway of access to and success in college will be ensured," said Senator Lieberman.

 

Such commissions would consist of representatives of the early childhood, and higher education communities, the governor's office, appropriate state legislators, members of the business community and other interested stakeholders. By promoting coordination, among all education levels, states will better align education systems, helping to ensure that all students are prepared to successfully engage in and complete postsecondary level course work.

 

Hawaii educators expressed their enthusiastic support of this bill. Patricia Hamamoto, Superintendent, Hawaii Department of Education stated: "The vision of the Hawaii DOE is that all of our high school graduates will leave us fully prepared for the "next step" in their lives -- whether that step involves higher education, apprenticeship, employment, military service, or some combination. No one should be in need of remediation. But we know that DOE cannot achieve this vision on its own. We must work in collaboration with pre-schools, both to help children be ready for kindergarten and to help schools be ready for the children they serve. And, at the other end, we must work in collaboration with institutions of higher education and with employers, so that we are providing students with knowledge and skills that serve them well as they move into those 'next steps.' Our Hawaii P-20 Initiative provides a framework to enable such collaboration across boundaries. We welcome the idea that such collaboration is being reinforced at the federal level through the proposed College Pathway Act."

 

University of Hawaii Interim President, David McClain, added, "We're grateful to the Senator for his efforts to help ensure that access to higher education is more frequently accompanied by success in completing college and in getting a good job."

 

Elisabeth Chun, Executive Director of Good Beginnings Alliance said, "It is gratifying to see recognition at the federal level, as well as at the state level, regarding the importance of early learning and its impact on a child's lifelong academic achievement. Even for those youngsters who do not have the opportunity to enroll in pre-school, it is important for families to understand their roles as their children's first teachers. If our state hopes to see increased numbers of high school graduates progressing seamlessly to post-secondary education and challenging careers, we must acknowledge the critical importance of early learning."

 

 

 

 

March 06, 2006

 

American Indians on the rise in law studies

 

An expert told UND that American Indians are beginning to succeed in law programs.

 

by Jackie Demolee

The Dakota Student Online

 

American Indian law studies and the governmental implications attached to them were the topic of discussion Thursday afternoon at the School of Law.

 

Phillip Deloria, director of the American Indian Law Center, Inc. at the University of New Mexico, spoke as part of the school's lecture series.

 

When Deloria began his career in American Indian Law, there were only 25 Indian lawyers in the country that had been identified. Even if an American Indian were interested in pursuing a career in law, many of them had difficulties getting into law school.

 

"There was a time before Affirmative Action, believe it or not," he said.

 

Many American Indian students were turned away from law schools because their grade point average wasn't high enough. The University of New Mexico allowed Deloria to do trial work with students to see if they could meet the challenges of learning at "law school speed."

 

"We primed the pump, and we're proud of it," he said. When Deloria began heading the program the success rate was about 30 percent. Today, however, the success rate is 95 percent. "Our success rate is based on students receiving that diploma," he said. Also, there are around 4,000 Indian lawyers across the United States today.

 

Although the success rate for the UNM American Indian Law Center is overwhelming, it still faces criticism. "Our program causes controversy because, getting Indians to pass law school is part of the lunacy that is the law. It changes them," Deloria said. "If you go to law school for three years and it doesn't change you, you should get a refund."

 

The reason for a specialized American Indian law study is that there are certain elements of Indian sovereignty like rules, regulations and cultural differences that someone from outside the population doesn't understand the implications of. Students who study at the American Indian law Center not only learn practical law, but they also learn tribal jurisdiction.

 

"Tribes would seek a lawyer outside their community. As a result of a number of different factors, they began in hire in-house lawyers who better understood," Deloria said. Another need for American Indian law studies is that many American Indian law graduates were not offered jobs to non-tribe firms. "Indian lawyers are able to work in Indian affairs," he said.

 

Deloria says that his job allows him to be critical of other people's choices. "I don't pretend to be a value-free computer that they put information into and the paper work comes shooting out," he said about dealing with American Indian law affairs.

 

Deloria also spoke about the issue about the Sioux logo on campus. He believes that this issue is more complicated than people, on both sides, like to believe it is. "It's more complicated than just rolling your eyes at the term 'political correctness.' It's a shame that a great university would say, 'It's an honor' or whatever the hell they're saying as an answer to the criticisms."

