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.

 

CNHA is a national association of Native Hawaiian organizations. Operating an active Public Policy Center, Grants Training Institute, Community Development Consulting Services, and the Hawaiian Way Fund, we unify our members around solutions that embrace the strength of Native culture and knowledge in meeting community challenges. CNHA coordinates the Annual Native Hawaiian Convention in Honolulu every year to bring practitioners, community and policy makers together around issues important to Hawaiians.

 

 

 

 

June 14, 2006

 

 

June 8, 2006

 

Majority of U.S. Senate Support "Akaka Bill"

 

Washington, D.C. - Senator Daniel K. Akaka, sponsor of the Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act, issued the following statement following the Senate cloture vote:

 

"Today, across this nation, Native Hawaiians have been recognized as an indigenous people deserving of justice, equality and the recognition accorded to the other indigenous peoples of the United States. In the highest halls of our government, senators from all parts of our country and both sides of the aisle took up the cause to bring Native Hawaiians justice. For this, I am extremely grateful and extraordinarily proud.

 

"Sadly, the noble values of equality, fairness and strength in diversity, hallmarks of our state and our country, fell victim to politics, rhetoric and procedural maneuvering. The central issue of federal recognition for Hawaii’s indigenous people has yet to be given its fair examination.

 

"I am disappointed that we did not overcome the procedural obstacles to bring the bill to the floor, but I am heartened by the fact that 56 Senators supported our efforts.  I have always said that we had the votes to enact this bill on an up or down vote.

 

"I am extremely proud to have brought this issue to the forefront of the Senate and to have elevated the cause of the Native Hawaiians to a national level. We must continue to move forward for Native Hawaiians, the people of Hawaii and everyone in this country who believe that ours is a nation which treats all of its people with an equitable hand.

 

"While I would like to name each and every individual and organization who supported our efforts, those numbers are too great. I do want to recognize the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, National Education Association, American Bar Association, Japanese American Citizens League, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Alaska Federation of Natives, National Congress of American Indians, and many more, who demonstrate that this issue enjoys support across ethnic, economic and political divides."

 

The United States Senate voted 56 to 41 on cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 147, the Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Monday, June 12, 2006

 

Rally cry at lei draping: 'We are not deterred'

 

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

 

WASHINGTON — Many in the crowd that gathered yesterday for the annual lei draping of the King Kamehameha statue in the nation's Capitol were upbeat and determined not to give up even though the Senate dealt a severe blow last week to the Native Hawaiian recognition bill.

Photo courtesy Gannett News Service: Micah Walter

"Despite the setback ... we are not deterred, nor are we defeated," Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said before the crowd of about 350 people.

 

"We will continue our efforts to advance appreciation and understanding of Native Hawaiians by policymakers and policy implementers, as well as through those who make the difference in determining both: the voters," she said.

 

Aurora Jane Scott of Richmond, Va., said federal recognition for Native Hawaiians is a good idea and a way to help keep the Hawaiian culture alive.

 

"I don't think they should give up," said Scott, a graduate of Wai'anae High School. "It's hard but still they should go on."

 

The ceremony observed Kamehameha Day. It began with traditional Hawaiian music and hula. It concluded with the draping of leis on the 12-foot black-and-gold-colored bronze statue in Statuary Hall.

 

On most people's minds was the Senate defeat Thursday of an effort to bring the Native Hawaiian bill to the floor for debate and a vote. With help from the White House, which announced late Wednesday it opposed the bill, conservative Republicans turned back a strong bipartisan push on a 56-41 vote, with 60 votes needed to bring the bill up.

 

In a statement read to yesterday's crowd, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, chief sponsor of the bill, said it is "unlikely" that the bill will be considered again before the end of the congressional session in January.

 

"I am currently working on a strategy for the remainder of 2006," said Akaka, who is Native Hawaiian. "However, I will be ready (for more action this year) should the opportunity present itself."

 

Akaka said supporters are developing potential strategies for next year after the new Congress begins.

 

"One of our biggest challenges, however, is addressing the misinformation campaign against the bill," he said. "We need to ensure that the people of Hawai'i understand what this bill is really about, what the federal policy of self-governance and self-determination means, and how this bill is important to all of us in Hawai'i."

 

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a sponsor of the House version of the bill, said what is needed to carry the battle for recognition forward is unity among the Hawaiian community and its legislative delegations.

 

"Politics is what we're talking about here today," Abercrombie said. "People vote for you for their reasons, not yours."

 

Delegate Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa, added his call for unity among the Hawaiians in presenting their case to the rest of the country. "This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue," he said. "This is an issue of fairness and justice for our Native Hawaiian people."

 

Kamaka Cooper, who is originally from Kohala on the Big Island and lives in Vienna, Va., said she believed the bill was defeated by misinformation "and not by malice or anything of that nature."

 

"We just need to do a better job of educating people," she said.

 

Kawai Palmer, president of the Kauwahi 'Anaina Hawai'i Hawaiian Civic Club in Provo, Utah, said Native Hawaiian recognition would let others know that while Hawai'i is a part of the United States, it has an indigenous people just as do other parts of the country.

 

"This bill helps them, like the American Indians, have certain opportunities," said Palmer, originally from Kahana Bay. "We may have lost this battle but we haven't lost the war."

 

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.

 

 

 

 

Friday, June 09, 2006

 

Islands need the Akaka Bill

 

Maui News Editorial

 

January is now the earliest that the Akaka Bill can be taken up in the U.S. Senate, unless Sens. Dan Akaka and Daniel Inouye can find a parliamentary way to get it reconsidered after Thursday’s cloture vote.

 

The 56-41 vote was in favor of debating the merits of the bill on the floor of the Senate, but fell four votes short of the 60 needed to get the bill scheduled for floor debate.

 

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act would set up a procedure allowing Native Hawaiians a form of self-governance not unlike that enjoyed by the other indigenous peoples in the United States – Native Americans and, in Alaska, the Inuit and Aleut.

 

The bill is important to everyone in Hawaii, not only to redress past injustices, but to maintain and further Hawaiian culture, the only thing that sets Hawaii apart from other sun, sea and sand resort destinations around the world and which can teach the world valuable lessons in living with each other and the environment.

 

Opponents trotted out the same tired, largely baseless contentions that revealed an ignorance of the Akaka Bill’s contents and the reality of life in the islands. Despite having given Native Americans, Inuit and Aleut peoples control over specific parcels of land and their own affairs in the past, this Congress is suddenly concerned, as Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said, about “a bill whose very purpose is to divide Americans based on race.”

 

Assistant Attorney General William Moschella said the bill would reverse the country’s melting-pot tradition. To anyone knowledgeable about Hawaii, that statement is on the other side of ridiculous. There is no more racially integrated society in the U.S. and Native Hawaiians themselves have the blood of many lands flowing through their veins. Equally absurd is the idea the Akaka Bill would pave the way for the islands to secede from the union.

 

The Akaka Bill would help protect federal and state and private programs designed to assist Native Hawaiians, but more importantly it would give the original inhabitants of these islands a true sense of place rather than being strangers in their own land.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday, June 14, 2006

 

Supreme Court rules in favor of OHA

 

By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Courts Writer

 

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a taxpayer lawsuit challenging the use of state general funds for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

In its ruling, the high court indicated on Monday that the payment of taxes alone isn't enough to provide a group of Hawai'i residents with the legal standing needed to challenge the OHA funding.

 

Attorney General Mark Bennett and OHA officials yesterday said they were pleased with the high court's actions.

