Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 12, 1 December 2013 — To Raise a Beloved Nation [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

To Raise a Beloved Nation

First, to all, Happy Holidays, keep safe, stay warm and celebrate your existence. The end of the year is always an inspiring tinre to look ahead to what the future might hold and so I find myself in deep reflection over OHA's stated mission, To Raise a BeīovedNation. What a profound thought with plenty of room for dreaming of what could be. My dreams for a nation begin by first noting that since 1980, when OHA was created by state Constitution, we have

been consumed by the poliīieal processes of the drive for poliīieal recognition. Some seek recognition as a nation by the federal government. Others seek poliīieal separation from U.S. control, to stand recognized through the United Nations that would somehow restore Hawai'i to its preannexation status as a kingdom-state. I believe it is important to continue exploring all paths to restoring a fonn of nationhood. But I don't believe that we have to wait to be blessed by the U.S. or the United Nations to begin to build the nation. First, we are already a cultural and spiritual nation toward whieh we moved decisively and quickly following the Hawaiian Renaissance of the '70s and '80s that had us marching in the streets and stridently demanding a process of reconeiliahon that led to the creation of OHA, a constitutional overhaul of native rights, a ceded land settlement, the set aside of 'Iolani Palaee and Kaho'olawe until such time that a new governing entity is established, and a vibrant reconstruction of our culture in all its fonns. The nation is already defining itself and rising quickly, although the import of it all sometimes escapes us. OHA has already begun stitching together a national geo-cul-tural land inventory by buying back pieces of the nation in the fonn of culturally valuable

properties such as Waimea Valley, 25,000 acres of Wao Kele O Puna, 500 acres of the Galbraith Estate in Wahiawā, 20 acres in Palauea, Maui, and more. Kana'iolowalu I (Act 195) moves us closer toward identifying a certified electorate, to be recognized by the state and the federal government, who could then fonn a citizenry to establish a new goveming entity. The train has left the station. A milestone toward the shaping of the nation occurred in November when the six major Hawaiian

eeonomie institutions gathered in a puwalu to seek ways to connect the dots and begin a dialogue of unification toward a eonunon vision of a Hawaiian future. In the room were leaders of the Kamehameha Schools, Queen Lili'uokalani Trust, Queen Enuna Foundation and Hospital Systems, Lunalilo Home, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and OHA. The meeting was dynamic and produced a profound conunitment to move forward together - as one people. If it's true that a nation is defined by its institutions, then we are crystallizing ourselves as never before with the leadership of the six most fundamental institutions of the Hawaiian people, four of them descending directly from the ali'i, and two emerging from the poliheal reconciliation process. Now we need to push the envelope and move with a higher sense of urgency toward creating other institutions and programs to imbed in the fabric of the nahonal tapestry such as a Hawaiian National Archives, an education system, a health system, a nahonal institute of culture and the arts. Let the vision burst forth beyond the poliheal boundaries and not be impeded by the absence of poliheal recognition, for it will eome in due time. The time to declare our nationhood is now. All we have to do is act like one. ■

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