 

Deloria is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and became the Director of the American Indian Law Center in 1972. He attended law school at Yale University and he was a founder of the Commission on State-Tribal Relations. The Northern Plains Law Center (NPLIC) hosted Deloria as part of their 2005-06 Speaker Series.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Friday, March 3, 2006

 

Manoa to discuss options for Paradise Park

 

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

 

Roadside signs have popped up in Manoa that ask "Paradise Park. What's Up?"

 

It's a crucial question for residents and others interested in the future of the tropical rainforest area of upper Manoa known as Paradise Park, an issue that's long been unresolved in the valley. Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

 

Some residents are hoping an upcoming community meeting will help spur a plan for the best use of the 152-acre site, which is owned by the Catholic Church and leased to the James Wong family through 2041.

 

The March 8 meeting will be the first time all parties will come together to talk publicly about their plans, according to Malama o Manoa officials, sponsors of the event.

 

"Our job is to make sure the community — whoever takes over the 152 acres — knows how it will impact the valley," said Malama member Helen Nakano. "We want them to be aware of what is being thought about by all the different players."

 

Paradise Park opened to the public in 1968 and closed in 1994, and featured an exotic-bird exhibit and botanical garden that was operated by the Wong family.

 

The property borders the Lyon Arboretum, city Board of Water Supply land and the state's Manoa Falls hiking trail. Tree Tops Restaurant and a charter school, Halau Ku Mana, continue to operate on part of the site.

 

Since the park closed, it has been targeted for condemnation by the city, which proposed converting it to a public park, and considered for purchase by numerous private investors as well as the University of Hawai'i.

 

Several proposals are being considered for the site, including a Hawaiian cultural center, a spiritual retreat, a wedding chapel and a UH-operated ecological research facility.

 

Malama o Manoa, whose mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the special qualities of historic Manoa Valley, has formed a Manoa Mauka committee to gather information about plans for the area.

 

Duane Preble, chairman of the committee, said this meeting could be a pivotal moment for the future of the valley.

 

"We are focusing on real estate issues and who controls the land and what is the potential for taking care of the land in a more comprehensive way," he said. "That includes conservation and conservation research, cultural preservation, environmentally appropriate recreation, and active environmental education."

 

One proposal for the area comes from the University of Hawai'i, which wants to use the area to develop the Pacific Center for Ecosystem Science center to coordinate state, federal and private efforts to preserve Pacific island ecosystems.

 

In 2002, the Legislature set aside $5.5 million in general obligation bonds for the center. However, the money has not been released by the Lingle administration, which has said the cost of maintenance for the new facility would be prohibitive.

 

Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said the funds are protected and could still be used to build the center.

 

"Having an ecological center up there, something that looks at reforestation to native forests, would be good for the community and the state," said Caldwell. "As long as it is done low-impact with a sensitivity to preserving the back of the valley, the people of Manoa will like it a lot."

 

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

March 2, 2006

 

Group wants newfound lava tube artifacts shared

 

Hawaiians who viewed the carvings oppose their burial

 

By Sally Apgar
sapgar@starbulletin.com

 

A group of native Hawaiians say dozens of carved wooden images accidentally found last fall in a Big Island lava tube should be studied and viewed rather than permanently sealed away.

Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Star Bulletin

"These are treasures of our kupuna (ancestors) that should be shared," said William Hoohuli, 64, who says he is a descendant of those kupuna and that his family has lived in the area of the cave for almost 300 years.

 

In late January, Hoohuli, his brother Josiah and seven other local native Hawaiian men were granted permission to enter the cave to photograph the carved wooden gods and to assess the safety of the cave by Rutter Development Corp.

 

Rutter, an Irvine, Calif.-based developer, is building the Shores at Kohanaiki, a championship golf resort and 500 luxury homes over 450 acres about three miles north of Kailua-Kona.

 

Hoohuli, a retired superintendent from a cement company, and others who have visited the cave said no human remains have been found, leading them to believe it is not a burial site.

 

Hoohuli and others said they believe the cave served as storage or a hiding place. Some have also suggested that it might have been a secret place of worship.

 

In 1820, Chiefess Kaahumanu outlawed the Hawaiian religion. Kamehameha II issued an edict to burn kii, or carved images that were made as personal gods. Hawaiians who continued to practice their religion often hid kii in caves to protect the items from roving groups that threw them into bonfires.

 

"Different people have told me that we should bury them because they are not for us or for our eyes," Hoohuli said. "I feel differently. If the kupuna hadn't wanted us to see it, they would have destroyed it already. They wouldn't have left it. When it was discovered, it was time for them to reveal themselves."

 

Hoohuli and members of his informally organized group of local native Hawaiian men call themselves Na Kai'i (guardians or protectors). They said they formed to protect the caves and their families. Asked why the group members are all male, one member said, "In ancient times men were the protectors and the caretakers, so we kept it all men."

 

The men said that they were prepared for kupuna who did not want them to enter the cave but that they offered prayers, chants and protocols asking for entry.

 

"In my innermost self, I felt welcomed," Hoohuli said.

 

Bryant Mock Chow, another Na Kai'i member, said, "How could we just sit back and trust what the developer said? We needed a locally based group to go in make sure everything was pono (right)."

 

"Everyone said leave it alone, cover it, but how can we leave it alone and not know what is in there and if something comes up for sale online?" Chow said.

 

"We have the satisfaction of knowing that a locally based group of Hawaiian people went in there and surveyed it and inventoried it, and we'll know if something is sold online," Chow said.

 

The items were discovered Sept. 21 when heavy construction equipment breached a lava tube. The State Historic Preservation Division, developer Rutter and landowner Kennedy-Wilson International kept the discovery secret for several weeks, partly because they wanted the site secured from looters. The find became public when the Star-Bulletin published a story Oct. 19.

 

Under state law an inadvertent find is reported to SHPD, and all construction in the area is stopped and the site is secured.

 

According to correspondence between SHPD Executive Director Melanie Chinen and Rutter, state staff determined there were no human remains in the cave.

 

In an Oct. 10 letter to Chinen, Rutter wrote that under state law Rutter is "the owner of a historic property located on private property and lacking in any human skeletal remains" and has the right to "assume the leading role in determining the appropriate protection, treatment and ultimate disposition of the site and its contents."

 

David Eadie of Rutter Development could not be reached for comment on why he chose Na Kai'i to inventory the cave rather than another group.

 

Several of the men in Na Kai'i stressed that they feel this cave served a different purpose from Kawaihae, or Forbes Cave, which is at the center of a heated public dispute playing out in a federal court suit among competing native Hawaiian groups.

 

For those who have entered the lava tube, the question is how to share what was found.

 

"Clearly, these are not burial objects. They are of cultural significance and should be shared with other Hawaiians. If we seal them up, how can they be appreciated?" asked Chad Baybayan, a navigator and member of Na Kai'i.

 

He called the discovery "an accident of fate."

 

"We are fortunate to have this discovery," he said. "But discovery is one thing; the bigger task is how to take care of it and manage it."

 

Several Na Kai'i members said the cave site was fragile and would not wear well under the traffic of hundreds of visitors. They said the find should be shared through photographs and scholarly studies.

 

Hoohuli said he believes the site should have limited access as a "learning center," where scholars may visit and study the handwork of kupuna.

 

Baybayan also believes the items "should remain in the cave because removing them would do harm. There was certain sanctity in how they were placed. They were not just stored. They were presented in a purposeful way."

 

He said that when he entered the chamber containing the kii, after walking through a 60-foot-long lava tube that was 10 to 15 feet high, he was amazed to see four or five dozen facing him.

 

"It was like a council of gods standing in judgment of you," he said.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Sunday, March 5, 2006

 

Hokule'a's voyage to Tahiti a journey in time

 

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser Staff Writer

 

More than 30 years ago Hawai'i's ocean community had no sailing canoes and no navigators who could sail like their ancestors — by the waves, the stars and the birds.

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Gregory Yamamoto

Today, thanks to Mau Piailug, a Micronesian, Hawai'i has 13 navigators and 24 sea captains who can steer a 10-ton, 62-foot voyaging canoe across the ocean without any instruments. They've spent the past three decades practicing the nearly lost art, sailing the Hokule'a to islands throughout the Pacific, navigating sans modern-day tools of the sea.

 

They'll do it again this year, but this time with even more reason.

 

The Polynesian Voyaging Society is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Hokule'a's first voyage to Tahiti. To honor the tradition and to nurture its future, crews of men and women, some from the first voyage, will guide the Hokule'a from Honolua on Maui to Tahiti, starting the journey April 29.

 

Four generations of voyagers will be on board, said Nainoa Thompson, who 30 years ago became the first Hawaiian to navigate a voyaging canoe in 600 years. Thompson, along with a few others from that first historic trip, will be joined by three high school students who are part of the Kapu Na Keiki, an educational program in several O'ahu schools. Other sailors will also be on hand.