 

"We always felt state taxpayer standing was not a viable doctrine, so we're gratified that our legal strategy has been vindicated by the Supreme Court ruling," Bennett said.

 

The lawsuit is the last pending challenge to the constitutionality of government funding for OHA.

 

The high court's actions provide some relief to OHA and other government programs for Native Hawaiians that came increasingly under fire following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2000 decision in a case known as Rice v. Cayetano, in which the court ruled unconstitutional OHA's requirement that voters for its trustees must have Hawaiian blood.

 

In the wake of that landmark decision, former police officer Earl Arakaki and more than a dozen other residents filed a lawsuit challenging government funding for OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

 

BACK TO 9TH CIRCUIT

 

After Monday's ruling, H. William Burgess, a lawyer for the taxpayer group, said other challenges may be filed later by someone denied benefits because they don't have Hawaiian blood.

 

Bennett and OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said the state and OHA will contest those challenges.

 

"We believe that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is constitutional and we would vigorously defend any future lawsuit challenging either the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or any other program that benefits Native Hawaiians," Bennett said.

 

As part of the ruling, the Supreme Court set aside an appeals court decision that had allowed part of the suit to go forward. It also granted the state's request to overturn the appeals court decision and ordered the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the case in view of a Supreme Court decision last month that ruled that Ohio tax-payers don't have legal standing to sue the state of Ohio over tax breaks for DaimlerChrysler.

 

The court on Monday also rejected a request by the lawyer for the taxpayers seeking to have the entire lawsuit reinstated.

 

DOES OHIO CASE APPLY?

 

Namu'o, who estimated OHA has spent about $395,000 in legal costs in defending itself in the case, said the organization would also vigorously oppose any future lawsuits.

 

Burgess said he was disappointed by the high court's rulings, but said he still believes the appeals court will allow its decision to stand. He said the Ohio decision does not apply to his case.

 

The suit was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway, but a part of the case dealing with state general funds to OHA was reinstated by the appeals court in August. OHA estimated at the time that it received $2.8 million, or about 10 percent of its annual operating budget, from state general funds.

 

Last month, the high court issued a 9-0 ruling that essentially halted efforts by a group of taxpayers in Toledo, Ohio, who were challenging nearly $300 million in tax breaks for DaimlerChrysler AG's $1.2 billion Jeep assembly plant.

 

At the time, Bennett and Robert Klein, OHA's lawyer, said the decision signaled an end of what had become known as the Arakaki lawsuit.

 

Burgess yesterday disagreed with the assessment that the high court's actions end the case. He said the Ohio ruling doesn't apply because in the Arakaki case, the taxpayers are treated differently and excluded from certain benefits because of their ancestry.

 

But Bennett said the Ohio ruling eliminated the basis of the taxpayer standing in the Arakaki case.

 

"I believe all that's left is the housekeeping order from the 9th Circuit (dismissing the Arakaki case)," Bennett said.

 

ROBERTS OPTED OUT

 

The U.S. Supreme Court Web site reported the high court's actions Monday.

 

The brief orders said, without explanation, that Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. did not participate in the decisions.

 

Before he was appointed chief justice last year, Roberts was a private lawyer who was hired by the state to defend OHA's Hawaiians-only voting restriction in the Rice v. Cayetano case.

 

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday, June 14, 2006

 

Inouye pitches new native bill

 

By Gordon Y.K. Pang and Dennis Camire
Advertiser Staff Writers

 

WASHINGTON — Federal and state programs that benefit Hawaiians would be protected under new legislation being drafted even as the battle continues for formal federal recognition, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

 

Inouye also said he believed it "would be unwise" to battle for a new vote this year on the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill after the Senate rejected an effort last week to bring the bill to the floor for a debate and vote.

 

Instead, supporters are expected to offer a new version of the Native Hawaiian bill after the next Congress convenes in January.

 

"While we wait for another opportunity (on the Native Hawaiian bill), we would like to make certain that all the programs we have in place at this moment are not placed in jeopardy," Inouye said.

 

According to a memorandum prepared by Inouye's office, the Senate has appropriated more than $1.2 billion for Native Hawaiian programs over the past 26 years.

 

Derek Kauanoe, a student at the University of Hawai'i's William S. Richardson School of Law, applauded the shift in strategy. Kauanoe got a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to set up a program designed to help Native Hawaiian students enter law school and stay there.

 

"It's about time they did that," Kauanoe said. He noted that several of the senators opposed to the so-called Akaka bill said there might be other ways to address the concerns of Hawaiians outside of federal recognition.

 

"We can keep on doing the same thing over and over again before we realize we've got to do something else," he said.

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o pointed out that a key opponent of the federal recognition bill, U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, previously had said he was not against Hawaiians-only programs and would actually support such legislation.

 

Namu'o said he is also pleased with Inouye's plan.

 

Following last Thursday's vote, "all of us (Akaka bill supporters) went back and started to rethink whether there was a legislative fix that could protect the program but still not provide recognition," Namu'o said.

 

H. William Burgess of the group Aloha for All, which opposes the Akaka bill, said he and others will fight any legislation that seeks to provide privileges from one racial group to the detriment of others.

 

"I don't think that's appropriate," Burgess said. "That's the whole idea of the equal protection laws. Government does not allocate benefits or detriments based on race."

 

Burgess said he has no problem with the federal government continuing to provide funding for needy people in Hawai'i so long as it is not discriminatory.

 

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, chief sponsor of the Native Hawaiian bill, said the programs were essential for Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike.

 

"The very fabric of Hawai'i is based on the culture of Native Hawaiians," Akaka said.

 

Inouye said that in negotiations with the Bush administration last year on the Native Hawaiian bill, officials "made it clear" that they supported language in the bill aimed at keeping the 160 federal programs now helping Hawaiians. The bill would protect the programs from legislative and legal attacks.

 

"What we're going to do is use the language ... in this measure that we hope will protect our benefits," he said. "We will use it verbatim."

 

Inouye said he hopes to introduce the new bill before Congress leaves for its Fourth of July recess.

 

"I'm in the process of trying to get bipartisan sponsorship" for the new bill, he said.

 

Inouye said he hoped House sponsors of the Native Hawaiian bill — Hawai'i's Democratic Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case — would introduce a similar bill in the House.

 

Inouye said that he and other supporters "were not going to sneak anything through" the Senate to protect Hawaiian programs.

 

"We're going to try to get committee approval so that at least if we're going to attach it to something, we can say it's been approved by the committee," he said. "This is just too important a measure to go sneaking around."

 

Inouye's position against trying for a new Senate vote on the Native Hawaiian bill this year apparently is the death knell for any further action until the next Congress forms.

 

The Native Hawaiian bill, originally introduced in 2000, would create a process for a Native Hawaiian government to be recognized by the U.S. government, similar to the political status given to Native American and Alaskan Native tribes.

 

James A. Thurber, a congressional expert at American University in Washington, said pushing the Native Hawaiian bill to next year for any new action "might be good" for its chances with the fall elections looming.

 

Thurber said Democrats might regain control of the House in elections and gain more seats in the Senate.

 

"It (Congress) might just change enough to give them enough votes in the Senate and the House to pass this thing," he said.

 

Inouye said any new version of the Native Hawaiian recognition bill would incorporate changes negotiated late last year with the Justice Department, the White House and the Office of Management and Budget.

 

The negotiations came after the Justice Department raised concerns about the bill last summer. Proposed changes addressing the concerns were to be added to the bill when it came up for floor debate.

 

Both supporters and opponents of the bill agreed that Native Hawaiian programs are central to the Akaka bill debate.

