Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 8, 1 August 2008 — OHA volunteer has an eye-opening experience [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA volunteer has an eye-opening experience

Dnnald B. Cataluna TrustEE, Kaua'i aud Ni'ihau

Editor's note: This eolumn was written by Brandi Mailelauli'i Chong, a recent student volunteer in Trustee Donald Cataluna 's ojfice. Kamehameha Schools awarded me the 'Imi Na'auao Scholarship for my first year in graduate school at the University of Colorado Heahh Sciences Center. I completed my community service hours at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I had no idea that OHA was involved with so many different Hawaiian issues. I worked in Trustee Donald Cataluna's office and assisted his aide around the office and also attended meetings for the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commission. I learned that statehood was and still is a controversial topic among the Native Hawaiian community. I also wrote a short article on diabetes and how prevalent it is among the Native Hawaiian population. I had no idea that we are one of the ethnic groups with the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. At OHA I also helped with the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. This eouneil is made up of people from communities representing all the Hawaiian Islands. They are concerned with preserving native sites such as Mauna Kea and also about educating others about the native culture and our practices. Some of the Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians go to Mauna Kea to practice hunting and gathering lifestyles, but there are no rules and guidelines for others to follow and sometimes the Hawaiian people are punished for practicing their native traditions. I also learned that scientific labs are trying to build more telescopes on the mountaintop. The eouneil is trying to eome up with ways to preserve the beauty of Mauna Kea but also make it accessible to Native Hawaiian practices and to the scientific community and visitors. My time at OHA changed me. As a child I learned a little about my Hawaiian culture and about our history, but I never gained too mueh interest in it. Now that I see what people (Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian) are doing to preserve our culture and traditions I am more interested in our history and how Hawai'i heeame this way. Every time I eome home, there are five new buildings that hloek the view of the oeean. I wonder what our islands looked like before westernization and when O'ahu heeame so cluttered. My article on diabetes made me feel that one day I ean contribute to the Hawaiian eommunity in a scientific way. I am working toward a Ph.D. in biochemistry and the only way I know I ean help Hawaiians is to directly research diseases that are highly prevalent among our people. I would say my time at OHA made me passionate about not only continuing our culture and traditions, but about maintaining good heahh and good genes for our descendants. I had many positive experiences while volunteering at OHA. At the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council meeting I was amazed how committee members knew the Hawai'i Constitution and that they were familiar with legislative bills and other statutes. I had no idea that people at OHA were so active with these types of issues. But I am disappointed that a lot of people my age simply do not care about what happens to Hawaiians in the future. Some of my friends laugh when I tell them I worked at OHA. They think that people at OHA sit on their 'ōkole and do nothing when the truth is that OHA continues to open many doors for Hawaiians and the future of Hawai'i. They don't understand how the Hawaiian people depend on this organization for many different things. I want to thank Trustee Cataluna for giving me the opportunity to experience what OHA does for the Hawaiian coimnunity. E3

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