 

"We are trying to perpetuate the art of navigation — an art that was completely lost to us," said Shorty Bertelmann, one of the original crew members. "Voyaging is pretty much who we are. It represents every part of the Hawaiian culture."

 

Bertelmann, like other members of the first Hokule'a voyage, has become a teacher of Polynesian culture and a torch bearer for the Hokule'a's cause.

 

And like the ropes and the timbers of the old ship, the original crew has seasoned with age. They understand better today the significance of what they started 30 years ago — that voyaging, more than anything else, is about bridging the past and the future.

 

"It's a year of remembrance for us," Thompson said. "Looking back, creating a good understanding of where we are today and where we're going in the future.

 

"It's a benchmark year for us." Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Gregory Yamamoto

 

Thompson has guided the Hokule'a along many of its 110,000 miles, the equivalent of traveling four times around the world. But he, like others in the voyaging community, feels a debt toward Piailug.

 

Initially, they planned to launch a canoe in 2006 that was to be a gift to Piailug to thank him for sharing his navigational skills and reintroducing Hawai'i to its lost past. However, construction, using volunteers and donations, and the necessary sea trials have taken longer than expected. Now that it's typhoon season, they'll wait.

 

That voyaging canoe is being built in Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island by Na Kalai Wa'a Moku O Hawai'i and will sail in January with the Hokule'a on its 4,000-mile journey to Micronesia and later to Okinawa, central Japan and Hokkaido.

 

SYMBOL OF RENAISSANCE

 

Hokule'a is more than a twin-masted, double-hulled canoe. It's a symbol of the renaissance of Hawaiian culture. It's a mixture of today and yesterday with its fiberglass hull, koa wood deadeyes on the rigging and the traditional Hawaiian lashing.

 

The canoe is owned by Bishop Museum and operated by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which Thompson heads. Traditional navigation uses the sky to guide the vessel along the open ocean. It is believed that Polynesians sailed without instruments such as sextants or compasses and studied heavenly bodies, winds, ocean swells and the flight paths of seabirds to chart courses that stretched for thousands of miles on the open ocean.

 

"When voyaging moves into the future, I want to make sure it stays grounded with the pioneers," Thompson said. "We need to make that bridge this year because we lost David Lyman."

 

Lyman, a veteran harbor pilot who died Jan. 29 in a boating accident, was among the 28 men and women who made the inaugural voyage to Tahiti.

 

Billy Richards, a member of seven of the nine Hokule'a voyages, including the first one, said that first voyage was about making a scientific statement, proving that Polynesians did make the trek to Hawai'i without using navigational aids. Today the message is more about making voyaging accessible to Hawai'i's youth, to connect them to their culture.

 

"On every voyage we say we're doing this for the future," said Richards, 57. "If we don't spread this, then all what we learned will be lost.

 

"Voyaging programs are getting into the school systems. We can use canoes and navigation to teach math and science courses that are pertinent to those of Hawaiian ancestry."

 

UNITING FOR TRADITION

 

The Polynesian Voyaging Society was established in 1973 to show that ancient Polynesians could have settled the islands of the Polynesian Triangle — an area of 10 million square miles — in double-hulled voyaging canoes using non-instrument navigation.

 

The three men who founded the society and helped build a replica of an ancient voyaging canoe were Ben Finney, a California anthropologist; Herb Kane, a Hawaiian artist; and Tommy Holmes, a seaman.

 

On March 8, 1975, the first voyaging canoe to be built in Hawai'i in 600 years, the Hokule'a, was launched. Its first major voyage was to Tahiti and was navigated by Piailug, who was one of six Micronesian master navigators. The voyage took 33 days.

 

Since that time, many in the voyaging society have worked to ensure the tradition of non-instrument navigation never dies out. Nearly a dozen voyaging canoes have been built, a dozen people are trained as navigators and twice as many as sea captains, Thompson said.

 

PASSING THE TORCH

 

More sailing canoes mean more children will get a chance to learn the navigation skills, an appreciation for the ocean ecosystem and the art of canoe building, Bertelmann said.

 

Bertelmann was 29 when the first historic voyage took place. Now 58, he is using his knowledge of sailing to design and build the voyaging canoe for Piailug. When the canoe is in Micronesia, Piailug will establish a school to teach non-instrument navigation.