 

Kauanoe, the law school student, said the program to help Hawaiians succeed in law school has helped about a dozen potential law students to date and is expected to help dozens more.

 

He got a $30,000 grant from 'Ahahui O Hawai'i, a law school club dedicated to Hawaiian causes. Hawaiians are under-represented at the law school and in the Hawai'i legal community, he said.

 

It is one of hundreds of programs receiving state and federal funding that help Hawaiians, programs that run the gamut from Hawaiian language programs to health initiatives.

 

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com and Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.

 

AT A GLANCE

 

Federal appropriations for Native Hawaiian programs over the past 26 years — fiscal years 1981-2006 — total $1.2 billion.

 

Here's a breakdown:

 

Source: Office of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye

 

 

 

 

A Ho‘oulu Lāhui Aloha panel

Produced by Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Coordinated by ‘Aha Kane Papa Komike Kumakua & Papa Ola Lōkahi

 

 

‘Aha Kāne 2006

Inā pa’a ‘ole ka pohaku kihi, hāule ka paia

 

June 14 & 21, 2006

7:00 PM

‘Olelo (Community Access TV, O‘ahu) NATV-53

 

Panelists

 

Moderator

 

The panelists talk about ‘Aha Kāne 2006 being held June 23-25, 2006 on O‘ahu:

 

 

Website:  http://www.ahakane.org

 

 

 

 

June 9, 2006

 

Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike

(Hana School Building Program)

 

 

Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike (In Working, One Learns) is making incredible strides with the “at risk” youth of Hana and the community building program for the Kupuna (grandparent or elderly) and the Hana School District.

 

From the concept to completion, students are involved in the building process which leads to an increase in self-esteem while learning practical life skills.  The community and campus projects range from renovating kupuna homes to campus projects like the recently built “Kahi Pohala” (A Place of Recovery) Substance Abuse Counseling Center.  The center was made with Styrofoam/cement block construction, interior bamboo, koa paneling and decorated by the students creating a mosaic tile feature with stained glass murals.  This project has rekindled pride in the youth that have participated and brought smiles to the kupuna faces as all of Hana can recognize the value of the effort and aloha being put forth.

 

In the Hawaiian culture, the family is an integral part of the community.  The kupuna is a revered position and the youth are taught to hearken to the voices of their elders.  Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike has provided a creative solution to today’s problems by giving the “at risk” youth a path to their kupuna and their community.  Rick Rutiz, Executive Director, states “When our student builders completed a new wing for the Hana Senior Center, Hale Hulu Mamo, kupuna gathered on the center’s lanai to marvel at the bamboo, koa, and hardwood hale. They were impressed at the newfound skills and loving attention shared with them by our hardworking local youth.  Tears welled in the eyes of appreciative elders as they looked upon their grandchildren with new reverence, while respect levels among the youth soared, leading to a high, more desirable than that of the drugs and alcohol they take to combat their feelings of failure.”

 

CNHA’s Hawaiian Way Fund is proud to support Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike in their efforts of revitalizing the community through the youth.  Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike became a partner recipient of the Hawaiian Way Fund in 2005.  The funds have supported the Substance Abuse Counseling Center of Hana High School, a new wing for Hana’s Senior Center and numerous smaller projects for the community.  Robin Danner, President & CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, says “Investing in Hawaii’s youth is an important step to realizing a better future for our communities.”

 

The Hawaiian Way Fund is a philanthropic initiative dedicated to supporting nonprofits built on the “Hawaiian Way” of meeting community needs, and designed to attract individual and corporate giving to social, educational, economic, environmental and cultural initiatives.  This fund mobilizes gifts of aloha to perpetuate Native Hawaiian culture and build healthy communities in Hawaii by bridging donors to the nonprofits.

 

To make a contribution to Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike, through the Hawaiian Way Fund, contact CNHA at 808.521.5011 or via email at info@hawaiiancouncil.org.  To contact Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike directly, call 808. 248.8581 or visit their website: www.hanabuildingprogram.com. The fund is supported through individual charitable giving, employer workplace giving along with employer matching, corporate partnerships and fundraising events.  For more information about the Hawaiian Way Fund, visit the website at www.hawaiianwayfund.org.

 

 

 

 

June 9, 2006

 

Scientists work with Alaska native hunters to look for bird flu

 

By Anne Sutton

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

BARROW, Alaska – Nearly 350 miles above the Arctic Circle, a traditional Eskimo feast to celebrate a successful whale hunt is in the making. On the table, chopped-up chunks of wild fowl are ready for the pot – all except for a lovely king eider duck.

 

Before this duck is plucked and cooked, a government scientist will swab it to take a sample for bird flu testing.

 

Scientists have been posted in Barrow – the nation's northernmost city, set in a treeless expanse of tundra on the edge of the ice-bound Arctic Ocean – to look for early warning signs that migratory birds are bringing the deadly virus to North America.

 

No one knows when or if H5N1 avian influenza will arrive on U.S. shores. But if it does come by wild bird, experts want to know early on, before it can devastate the poultry supply, or worse.

 

The virus has led to the death or slaughter of millions of birds in Asia, Europe and Africa and killed more than 128 people who had close contract with sick birds. The bigger fear is that the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from human to human, sparking a pandemic.

 

But as Corey Rossi, district supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's wildlife services in Alaska, prepares to take a fecal sample from the duck with a swab, he relays the same message he has been giving since he arrived in Barrow a week earlier.

 

“I don't think we're going to find anything but we're looking just to make sure,” he says. He tucks the cotton swab in a sterile vial to be sealed, labeled and sent on to a government lab while Laura Paktotak and her cousin pluck, chop and deliver the duck to the pot.

 

The testing is part of an effort to sample between 75,000 and 100,000 live and hunter-killed birds across the nation, of which 19,000 are to come from various points around Alaska.

 

Barrow, population 4,800, is a place where a sharp wind whips the grit from the dirt roads, and snow flurries fly even in June. Because it is a crossroads for birds migrating back and forth from Asia and traveling to and from the Lower 48 states, Barrow is on the front lines of the early-detection plan – a fact that caused some consternation at first among people who live here and depend on wild fowl for food.

 

A public information campaign worked to ease those fears by telling hunters to cook game birds thoroughly and to use rubber gloves and exercise care when handling and cleaning their catch.

 

Frances Leavitt, a 41-year-old Barrow housewife, says she would never give up the foods she grew up eating. Hunting is a vital source of food in a community where a nice steak at the grocery store can go for $35 and milk is $7.50 a gallon.

 

Leavitt says that after the initial concerns about bird flu wore off, the subject became a joke among the hunters in her family. “They would say to each other, 'Are you going to go bird flu hunting now?'” she says.

 

Sampling hunter-killed birds is only a small part of the Alaska effort being waged by federal, state and local governments. Live birds also are being sampled, though that effort did not start out as smoothly as biologists hoped.

 

Rossi and crew spent two days trying to capture glaucous gulls at the local landfill. The idea was to fire a 50-by-60-foot net over them. The whale blubber bait failed to lure the skittish birds, which waited until later in the night to venture close.

 

And in a coastal marsh, biologists tried and failed to capture several species of small, quick shorebirds by stringing long nets. The birds flew up and over the mesh after a wind kicked up and set it rippling.

 

While the scientists persist, the Inupiat Eskimos continue to rely on nature's bounty.

 

More than 300 Barrow residents show up at the outdoor community festival, called an apugauti, for a bowl of duck soup and some mikigaq, a tangy black viscous mixture of fermented whale blood, blubber and meat that the children gobble up like candy. The elderly in fur-trimmed parkas and youngsters in hooded sweatshirts sit at long tables at a windy community playground.

