Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 1, 1 January 2004 — Talented youth recognized at Nā ʻŌiwi ʻŌlino awards [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Talented youth recognized at Nā ʻŌiwi ʻŌlino awards

By Naomi Sodetani Twenty-nine students were honored last month for their creativity and critical thinking skills in the second annual Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino Student Art, Essay and Debate Competition, sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The final-round debate and awards ceremony was held Dec. 6 at the East-West Center and broadcast

statewide on KFVE television several days later. A total of 253 Hawaiian and English essay, poster and photographic art entries were submitted from 10 schools, exploring the eontest theme of "Mālama Kekahi i Kekahi," meaning "to take care of eaeh other, the 'āina and the environment." This year's theme builds on last year's topic of "He Hawai'i See 'ŌIWI on page 8

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Debate winner Lindsey Doi.

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'ŌIWI from page 3 Au (I am Hawaiian).'" OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona praised the awardees for "accepting your kuleana, your role and responsibility in our community, to strive for wisdom and knowledge and to strive to make that positive difference. Through your art, writing and debate, you students, our haumāna, are part of the process of envisioning and building the foundation of a Hawaiian nation of whieh we and our ancestors will be proud." "Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino" (people seeking wisdom) was the phrase bestowed on OHA's educational campaign by Aunty Mālia Craver, kupuna spiritual and cultural consultant for the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center. Craver felt the phrase distilled the essence of the campaign's goal to educate both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian communities on issues that affect Hawaiians and their future as a people. Toward this end, OHA hosted its first youth art, essay and debate eompetition last year and plans to reprise the event annually to encourage creative and academic excellence among Hawaiian youth. The resolution argued during this year's debate was "Should the U.S. government recognize native Hawaiians as indigenous aboriginal Americans?" Kamehameha Schools senior Lindsey Doi, who argued in opposition to federal recognition, was tapped as the winner of the debate portion of the event by a panel of attorneys, former lawmakers and judges, including OHA trustees Dante Carpenter and Boyd Mossman. Doi's task was made doubly difficult by the

fact that her debate partner, Daniel Lee, wasn't able to make it to the event due to an SAT exam that ran unexpectedly late. Doi said she was "totally anxious and shaking" when she realized her teammate would be unahle to attend. The 18-year-old credits the encouragement of her classmates, Thais Lilia Lee and Kainui Smith, who argued opposing arguments in favor of federal recognition, for helping her to rise to the challenge of successfully arguing as a "one person team." The two finalist teams, both from Kamehameha, had prepared to argue both the affirmative and negative positions of the issue

and flipped a eoin minutes before the debate to determine whieh side eaeh would take. Even though Doi, who plans a career in broadcast journalism, argued successfully against federal recognition, she herself personally supports the measure. "I thought, this is going to be really tough, because I think we should have federal recognition," she said. "So mueh has been taken away for so long, and this would give us something to protect our school and other Hawaiian organizations and programs." Kamehameha Schools and the Native Hawaiian Bar Association co-sponsored the debate. Preliminary rounds were held in conjunction with the school's annual speech and debate tournament held over the Thanksgiving weekend. Returning entrant wins overall art prize Jessica Svendsen, who attends Kanu O Ka 'Āina charter school on Hawai'i island, won the contest's overall poster art award. Her painting of cooperation in a Hawaiian community, between fishermen and navigators working on a eanoe and farmers tending the land, also placed first in the 9th-12th grade division. Svendsen placed second in last year's contest, "so I made it my real goal to eome back this year and win," she said. "I know you not supposed to boast, but I told myself I ean do this - and I did!" Chalice 'Oia'i'o Chun-Gilliland, a fifth grader at Pā'ia Elementary, won the top award in the new photographic essay category. Her photograph, titled "Bikers," shows her father helping other cyclists prepare their gear for the Xterra offroad triathlon - thus illustrating the contest theme, "Mālama Kekahi i Kekahi." ■

OHA Trustee Boyd Mossman presents an award to Anoalo Stanley, first-place winner in the Hawaiian Essay, Grades 4-5 category. Photo: Dave Miyamoto