 

Kimo Hugho, who helped set training and safety standards in the early 1970s, believes there needs to be a land-based education and plans to take a model canoe to schools around the state. Teachers would tell the story of canoeing and students could spend a night in the canoe on their campus to see the stars at night and study navigation.

 

"My role is to give this to the students," Hugho said. "I don't wish to sail anymore, but my role now is to continue education through storytelling what life is like on a sailing canoe."

 

Thompson also has a vision for education, to see students learn the importance of the sea by experiencing it aboard the Hokule'a.

 

Ten classes have spent a night on the Hokule'a, including students at Niu Valley Middle School. Called Malama Maunalua, the program includes mapping the bay, identifying fish and limu, water-quality testing, stargazing and the overnight canoe watch on Hokule'a.

 

"The education helps the kids who love the ocean and connects them to their Hawaiian culture," said 59-year-old Abraham "Snake" Ah Hee, one of two people who have sailed on all six voyages to Tahiti. "Voyaging sure makes you feel closer to yourself. It was chicken skin to go back and do the old ways, to know that you're doing something that your ancestors did 400 to 600 years before."

 

To perpetuate the craft, Honolulu Community College has a Marine Education Training Center at Sand Island, where college students learn to build canoes and boats. The hope is to create a program to teach traditional and contemporary sailing. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Gregory Yamamoto

 

Long term, men and women like Thompson hope to help the state's 70 canoe clubs adopt ocean sailing as part of the paddling experience, giving more youngsters the opportunity to learn wayfinding, Thompson said.

 

In addition, Thompson hopes to see each of the 13 voyaging canoes be used to reach school-age children, so that nearly 40,000 of them can have the opportunity to experience voyaging.

 

"The main core value is education, the strength of the culture and protecting our ocean," Thompson said.

 

4 GENERATIONS ON BOARD

 

The teenagers who will be on the Tahiti trip next month will be selected from a pool of 16 students and will be chosen after vigorous swimming tests, written exams, rough-water sailing and medical checkups, Thompson said.

 

Those not chosen for this first voyage will have a chance to participate on the voyage next year to Micronesia and Japan, he said.

 

"We need to sail this year. Mau Piailug is at the top of the list as the teacher of all of us," Thompson said. "The 30th anniversary voyage will bridge four generations and make sure that our young people have early memories of the visionaries, the pioneers."

 

Representing the new generation of navigators is Kaiulani Murphy. The 27-year-old is one of 13 Hawaiian navigators. She became hooked after taking a class at the University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Studies program.

 

Born after Hokule'a's first voyage in 1976, Murphy speaks Hawaiian fluently, is a Regents scholar and a Kamehameha Schools graduate. On her resume also is the fact that she can find Mauna Kea from Tahiti.

 

"I don't feel like a leader," Murphy said. "It's definitely an honor and a privilege to lead a voyage."

 

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

March 5, 2006

 

Mai'ohos feel drawn to royal burial site

 

Six generations have cared for the Nuuanu mausoleum for Hawaii's kings

 

By Sally Apgar
sapgar@starbulletin.com

 

Bill Kaihe'ekai Mai'oho doesn't remember the first time he heard the family story of how his ancestors secretly buried the bones of Kamehameha the Great.

 

"It is so much a part of me, my family, I can't remember when I didn't know the story," said Mai'oho, the sixth generation of his family to care for Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum built on 3.5 acres of land in the heart of Nuuanu, where six of the last eight kings who ruled Hawaii are buried along with other alii.

 

According to the Mai'oho family's version of the story, King Kamehameha I was fond of a young high chief whom the king renamed Hoapili ("attached to the bosom" or closest to the heart). The warrior king who united the Hawaiian islands chose Hoapili and his brother, Ho'olulu, also a high chief, to take his iwi (bones) to a secret burial site, away from enemies who would want to desecrate the bones or steal their mana (spiritual energy).

 

"Kamehameha was a planner, so he talked to Hoapili and Ho'olulu about where his iwi should be hidden," said Mai'oho, noting Kamehameha wanted his bones protected from desecration not only from rival chiefs, but from westerners who were sailing into the islands and sacking sacred sites.

 

In May 1819, when King Kamehameha died in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, his bones, in accordance with traditions afforded high kings, were separated from his flesh and placed in a kaai, a basket woven of sennet cordage. Mother of pearl was inlaid for the eyes and the king's own teeth formed the mouth, said Mai'oho. His flesh was thrown far out to sea.