 

“We are keeping our tradition and culture alive,” says Susan Hope. “It brings out the best in everybody.”

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Monday, June 12, 2006

 

Eating, breathing, teaching Hawai'i

 

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

 

They've graduated from Princeton and Harvard and Stanford and Yale, gone to private schools and award-winning magnet schools, been prepared for medical school and business school and, in some cases, already completed graduate degrees.

 

But this week the 55 young Teach For America teachers who are coming to Hawai'i for a two-year commitment to underperforming schools stood in a verdant lo'i in a remote corner of Wai'anae listening to Eric Enos talk about the roots of the Hawaiian culture and the children who have sprung from them.

 

The 55 learned to strip wauke bark to make kapa, ate laulau and taro and sweet potato, and sang in Hawaiian.

 

But they also heard about the dark side of Hawai'i. Earlier, Enos joined other members of the Wai'anae Coast community to discuss the challenges these young teachers face, including the ice epidemic that has devastated their community, the growing issue of homelessness along the coast and the breakdown of families and the role of fathers.

 

"Eric reminded us that if you go diving, a shark can sense your fear," said John Chock, a Punahou graduate who recently graduated from Stanford with a master's degree in biology before joining the Teach For America corps and coming back home.

 

"And he said children are a lot like sharks. They'll sense if you're nervous. So relax."

 

As the first group of Teach For America teachers finished up a week in Hawai'i on Saturday before leaving for Houston and five weeks of intensive teacher training in preparation for the fall, they brought with them energy, enthusiasm and high expectations. During a bus tour of Wai'anae, those hired by the high school raised a hearty cheer of "Go, Seariders" as they passed their new school.

 

Diane Robinson, TFA executive director for Hawai'i, said she has already had principals thank her for having Teach For America come to Hawai'i. Gerald Okamoto, assistant superintendent in charge of the Office of Human Resources for the DOE, said he has heard similar comments.

 

"The principals were excited about these kids," said Okamoto. "They said these young teachers are engaged, excited, intelligent, articulate and committed."

 

While two years spent as a teacher in schools in a rural and predominantly disadvantaged area could look good on a resume, that's not what's motivating this group.

 

"These kids can be earning three times the salary we're paying them," said Okamoto.

 

They're also expected — by contractual agreement — to move their students as much as one-and-a-half to two grades forward in the first year. Teach For America signed a contract with the DOE to that effect, and if some of the teachers have difficulty, it's the national TFA organization that's expected to provide the extra mentoring or other help needed.

 

Far from being intimidated, the new teachers relish the challenge.

 

"It's great to have a tangible, measurable set of metrics to judge your teaching skills, and a goal to work toward," said Ajith "A.J." Nagaraj, 23, who had to choose between starting a doctorate at Harvard Business School or this program.

 

He picked this program and hopes to be able to write grants and set up special programs for his school, perhaps through his Harvard network. He has a master's degree in higher-education leadership and has already started a couple of businesses.

 

"It's also great to be part of a larger social movement," he said, noting that he was surrounded by former Teach For America corps members in his Harvard master's program.

 

Already he's thinking about creating much more awareness of technology at his school, including creating a wireless network. If there aren't enough computers or laptops, he figures he'll write a grant proposal to get them.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, Kate Carcaterra, a 24-year-old New York native who has worked on the TV show "Law and Order" as well as on several movies, is excited about heading the drama department at 'Aiea Intermediate, where she'll also teach English.

 

"We just feel so welcomed by Hawai'i and the people here and can't wait to get started and get teaching and become a part of this community," she said.

 

"I could see myself staying here beyond the two years," said Carcaterra, who has also worked with the renowned Storefront School in Harlem. "Knowing you made an impact on a person's life, it's the most rewarding experience."

 

Midway through the week, 40 corps members had already been hired at Wai'anae and 'Ewa Beach schools, and by Friday the remainder were in interviews with other principals.

 

Wai'anae High alone hired eight — four of them who are strong in the sciences — said vice principal Ryan Oshita.

 

"They were real eager and excited to explore teaching as a profession," said Oshita, who gave offer letters on the spot. "The four we had lunch with said they had a car and wanted to drive out and go visit the coast and see the schools. They were so eager I had to draw them a map on the back of a napkin."

 

Oshita said the difficulties his school often faces is seeing teachers come from the Mainland, stay two or three years and then leave, either because they miss life on the Mainland or haven't passed the mandatory licensing exam in the required time period.

 

"I told them that we spend a lot of money on training, and professional development in terms of our school reform and getting them on board, and when we invest all that time and money and then they leave, we go back to square one again," said Oshita.

 

"So ideally we'd want them to stay until they retire."

 

But even without a long-term commitment, Oshita said the enthusiasm he felt from these young people is going to make a difference.

 

"They just seemed so eager to go into teaching and it's like their calling."

 

Superintendent Pat Hamamoto also made a pitch to keep the new teachers in Hawai'i longer, telling them there would be places for them to move up the ladder in education in the state if they chose that.

 

"She said it's our hope to establish a long-term relationship where they move within the teaching ranks but also into administration," said Okamoto.

 

While the Teach For America program has been criticized for the participants' lack of teaching credentials at the beginning, and for its stop-gap approach to the nationwide teacher shortage, participants counter that the program retains as many as 60 percent of its alumni in the field of education and shows significant gains among its students.

 

Several studies have shown that students served by these young teachers make bigger strides than those served by other groups of young teachers as well as all teachers.

 

"The mission is to create educational leaders, not necessarily lifelong teachers," said Chock. "Some of us go on to be lawyers or doctors or go into industry and you take the insight you learned wherever you go after this."

 

For Moloka'i's Loni Yonemura, who was still writing final exams this week at the University of Oregon before she joins her corps group in Houston today, just the challenge of preparing each of the students for the next step in their lives is what has brought her to Teach For America.

 

"I just want to be able to prepare them for the next challenge they're going to face in their lives," she said. "Whether it's the next grade in school or after school or whether they're going on to college or to get a job. I just want to help get them ready for their next step. When I had to choose between grad school and giving back to the community, this was my priority."

 

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Sunday, June 11, 2006

 

Only Hawai'i still honors a king

 

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

 

In addition to observing its 90th anniversary, yesterday's annual King Kamehameha Celebration Floral Parade marked a milestone of another sort:

 

It was the 10th anniversary of the year when state funding for the parade dried up. Organizers and parade fans alike were convinced 1996 would be the Kamehameha parade's last hurrah.

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Rebecca Breyer

It almost was.

 

Somehow, America's only parade honoring a king has managed to scrape up funding each year since, but parade director B.J. Allen concedes that pulling it off has been touch and go.

 

Higher costs, fewer volunteers and security restrictions have meant cutting corners.

 

Yesterday's parade was one of the smallest in memory, with only about 45 entries. Allen, who's the third-generation parade organizer of her family, said the smallest previous number of entries she could remember was 60.

 

"This one's about about half the size of the normal parades that we've had in the past," said Allen. "A big reason for the decline in numbers is expenses."

 

Still, the parade was comparably spectacular if you hark back to the first Kamehameha parade, held on June 12, 1916.

 

That one started at 'A'ala Park, moved along King Street and ended at the statue of Kameha-meha the Great across from the 'Iolani Palace. It featured no floats but had two bands, a riding club and a procession of members of various Hawaiian societies in ceremonial attire.

