Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 7, 1 July 2000 — Ho ʻi hou i ka iwikuamoʻo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ho ʻi hou i ka iwikuamoʻo

N HMES of old, the seasons would have shifted ffom the kapu on 'aku to the kapu on 'ōpelu. In Hawai'i nei at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, our attention has shifted from the legisla-

tive session to budget meetings. The rigors of conscientious resources management are no less for trust assets than for fisheries. In the midst of the legislative session, iwi were inadvertently discovered at Kūki'o Kona 'Akau. My attention was fetched home. Ho'i hou i ka iwi kuamo'o. Mo'opuna of Ha'ilau and Kinolau eame to Kūki'o to share our mana'o and our 'ike on matters of natural and eultural resources, not hmited to the iwi. Those who eame together represented three generations and three

lines of descent ffom nā kūpuna. We are tmly of this land and have known the bracing waters of its brackish ponds and the sweets of Uluweuweu Bay. The

breezes msthng through the ulu lā'au niu temper the heat during the day and the nāulu rain is an always remarkable event on the lava lands. We have visited the land, cousins under-

standing for the first time our shared values regarding lava land and scarce water, trails and burials. Ouropinions have been recorded. Our kāko'o, who interview and record our reflections and recommendations, are highly valued.. The extent to whieh our recommendations are being eonsidered is promising and at a coincidentally good pausing point in our discussions, my attention was fetched ? away ffom home. It is time for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and

its Board of Trastees to consider the budgets for the office's operations and personnel. Regardless of debate on the respective

merits of functional or divisional office stmcmre or on the budgets' objectives, growth or reduction, there appears to be consensus that OHA's budgets be based on the previous year's actual expenditure: It is clear ffom the discussion that the

spending plan to whieh we agreed last year is long due. The spending plan shall, among other things, indicate what percent of the portfolio the office may spend on operations and personnel. This amount shall be specific to our circumstances and objectives. As I was vlad

last year when we unanimously agreed to commit to the development of a spending plan, I am glad at our commitment this year to the review, update and printing of the OHA Master Plan. The OHA Master Plan has not been reviewed and updated since 1988. The priorities and policies

whieh shall be developed and articulated in the Master Plan shall work interactively with the spending plan committed to in 1999 and the Comprehensive Master Plan >. committed to in 1998. The two former plans focus on OHA, and the latter on

OHA as it relates to its cohort agencies. These three plans are tools by whieh the staff and trustees, the beneficiaries and the general publie may interact progressively and productively. The tools of our trades change from generation to generation, with the seasons and our circumstances, but the rigors of the work remain the same. Conscientious resources management is the means by whieh efficient resource use is balanced avainst e.ffective

resource replenishment, whether we are considering the iwi of the iwi kuamo'o, the water in a water tank, the fīshery of an ahupua'a or the assets of a portfolio. ■ TRUSTEE COLUMNS continue on page 12

'The spending plan shall, among other things, indicate what percent of the portfolio the office may spend on operations and personnel/

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