 

On a moonless night, Ho'olulu took the casket from where it was placed in Ahu'ena Heiau and met Hoapili in a canoe accompanied by Keopuolani, the king's favorite wife. They paddled to an undersea cave that could only be accessed at low tide and buried the iwi. To this day, the location has been rumored but never found.

 

Two months later, Ho'olulu had his first child, a son. To commemorate the event of secreting the king's bones, Ho'olulu named his son Kaihe'ekai.

 

Mai'oho, who is the fourth generation of his family to bear that name, said that while its literal meaning "is ocean-squid-ocean, its hidden meaning is about receding waters and how Kamehameha's iwi are buried in an underwater cave where no man's eyes can look."

 

He added proudly, "I am named William Kaihe'ekai after my grandpa, who was William Kaihe'ekai Taylor and my mother's father."

 

The single-story green house on the grounds of Mauna Ala where the caretaker lives is called Hale Ho'olulu or House of Ho'olulu.

 

Mai'oho's family came to Mauna Ala in 1893, when High Chiefess Maria Beckley Kahea, a descendent of the Ho'olulu line, was appointed kahu (caretaker) by Queen Liliuokalani.

 

Kahea was succeeded by her son Fred Beckley Kahea, who served until 1946.

 

In 1947, Mai'oho's grandfather William Kaihe'ekai Taylor succeeded his cousin Kahea as kahu.

 

When Mai'oho, the first-born male grandchild was 2 or 3, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents for a few years at Mauna Ala.

 

Each morning, Mai'oho's grandfather would go outside to tell the stories of Mauna Ala to visitors. Mai'oho, wanting to hear those stories, would rush to the door only to be stopped by his grandmother reminding him of chores. She would also tell him that his grandfather met with many visitors and that if he wanted to listen to the stories, he must be quiet.

 

"She told me that I had two ears and one mouth and that I was to work doubly hard with my two ears and not to use this (his mouth)," laughed Mai'oho, gently recalling his well-loved grandmother Emily Kekahaloa Namauu Taylor.

 

And if he were quiet, he would be allowed to sit in the family circle to hear the stories of his kupuna.

 

"I became a very good listener and in that listening process of learning, learned a lot about culture, history, genealogy and gossip about people who were alive then and the ancestors," said Mai'oho, adding, "My grandmother would always say no go brag outside of the family."

 

Mai'oho's grandfather oversaw Mauna Ala from 1947 until his death in 1956, when Mai'oho was about 10. By then, the job was under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii, which appointed Mai'oho's grandmother Emily Kekahaloa Taylor, a renowned genealogist and songwriter, to take over for her husband.

 

For a while, Mai'oho lived again at Mauna Ala to help his grandmother. But an illness rendered him bedridden for seven years during his teens and time was mostly spent in hospital isolation units. During his life and illness, his grandmother and his mother, Lydia Namahanaikalelekalani Taylor Mai'oho, were strong influences.

 

In 1961, Mai'oho's grandmother was succeeded by a non Mai'oho family member, Iolani Luahine, a kumu hula Mai'oho described as "very powerful and charismatic." Known as Auntie Iolani, she served until 1966 and then the state job as kahu was advertised.

 

Mai'oho's mother, known at Auntie Namahana, applied for the job and was accepted. She took her post on Jan. 3, 1966, and served until retiring in 1994.

 

Gov. John Waihee then appointed Mai'oho to take over and he stepped into the job on Jan. 3, 1995.

 

Mai'oho likes that he and his mother both stepped into their jobs on Jan. 3.

 

"In our family history, there are just too many connections and links. I believe they are spiritual connections and not just coincidences."

 

 

 

 

Friday, March 3, 2006

 

Native American Life, Firsthand

 

By Nadya Sagner
Special to The Washington Post

The objects in the exhibition "Listening to Our Ancestors" at the National Museum of the American Indian hold childlike appeal: A box drum, painted with a stylized red and black beaver, resembles a Nisga'a tribe version of Felix the Cat. A brilliant blue, ermine-trimmed tunic from the Tlingit community, made of goat-hair wool and shredded cedar bark, practically invites a game of dress-up. Boats, masks, headdresses, spoons and serving bowls (many brightly colored) line the exhibition's winding pathways.

 

Subtitled "The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast," the family-friendly show features more than 400 ceremonial and everyday items from 11 native communities. Even young children will find something of interest from Alaska, British Columbia or Washington state. Objects are displayed in cases of varying heights, many easily visible for short visitors.