 

Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser: Rebecca BreyerYesterday, under sunny skies and light trade winds, there were few complaints among parade-goers. Perennial favorite entries included the Royal Hawaiian Band, the Marine Forces Pacific Band, Polynesian Cultural Center dancers, assorted colorful floats and horseback pa'u riders representing five of the eight Hawaiian Islands.

 

And, for the first time, the event featured a musical group as grand marshals — The Makaha Sons.

 

"This is a homegrown event, with a variety of things to see, and it's put on by the community," said Ed Chung, 57, who has been coming to Kamehameha parades since he was a kid and who laid claim yesterday to the very first makai seat at the corner of King and Richards streets when the parade began.

 

"Something like this keeps the culture and heritage going. This is a beautiful day in the greatest place in the world — I might as well be right here."

 

Nearby, Roy Koenig had pitched a beach chair and was obviously enjoying his first Kamehameha parade in 43 years.

 

"The last time I saw this parade, I was in it — playing the B-flat clarinet with the Kamehameha Schools marching band," said Koenig. "That was with the Class of '63. Sixty-three!"

 

Koenig said he recently moved into the neighborhood and was checking his mail early in the morning when he heard the commotion, "and I go, 'What is going on?' "

 

Koenig had a counterpart in Jeff Schneider at the opposite end of the parade route. For Schneider, 48, of Jacksonville, Fla., it was his first viewing of a Kamehameha Day parade since he was a pupil at Koko Head Elementary School 36 years ago.

 

"I saw these parades back then," said Schneider, who was in town for two weeks with his wife, Tess, and daughter, Morgan, 9. He'd briefed them on the importance of the man who was being honored.

 

This parade included three high school bands from the state of Missouri — Parkway Central, Pattonville and Rolla.

 

"It's been the event of a lifetime," said Mary Jo Underwood, an organizer with the Rolla High School band. She said the community and school spent 18 months raising the nearly $3 million it took to bring 155 band members and 40 chaperons to the parade and a one-week stay on O'ahu.

 

"Next time we do this, could we maybe have a band float?" wondered Rolla band member Katie Feakes, 17, who lugged her 50-pound tuba from downtown Honolulu to the parade's end at Monsarrat Avenue in Waikiki.

 

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

June 12, 2006

 

Hawaiian groups raising funds for credit union

 

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

 

Native Hawaiian groups have pushed back by a few months their timetable for applying to form their own credit union.

 

Come October, organizers say they hope to be ready to apply for a charter from the National Credit Union Administration.

 

June was the original target date to apply for a charter to operate the planned Prince Kuhio Federal Credit Union, which would be based in Kapolei.

 

The delay buys more time to achieve the groups' goal: raising $3 million to form the credit union, said Kekoa Beaupre, a spokesman for the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, which comprises 51 groups representing indigenous people of Polynesian ancestry.

 

So far, the clubs have raised $1.3 million, which in itself is enough to apply under the rules for a charter. But organizers said it's important to them for the credit union to be financially sound.

 

"We're going to be stepping up the fundraising," Beaupre said.

 

The planned credit union for Native Hawaiians would have a field of membership consisting of the 2,500 people from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and 2,000 others from the Hawaiian Home Lands trust.

 

The business plan calls for the credit union to offer an array of financial services. Among the services they would enjoy are auto loans, lines of credit up to $10,000 and personal loans up to $50,000.

 

 

 

 

Monday, June 12, 2006

 

Native home loan program enhanced

 

By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian

 

Sylver and Craig Belcourt - and their three children - recently moved into the family's first home, a spacious four-bedroom purchased in Billings. The couple recently became the first in Montana to use a popular Native home loan program outside a reservation border.

 

“It feels good to have your own backyard,” said Sylver. “The kids are excited and happy. You feel really good about yourself like you really accomplished something.”

 

The couple, both in their mid-20s, was approved for the Section 184 loan, which was made possible due to efforts of the Apsaalooke (Crow) Nation Housing Authority. Last fall, the tribe started an application process to expand the Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program, or Section 184, to people living in urban areas or near reservations.

 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the Crow application in April. The Belcourts learned of the program after contacting Eleanor Kindness, a home mortgage lender at Wells Fargo.

 

“They knew I was Native American,” said Kindness. And they were told the mortgage consultant helped Native Americans with home loans.

 

Kindness is one of seven national mortgage consultants in Wells Fargo's Native American Lending Division, a niche marketing program with lenders in South Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

 

Kindness is the only representative in Montana. The Crow woman assists buyers in this state and Wyoming. She told the Belcourts about how the Crow expanded Section 184.

 

That means any Native belonging to a state or federally recognized tribe and living in urban settings like Billings, Great Falls or Missoula can use the loan.

 

Prior to HUD's approval, the Section 184 loans were typically confined to trust or fee lands within reservation borders. Tribes across the country, however, have been expanding the service area to cover Natives living away from a reservation.

 

“Native American homeownership is really big right now,” said Larry Lee Falls Down, an Apsaalooke Nation Housing Authority coordinator. “This is a nationwide issue. All reservations are dealing with overcrowding. We're up to 7.3 members living in a house.”

 

About 3,000 Section 184 loans have been made nationally to Native home buyers totaling close to $300 million since the first loan was made on the Fort Hall Reservation in 1995.

 

June is National Homeownership Month. The Crow have several down payment assistance programs to help tribal members, including buyers living off the Crow Reservation. Grant amounts range up to $10,000.

 

Down payment and closing costs remain the greatest barrier to homeownership. “Most of the tribes in Montana are doing a down payment assistance program like ours,” said Falls Down.

 

Since 2002, minority homeownership has climbed above 50 percent, and more than 2.5 million minority families have become new homeowners.

 

The Belcourts never tried to buy a home before. “You just don't think it's possible,” said Sylver, who heard about the Section 184 program from an in-law. So she called Kindness at Wells Fargo.

 

Sylver still remembers when Kindness told her the home loan was approved. “I didn't think she was serious. I didn't think she got the information straight.”

 

 

 

 

June 12, 2006

 

Senator Akaka Returns from Weekend Trip to Iraq, Criticizes Fiscal Irresponsibility over the Cost of War

 

Washington, D.C. - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) this afternoon, returned from a two-day trip to Iraq.  Senator Akaka left Friday morning with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) - both serve as U.S. Senate Army Caucus Co-chairs.  Senator Akaka is also Ranking Member on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

 

The Senators visited Balad Airbase, where they were briefed on the combined joint special operations task force.  They also visited with troops in Baghdad and the American Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalizad.

 

“I had an opportunity to meet and speak with our brave men and women in the Armed Forces in Iraq,” stated Senator Akaka.  “They are truly doing an excellent job in a difficult and often dangerous environment.  Thanks to the efforts of our soldiers, the people of Iraq are better equipped to begin the task of self-governance.”

 

On Sunday, Senator Akaka spoke to the new Iraqi Minister of Defense and Iraq’s National Security Advisor who are both optimistic about Iraq’s progress toward democracy.  Senator Akaka was given assurances that due to the efforts of our soldiers in Iraq, the Iraqi Security Forces are better trained - now more than ever - to combat the ongoing insurgency.

 

“I saw for myself the advances made by the Iraqi people who are building a strong democratic foundation for the future of their nation,” said Senator Akaka.

 

Upon returning to Washington, Senator Akaka spoke on the Senate floor on the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization bill, which is currently under consideration.

 

“While I do not believe that we should leave before the Iraqi people are equipped with the necessary tools to support a stable democratic society, we must ensure that the progress already started with the recent election of the Iraqi Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior continues.”

