Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 11, 1 November 2016 — Building trust and aloha with our beneficiaries [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Building trust and aloha with our beneficiaries

n September, I wrote about "uniting a lāhui" in hopes of enticing those interested in working together for the betterment of our people. In the same sentiment, I wonder: "How do we get on the same page as our beneficiaries?" It seems that we always miss the mark; misunderstanding one another and perhaps forgetting the true hopena. How ean we both

get on the same page? How do we get to where our beneficiaries ean look to us with trust and aloha and where Trustees ean successfully 'auamo the kuleana to serve our beneficiaries. During these ehallenging times, it is increasingly important to bridge this gap. E ka lehulehu, to my beneficiaries, I want to remind you that we are all on the same team. Sometimes, we may differ in opinion on the road to reaching a destination,

but ultimately, we want the same thing: to better the lāhui. