Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 4, 1 April 2007 — Laʻau Point [ARTICLE]

Laʻau Point

Professor Davianna McGregor, speaking about her new book, Nā

Kua 'āina (Malaki 2007), says that for Hawaiians in rural conununities such as Moloka'i, there is "a real sense of resistance to change; they refused to assimilate. They stood their ground and protected their way of life, their beliefs, customs and practices." Yet professor McGregor herself endorses and supports (as do the OHA trustees) the development of 200 luxury shoreline homes along 5.2 miles of pristine shoreline at Lā'au Point, Moloka'i. This is hypocritical. How ean she say she hopes the book encourages "people to adopt the kua'āina's model of land stewardship to preserve other areas rich with natural and cultural resources," when the natural, cultural and spiritual resources of Lā'au Point will be severely impacted, if not utterly destroyed, by the proposed development? This development,

I might add, is not supported by the people of Moloka'i. This is evidenced by extensive community testimony and the recent landslide coimnunity election on lan. 31, 2007, whieh ousted OHA Trustee Collette Machado from the Moloka'i Enterprise Community Board and replaced her and another pro-development incumbent with two "Save Lā'au" candidates. The destruction of the spiritual quality and mana of Lā'au cannot and will not be offset by placing other lands into a land trust or by creating jobs at a hotel. Is this really the "kua'āina's model of land stewardship"? Would Unele Harry Mitchell, whose picture graces the front of the book, support the development of Lā'au? I don't think so. Kahualaulani Miek Kailua, O'ahu