 

Senator Akaka, who was one of 23 Senators who voted against going to war, criticized the Administration on its lack of evidence supporting weapons of mass destruction and current fiscal policies.

 

“I am concerned that the Administration continues to fund this war through emergency supplemental appropriations,” stated Senator Akaka.

 

“While I support our soldiers currently serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan and I am pleased that this Committee has authorized an additional $81.9 billion for ongoing operations, I believe that the Administration’s current policy is fiscally irresponsible.

 

“Unlike true national emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina, the funds required for these ongoing operations can be assessed, identified and included in the regular budget process. 

 

“It is time for this Administration to make the true cost of war transparent to both the Congress and the American public.”

 

Attached are photos of Senators Akaka and Inhofe in Baghdad yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Wednesday, June 14, 2006

 

Diocese says park's not for sale

 

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

 

The Catholic Diocese says it is not interested in selling Paradise Park, disappointing Manoa residents who had high hopes for the site as a cultural and ecological research hub.

Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

Bill Burton, business manager at the Catholic Diocese, said the decision to not sell Paradise Park comes as the church is reviewing all of its properties.

 

In the past, the diocese had entertained suggestions for the site and was open to discussing a possible sale, though it never officially put the park on the market.

 

Meanwhile, the church's announcement hasn't stopped the University of Hawai'i from moving forward on a $200,000 appraisal of the former attraction.

 

Sam Callejo, UH vice president for administration, said the university decided to go ahead with the appraisal in spite of the church's decision to not sell the property, because the estimate could be used if the state were to condemn Paradise Park.

 

The appraisal funds were appropriated in 2002 and released this year. A report will be completed in mid-July. Previous estimates put the value of the property at between $1 million and $5 million. A lease on the site expires in 2041.

 

Paradise Park, a 152-acre rain forest that featured an exotic-bird exhibit and botanical garden, opened in 1968 and closed in 1994. It was operated by the Wong family, which retains the site's lease. Tree Tops Restaurant and a charter school, Halau Ku Mana, continue to operate on the property, which borders Lyon Arboretum and the state's Manoa Falls hiking trail.

 

People have been talking about what to do with Paradise Park since its closure. In the past six months, a resurgence of interest has resulted in several public meetings.

 

The city had once considered acquiring the rainforest through condemnation, intending to turn it into a large public park. Private investors have also offered suggestions, including a spiritual retreat and a wedding chapel. Many, including state Rep. Kirk Caldwell, back the university's proposal to build an ecological and Hawaiian cultural research center.

 

Four years ago, the state Legislature set aside $5.5 million to help build the center. The money has not been released by the Lingle administration, but could still be used.

 

Caldwell said he was discouraged to hear that the diocese does not want to sell the park, but is still optimistic a deal can be made. The university's appraisal, he added, is a first step.

 

"Before you can really talk about who gets what in terms of money, you really need to know how much it's worth," he said. "The appraisal at least helps bring reality to the issue."

 

Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said a land swap could be a possible avenue for the state to get Paradise Park. However, the long lease on the property could foil those plans, he added.

 

Chuck Pearson, president of Malama O Manoa, agreed that the Honolulu Diocese might be more open to an exchange — especially for a developable property.

 

He added that the church's decision not to sell Paradise Park was a barrier, but certainly would not stop residents from considering the site's future.

 

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

June 8, 2006

 

Barefoot Natives Rocked Norwegian Cruise Line's Largest Ship, The Pride Of Hawaii

 

Group Helped To Raise $250,000 For Hawaiian Charities

 

WAILUKU, JUNE 7 - The Barefoot Natives performed aboard the newest and largest of the Norwegian Cruise Lines Hawaii-based fleet, the Pride of Hawaii, this past Sunday, June 4th. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), Child and Family Services, 'Aha Punana Leo (Hawaiian language immersion programs) and the Hawaii Maritime Center shared the proceeds from the all-inclusive evening of food, drink, and entertainment.

 

"I want to thank the Barefoot Natives - Willie K and Eric Gilliom for their special concert in support of the Pride of Hawaii charity cruise," said Robert Kritzman, Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Hawaii Operations. The concert helped draw additional support, including fans from Maui who flew into Honolulu especially for this onboard performance, to raise $250,000 for the four charities."

 

"As promised, their rich humor and raw talent provided an unforgettable show that left everyone begging for more through two standing ovations," remarked Sean Craig, CNHA Assistant Vice President. "

 

"We are truly grateful to Willie and Eric for supporting CNHA and the Hawaiian Way Fund. It is always refreshing to work with people who, like us, work to empower Native Hawaiians. We have much Aloha for the Barefoot Natives and hope to continue to work together," said Lilia Kapuniai, CNHA Vice President.

 

The hottest new act in Hawaii, the Barefoot Natives feature legends Willie K and Eric Gilliom. Their debut CD "Barefoot Natives" is now available in stores and online, exclusively distributed by the Mountain Apple Company. Follow the adventures of this unique and extraordinary musical duo by virtue oftheir new and ever-evolving website:www.barefootnatives.com. The Tour section is constantly updated, and the Press Kit features high res images, bios, and other essential promotional information.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Thursday, June 8, 2006

 

$17.5M payment to OHA signed

 

Advertiser Staff

 

A bill authorizing a $17.5 million one-time payment to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs for a partial settlement over ceded lands was signed into law yesterday.

 

Georgina Kawamura, state finance director, signed Act 178 as acting governor. Gov. Linda Lingle was returning to Hawai'i from Washington, D.C.; Lt. Gov. James Aiona was traveling to the Mainland for the graduation of one of his children and Attorney General Mark Bennett is in Washington as well, so Kawamura was acting governor yesterday.

 

The $17.5 million appropriation is payment for OHA's prorated portion of the public land trust from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2005. It is not meant to be a settlement of "back due" amounts but represents additional revenues not paid since 2001 that Lingle's administration agrees OHA should share.

 

The bill also established $15.1 million as OHA's annual payment beginning in fiscal year 2006. OHA had been receiving $10 million annually from the state.

 

In February, OHA's board voted 8-0 to approve acceptance of the proposed measure that was signed yesterday.

 

Ceded lands are the 1.4 million-plus acres of former crown and government lands held in trust by the state. The state constitution earmarks a share of revenues from the use of ceded lands for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.

 

The new law does not address revenue sources under dispute by the Lingle administration and OHA, which include land beneath the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, the Honolulu and Hilo airports, and Duty Free Shoppers outlets throughout the state.

 

 

 

 

June 11, 2006

 

NMSU extends distance education program to far-flung pueblos

 

By Haley Wachdorf

New Mexico Business Weekly

 

Students on 12 American Indian pueblos in New Mexico soon will be able to earn a degree from New Mexico State University without ever leaving home, and tribal leaders are hopeful that this will mean a workforce better equipped to manage burgeoning tribal businesses.

 

NMSU's "Digital Pathways" program, a $2 million expansion of the university's distance-education offerings, is a collaboration between NMSU, the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) and the New Mexico Tribal Higher Education Commission. For most of the pueblos, it will be the first time college courses have been offered online to their residents. Distance education centers will begin opening this fall on the Cochiti, Acoma, Laguna and Santa Domingo pueblos as well as the cluster known as the Eight Northern Pueblos, which includes Tesque, San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Santa Clara, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan), Picuris and Taos.

 

Digital Pathways is part of NMSU's efforts to reach American Indian students, a demographic with low levels of college completion in New Mexico. At NMSU in 1998, only 18.6 percent of Native students who entered college graduated within six years, compared to 48 percent of white students.

