Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 4, 1 April 2007 — ʻAu Umauma o Hilo i ka wai [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAu Umauma o Hilo i ka wai

6 A ukea wa^e oe' e ^a ^oke, / \ ku'u lei paoa i ke 'ala? On Ā. A. Thursday, March 15, 2007, at approximately 9:35 a.m., Lillian Leialoha Linda Keawe'ehu Dela Cruz passed into the generations, that word eame by way of a note passed to me shortly before 11 a.m. in the midst of conducting our Board of Trustees meeting. Trustees sat silently reverent upon hearing the news. Outside the window of our 12th floor boardroom rain was falling; "nā waimaka o ka lani," the heavens wept. We realized she had let down her weariness and she was at rest. "Ku'u ka luhi, ua maha," she had left all her labors, all that wearied her mind and body and now was at peaee. In December, Trustee Dela Cruz suspected the magnitude of her illness but remained courageous and hopeful. The Dec. 14 OHA board meeting, our final for 2006, was the last she attended. Following the Christmas and New Year holidays, her goal was to return to OHA for board business priorities for 2007, but the winds, rain and cold weather of early 2007 delayed her return to the OHA board table. She spoke positively about the improvements at OHA during recent times and how proud she was to see OHA acknowledged among the leaders of the State of Hawai'i at the opening day of the 2007 Legislature when we talked in February. My last phone eall with Linda early on Tuesday morning, March 6, 2007, was brief, her breathing was labored and in her voice I sensed her spirit was still strong but her body was weary. Now she has left us. She is physically absent but her tenacious spirit of support remains embedded in major initiatives for OHA. Three initiatives highlighted in my April 2006 KWO article continue into 2007, as OHA makes steady and deliberate progress. As I reported about this

time last year, three ongoing issues require focus, discipline and 'onipa'a: Kau Inoa, the Native Hawaiian registration in Hawai'i, the nation and the world; the enactment of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, federal recognition for Native Hawaiians; and the puhlie land trust revenues due to OHA. Kau Inoa As of mid-March Kau Inoa registration has topped 58,000, due to hard work of many. Our challenge is to triple this count. Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (NHGRA) S 310 and HR 505, the NHGRA of 2007, introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Jan. 17, 2007, are poised for consideration by respective committees. Our challenge is to secure the congressional votes and derail any presidential veto. Public land trust revenues due OHA The state Legislature at adjournment in May 2006 enacted Act 178, increasing annual puhlie land trust revenue payments to OHA from $9 million to $15.1 million, beginning with fiscal year 2005-2006. The act also included the additional sum of $17.5 million for amounts underpaid between July 1, 2001, through June 2005. OHA and the executive branch have jointly submitted HCR 285, HR 226 and SCR 152, SR 105 identically titled, "Encouraging the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Executive Branch to try to negotiate a settlement regarding the ineome and proceeds from the Puhlie Land Trust" to the 2007 state Legislature. Resolutions do not have the force of statute, but we expect the 2007 Legislature to enact these resolutions to evidence their support and critical participation to codify any ultimate agreement and proposal negotiated by OHA and the executive branch toward settling outstanding differences regarding OHA's claims to ineome and proceeds (revenues) from the puhlie land trust. With prudence and diligence OHA Trustees will work in 2007 toward a just and fair result to settle payment of the past, unpaid claims to revenue due to OHA. May the Trustee Dela Cruz spirit of tenacity and courage remain with us all to successfully weathering all ehallenges ahead. 29/48 ^

LEO 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE MESSAGES

Haunani Apuliuna. MSW Chairpersūn, TrustEE, At-large