 

This month the museum will host several special events and activities that children might enjoy, including weaving demonstrations and workshops and theater performances.

 

Toward the end of "Listening to Our Ancestors" is the Paawats Family Activity Room. Conceptualized by Vilma Ortiz-Sanchez, program specialist for the education department, the Paawats room -- named after the Nuu-chah-nulth word for "bird's nest" or "where learning takes place" -- reflects themes of the surrounding exhibition. The room's two wide entryways reveal a glimpse of the neighboring galleries. Ocean-blue walls are decorated with stylized depictions of landscapes and animals, created by native artists from the tribes of the show. A central table, shaped like a killer whale in red, black and white, shows stunning design.

 

Inside the room, Ortiz-Sanchez has fashioned hands-on, child-targeted displays. In her previous post at the National Museum of Natural History, she developed programs and managed the Discovery Room. Vivid, contemporary color photos show native children engaged in daily life, both familiar (swinging, wearing a school uniform) and less so (fishing, wearing ceremonial regalia for a seasonal rite). A wall map of the North Pacific coast locates each of the 11 communities; even toddlers will delight in pushing the buttons and hearing each nation's name pronounced in its native language.

 

A display lets children match native designs to photographs of the animals they depict, including an eagle, wolf, butterfly and crab. Again, any child would take pride in earning a lit-up "You're Right" sign.

 

Kids can examine a native-made canoe, including its paddle, bailer, rope, weight and hooks. A weaving station compares plaiting and twining and lets children try each method.

 

Themed discovery boxes contain touchable materials such as animal teeth and cedar wood, both as rough bark and carved block. Volunteer facilitators help direct activity. "If parents are comfortable and engaged, kids will be comfortable and engaged," Ortiz-Sanchez said.

 

Listening to Our Ancestors: The Arts of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast -- Through Jan. 2 at the National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW (Metro: L'Enfant Plaza or Federal Center). 202-633-1000.www.AmericanIndian.si.edu. Open daily 10 to 5:30. Free.

 

 

 

 

March 7, 2006

 

2 isle forests join 'experiment'

 

Big Isle tracts covering 40,000 acres will be part of a stewardship research program

 

By B.J. Reyes
bjreyes@starbulletin.com

 

Two forests on the Big Island are being set aside as "experimental" under a federal program that promotes research of tropical forestry, conservation, ecology and responsible harvesting of forest products.

 

The experimental forest program, a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, already includes 78 other parcels of land across the country.

 

The Hawaii tracts -- a wet forest in Laupahoehoe and a tropical dry forest in Puu Waa Waa -- each are about 20,000 acres and bring the total acreage of the program to about 400,000 in almost every other state, federal and state officials announced yesterday.

 

"It's going to be a living laboratory," USDA Associate Chief Sally Collins said. "It's a place where we can work with generations of landowners to learn to protect and conserve the forest here."

 

She noted that the forests also will be used for education, training and preservation of cultural values important to native Hawaiians.

 

Gov. Linda Lingle said research could help develop techniques for invasive species control, native forest restoration and growing koa and other commercial species in a responsible manner.

 

"I know the resources from the federal government are going to help us a lot to learn about our own land and our own heritage," Lingle said.

 

Officials had no estimate on how much it would cost to maintain the forests, adding that the management plan was still being worked out and could take three to five years to fully develop.

 

Collins said an initial assessment indicated that $250,000 would be needed for basic facilities such as roads.

 

"In the long term, we've got to put together a much more comprehensive plan," she said.

 

The land will continue to be owned by the state and will be made available for traditional public uses such as hiking and hunting, said state Land Director Peter Young.

 

He noted that the decision to designate the two forests came after gathering input from residents at various public hearings, primarily on the Big Island.

 

"So far, it's just been almost a steamroller of support that's been going on in this process," he said. "It will continue to have public access; in fact, it will expand access to these areas and get people to better understand the world around them."

 

Officials noted that Hawaii's forests are the only tropical lands included in the federal program.

 

"Hawaii's experimental forest is a real milestone in conservation," Collins said. "It's located in a part of the world with incredible life. The ecological variety here can be difficult for us on the mainland to even begin to imagine.

 

"It'll give us a great capacity for world-class research in tropical forestry."

 

 

 

 

CNHA’s Educational Symposium on Defining Citizenship:  The Foundation of a Native Nation
In 2004, the UCLA School of Law Native Nations Law & Policy Center shared its research with hundreds at CNHA’s Educational Symposium on Constitutions, and people asked,

 

“What’s next, because we want more!”