 

On the pueblos and reservations, this results in a shortage of educated Native workers, meaning that while many of the tribes have created business operations such as casinos, hotels and golf courses that make millions of dollars every year, they are often not managed by Native people.

 

That's why NMSU, in addition to bringing to the pueblos the 28 degrees it usually offers to distance education students, will create four new emphasis programs especially designed to address tribal workforce issues. The four programs will be tribal management, criminal justice with an emphasis on tribal law, tribal health care and hotel, restaurant and tourism management.

 

Carmen Gonzales, vice provost for distance education and the dean of the NMSU College of Extended Learning, says the degrees for which NMSU will develop a tribal emphasis option were chosen by tribal leaders who identified critical shortages of business management professionals and health care workers.

 

"A lot of the tribes have businesses they are running, and they aren't able to find management in the tribe," she says. "They have to go outside for management positions, and they'd like to support their own people so that at least there's a blend. Right now, there's not a blend at all. The unskilled workers are the Native people and the skilled workers are outsiders."

 

Darlene Smart-Herrera, director of education for the Pueblo of Cochiti and chair of the tribal higher education commission, has dreamt of being able to offer distance education to students because many find themselves in a tug-of-war between education and their obligation to the tribe.

 

"I think of it as a greater opportunity for all of our college students and even our high school students who may want to get college credit online," she says. "But we also have tribal officials appointed every year, and some of the younger officials have given up a year of school to stay home and take care of their duties. So this would give them an opportunity to take care of their cultural obligations and continue with their schooling."

 

NMSU has secured $500,000 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, but the university will supply another $1.5 million to cover the cost of the first three years of the statewide program. After that, the university expects that the program will be somewhat self-supporting through tuition and possibly more grants. The hiring process has begun for a program director who will manage NMSU's administration for the program, and by the end of the summer, three mentors who will work directly with students in the tribes and pueblos will be hired as well. SIPI, the state's largest tribal college, with 800 students, will be part of the process, and SIPI instructors will teach some of the courses offered through the NMSU program.

 

NMSU's distance education programs had an enrollment of 2,190 in 2005. The goal for the first stage of the Digital Pathways program is to enroll 80 students from the pueblos.

 

URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13269121/

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

 

Waimanalo businesses ask for city, state help

 

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

 

WAIMANALO — Business owners facing fines and citations for the misuse of farm land say it's time that city and state governments started doing more to help them resolve ongoing problems of illegal land use.

 

Most of the problems stem from the use of agricultural land for things such as business base yards, which are not legal anywhere in the rural community.

 

"Waimanalo has no place to legally operate businesses," said Joe Correa, a local businessman. "So we're asking for the city and the state to acknowledge that and help us by creating a community base yard within our rural community."

 

Hugh Baptiste, of Pukiki Tree Service, and Kaleo Keeno, of Keeno Farms Construction Inc., said they would like to find an acceptable solution to the problems so that they can continue operating their businesses out of Waimanalo. Both say their land use is compatible to agriculture guidelines and they are being singled out while similar businesses are left alone.

 

"It seems to us they get one witch-hunt and they trying to fight certain people," said Keeno, who owns two acres of agriculture land and grows flowers on one of the acres. Keeno has been cited by the city for parking construction trucks on his property.

 

Baptiste, leases fee-simple land on Saddle City Road to park his trucks and grow trees for landscape projects. As a certified tree trimmer, Baptiste said, he is in a "green industry" and should be allowed to use the land. He said he's no different than other landscapers who take their trucks to job sites and park them on their agriculture zoned lots.

 

"We're not raping and pillaging the land," Baptiste said. "We're beautifying it."

 

DLNR RESPONDS

 

Peter Young, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has 99 Waimanalo tenants on leased land, said he welcomes the opportunity to work through the problems in a broader land-use planning process.

 

"I don't view that as an opportunity for an immediate solution, but in a long-range planning context we would be interested in working with them," Young said, saying the DLNR would participate in discussions and even consider making suitable lands available for light industrial use.

 

City officials did not respond to requests for comment.

 

However, Andrew Jamila Jr., a Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member, said the city has funded a study to locate a base yard in the community. The study is under way.

 

Hugh Humphrey, a member of the Waimanalo Agriculture Association, said the group doesn't condone nonagriculture use on agricultural land but is aware of the effort to find property in Waimanalo for base yards and would support it.

 

"We've told Andrew Jamila that if they can come up with a plan that's not prime ag land, we'll support it," he said. "We're not going to give up good ag land."

 

Government officials worked with agriculture association members for about five months before launching a crackdown last month on illegal land use.

 

The agriculture association has compiled a list of 10 alleged offenders and asked governments to investigate. State and city actions were taken against four on the list, and the city has taken additional action against two others, including fines of up to $500 a day and notices of violations. State officials are prepared to cancel the lease on one lessee and are investigating three others, state officials said.

 

Correa said the problems are rooted in the way the city and state define agriculture.

 

Over the decades, he said, the definition of agricultural use has changed. At one time, agricultural land was limited to growing food crops. That's no longer the case, but there are some gray areas, and the city and state should agree to establish identical definitions, Correa said.

 

PARKING AN ISSUE

 

The most challenging problem in Waimanalo is the lack of a community base yard for parking trucks and storing equipment, Correa said. As the sugar industry folded around the island, he said, many of the mill sites were turned into light industrial areas. That didn't happen in Waimanalo. Consequently, some business owners are parking their work equipment at their homes.

 

Correa has done work for All Tree Service, which could lose its lease with the Department of Land and Natural Resources because of infractions such as dumping of tree-trimming waste and lack of a building permit. But the state agency is giving All Tree time to correct the infractions and has approved the company's plan for the property, which includes an organic nursery that uses the tree trimmings as mulch.

 

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

June 8, 2006

 

Native owned business aims to keep children out of harm’s way

 

ALBUQUERQUE NM

 

Harlan McKosato

 

Protecting children is a fundamental value for any community.

 

Protecting children in Native American communities is no different. In fact, a law has been in place for more than 16 years specifically designed to help protect Indian children on reservations. But even today Indian children are still being placed in perilous situations.

 

“Our children are our future and we are responsible as their protectors to ensure they are safe, healthy, and happy,” said Michelle Justice, founder and President of Personnel Security Consultants, Inc. She is a member of the Navajo Nation and her office is located in Albuquerque.

 

In early May the Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the country headquartered in Window Rock, Arizona was issued a notice of summary suspension for their Head Start programs by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, effectively shutting down schools across the reservation.

 

After monitoring and reviewing the tribal Head Start and Early Head Start operations in April, the DHHS reported the Navajo Nation failed to perform background checks on hundreds of employees.

 

After an investigation, 106 out of 612 employees that were checked had criminal records, including charges from first-degree murder, domestic abuse and child abuse, to driving while intoxicated.

 

And this is not an isolated situation on reservations across the country. According to Justice, most tribes simply do not have the resources, technical support or trained staff to adequately comply with current laws mandating tribes to conduct background investigations on prospective employees.

 

Also, many tribes do not know how to document a suitability decision after the background investigation is completed, as in the case with the Navajo Nation, said Justice.

 

Elmer Four Dance, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Law Enforcement office in Aberdeen, South Dakota, said he does not believe the Navajo situation is indicative of all of Indian Country, but it does emphasize the need for compliance.

 

“I would hope not,” he said when asked if his area, which covers 53 tribes in eight Great Plains and Midwest states, would receive the same type of penalties if they were monitored. “These contracts have been in place for a long time. We need to empower tribes to be in compliance.”

 

The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act was passed in 1990.It is designed to assist tribes with establishing a variety of protection and prevention programs on tribal lands. This includes investigation of reported cases of child abuse and child neglect.

 

The law was passed, in part, due to notorious child molester John Boone. He was arrested and accused of sexually molesting as many as 142 boys at the school from 1979-1987. The FBI had conducted an investigation on Boone, a non-Indian teacher at the BIA-run day school on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. He was convicted of child abuse and sentenced to life in prison.

 

The law states that all government agencies and tribes must conduct background investigations for their employees and contracted employees.

 

“It is so important for tribes and federal agencies to protect our children,” said Connie Reuer, co-owner and Vice President of Personnel Security Consultants, Inc., from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. Her office is in Aberdeen, South Dakota. “Our goal is to educate tribes and tribal leaders on their roles and responsibilities.”

 

While working for the BIA, Justice was put in charge of coordinating child abuse reports, so she saw firsthand what was needed. She also saw how much of the abuse could have been prevented if tribal officials and community members knew how to report it. She started the company in September of 2004.

 

Personnel Security Consultants, Inc., is a woman and minority-owned small business. It is an investigative firm specializing in personnel security to assist federal agencies and tribes in meeting the requirements relating to child, education, social service and law enforcement programs.

 

“I believe that people trust us because we are Native women who own the company. We know what is going on and how to find solutions from our own personal experience,” said Justice. “When we say ‘our children, our issues’ we know what we’re talking about, and I think people sense that.”

 

Jonathan Horse joined PSC (www.pscprotectsyou.com) as the Program Manager earlier this year. His duties include marketing, managing projects, and client relations.

 

“My job is to get the message out to tribes, schools, tribal organizations and others to adhere to the federal mandates set up to protect children and communities and employees themselves,” said Horse, who is Kiowa and Navajo. “The government is looking for tribes to become more self-sufficient, more independent and economically stable. I feel our training is an important part of that process.”

 

Stephanie Birdwell, a member of the Cherokee Nation and a Regional Social Worker for the BIA Southwest Region, explained that the BIA, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Indian Health Service, are the catalysts for compliance of child protection laws on Indian reservations.

 

“When tribes fail it goes back to the BIA,” said Birdwell. “The penalties vary greatly. It’s all determined by ‘how critical to the operations of programs was the violation,’ or whether it’s something non-negotiable like ‘is the safety of children or families being put at risk?’”

 

Dana Hanna, Attorney General for the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota said his tribe decided it was smarter, more efficient and less expensive to set up their own investigative office rather than hiring private firms. “Our tribal Office of Background Investigations is under the Attorney General’s office. We have a legal obligation to conduct background checks.”

 

He said the BIA gave the tribe some general direction but it was PSC who he called to conduct training, write the tribe’s policies and procedures, and to assist with establishing and creating the Rosebud Sioux Office of Background Investigations.

 

“They are very knowledgeable. They are experts in their field,” said Hanna about PSC. “Rosebud is doing a good job of complying with federal law. My office made it a priority.”

 

Harlan McKosato is a member of the Sac & Fox Nation.

 

 

 

 

Posted on: Saturday, June 10, 2006

 

Hawai'i's last wild horses incur wrath of farmers

 

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

 

HILO, Hawai'i — A Waipi'o Valley taro farmer shot and killed four feral horses over the past two weeks to prevent the animals from damaging his crops, according to an animal control official who said the incidents underscore growing frustration among valley farmers with the last wild horse population in the state. Graphic courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser

 

Josi Morgan, executive director of the Hawai'i Island Humane Society, said the farmer had a legal right to protect his crops, but said she plans to meet with landowner Kamehameha Schools and state officials to seek some way to protect both horses and crops.

 

Morgan did not provide the farmer's name.

 

She said he had fenced his taro patch, but full-grown horses simply smashed through the fencing.

 

The animal control officers who went to investigate a report of dead horses Thursday found three full-grown animals near the farmer's crops, and saw extensive crop damage, Morgan said. The farmer in a home near the taro field acknowledged he shot the animals, she said.

 

State law does not provide any protection to wild horses, but does authorize landowners to protect their property from wild animals.

 

The farmer who shot the animals in the recent incidents is "all for helping us remove them," Morgan said.

 

"This is kind of a last-ditch resort for him. He certainly doesn't enjoy or get his kicks out of killing these animals.

 

"I'm asking for input on how we go forward. How do we protect the ones that are left? Do we pull them out and relocate them, do we do what they do with wild mustangs on the Mainland and adopt them out? What is the best method?

 

"Something has to be done," she added. "We can't just let this ride, because they are going to continue to damage property and people are going to continue to kill them. Whether there's 20 down there or 120, once these animals are gone, that's it, they're gone forever."

 

Waimea veterinarian William Bergin, who is co-authoring a book on Hawai'i horses, said there have been feral horses on the Big Island since about 1900.

 

The two major Big Island populations were on Mauna Kea and in Waipi'o Valley, but the last wild horses on Mauna Kea were removed by the mid-1930s because they were a nuisance for ranching operations, Bergin said.

 

Bergin said there is no reliable estimate of how many feral horses are left in Waipi'o Valley, but he guessed there may be as few as 40 or 50, or as many as 150.

 

Bergin would like to see the last wild horses preserved.

 

"From a history standpoint, that's part of old Hawai'i," he said.

 

This is the third incident of horses being killed in the valley in the past six months, including an incident two weeks ago in which a 6-month-old animal was shot by the same farmer, according to Morgan.

 

The Humane Society also has been getting calls from other farmers who say the horses are regularly causing crop damage on other properties, she said.

 

"There's no county or state office that's taking responsibility for these horses, there's no private individual taking care of these horses, so these folks down in the valley are left fending for themselves," Morgan said.

 

Since Waipi'o Valley remained largely in its natural state without many fences, the horses there have continued to breed.

 

The Hawaiian horse traditionally has been small and hardy, but a quarterhorse stallion was released into the valley some years ago, creating a new bloodline of larger and healthier feral animals, Bergin said.

 

There have been increasing reports of horses getting into homesteads and taro patches and causing problems, particularly in the past 15 to 20 years, he said.

 

"When you do get the increase and the multiplication of these animals, you do have pressure on the local community to react in frustration, and I think that's what's happening down there," he said.

 

Rounding up the animals would be worthwhile, Bergin said, "but it would be a real challenge.

 

"It would be a challenge to the greatest cowboys and wranglers that you could find because it's pretty swampy, there's rivers down there that you don't necessarily want to ford on horseback."

 

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CIVIL NO. 06-1-0135 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT STATE OF HAWAII SUMMONS TO: HEIRS AND ASSIGNS OF KANAKAOLE; HEIRS AND ASSIGNS OF GEORGE H. AWAI, also known as GEORGE HOOMANAWANUI AWAO, SR., HERMAN K AWAI; ELIZABETH KAPEKA NONOKA; YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that Plaintiff KAU HOLDING COMPANY, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, claims fee simple ownership to the land described as: All of apana 1 and 2 of R.P. 5409, LCA 7553, to Kanakaole at Kahilipaliiki, Kau, Island and County of Hawaii, State of Hawaii, TMK's (3) 9-5-007-005 and (3) 9-5-007-008 YOU ARE HEREBY FURTHER NOTIFIED that Plaintiff KAU HOLDING COMPANY, a Delaware 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 de-termined. 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 Wednesday, the 19th day of July, 2006, at 8:00 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, May 12, 2006. E. YAMABE 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.: June 6, 13, 20, 27, 2006) (A-448606) Posted on 6/6/2006

 

 

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