Save the Dates
for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s
Educational Symposium on Defining Citizenship:
The Foundation of a Native Nation
April 17 & 18, 2006 - Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel

 

Registration Fee:  $150.00

 

How to Register:  Pre-register on-line at www.hawaiiancouncil.org/docs/events/forms/edsympdefcitizenapr2006.html

 

Scholarships:  A limited number of need-based scholarships will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to students, kupuna and neighbor island individuals.  Scholarships will cover the Symposium Registration Fee. Scholarships do not provide transportation or lodging.  You may request a scholarship application when you pre-register.

 

For more information, contact:
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
33 South King Street, Suite 513
Honolulu, HI 96813

Tel: 808.521.5011/800.709.2642
Fax: 808.521.4111/800.710.2642
E-mail: events@hawaiiancouncil.org
www.hawaiiancouncil.org

Come and increase your knowledge and understanding of this important part of self-governance and self-determination.

For our past, our present and our future.

 

 

 

 

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CIVIL NO. 05-1-0415 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII SECOND SUMMONS TO: HEIRS OF NAIWIELUA (K); also known as J.M. NAIWIELUA; CHITARO NAIWIELUA; HEIRS OF E. VON HAO (K), also known as E. VAN HAO; WRIGHT VAN HAO; HEIRS OF KAHANA (K); HEIRS OF L. KAMAKA (W); HEIRS OF PUHULULU KEAWE (W), also known as PUHULULU; HEIRS OF KEAWE (K); HEIRS OF WAH CHONG SUN (K); HEIRS OF MEHEULA (K); HEIRS OF J.K. MEHEULA (K); HEIRS OF KEAHI; HEIRS OF KIMO KEAHI (K), also known as JAMES KEAHI; HEIRS OF HALEKEALOHA (W); HEIRS OF NUINUIMAKUA (K); HEIRS OF KAUAINA (K), also known as KAUWAINA, also known as S.B. KAUAINA, also known as S.B. KAUWAINA, also known as KAUAINA PALEA; KAMALIIKANE (K); KAMALIIWAHINE (W); KAAIHUE (K); and Heirs of persons named above who are deceased, or persons holding under said Heirs, and spouses, assigns, successors, personal representatives, executors, administrators, and trustees of persons named above who are deceased; DOES 1 through 100; and all other persons unknown claiming any right, title, estate, lien or interest in the real property described and TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff EWM INVESTMENTS, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, claims fee simple ownership to the land described as: Portion of Land Commission Award Number 8786:2 to Kuaana; all of Land Commission Award Number 9112:2 to Kahana; portion of Land Commission Award Number 9225-B to Keawe; all of Land Commission Award Number 10170 to Meheula; portion of Land Commission Award Number 10886 to Nuinuimakua; all at Poupouwela, Island and County of Hawaii, State of Hawaii, bearing Tax Key (3) 9-5-008-portion 010. YOU ARE HEREBY FURTHER NOTIFIED that Plaintiff EWM INVESTMENTS, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, has filed a Complaint to Quiet Title in the Third Circuit Court, Hilo, Hawaii, requesting that title to the above-described real property be determined as to any and all adverse claims not presented and/or adjudicated in this action. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear in the courtroom of the HONORABLE GLENN S. HARA, Judge of the above-entitled Court, 75 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii, on Friday, the 24th day of March, 2006, at 8 a.m., or to file an answer or other pleading and serve it before said day upon Plaintiff's counsel TOM C. LEUTENEKER, Carlsmith Ball LLP, attorneys for Plaintiff, whose mailing address is One Main Plaza, Suite 400, 2200 Main Street, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, 96793, to show cause, if you have any, why the prayer of said Complaint should not be granted. Unless you file an answer before the time aforesaid or appear at the Third Circuit Court, Hilo, County and State of Hawaii, at the time and place aforesaid, your default will be recorded, and said Complaint will be taken as confessed and a judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. DATED: Hilo, Hawaii, February 3, 2006. B. McRAE CLERK OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT CARLSMITH BALL LLP TOM C. LEUTENEKER 721-0 One Main Street, Suite 400 2200 Main Street Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793 Telephone: (808) 242-4535 Attorneys for Plaintiff (Hon. Adv.: Feb. 9, 16, 23; Mar. 2, 2006) (A-347009) Posted on 2/9/2006

 

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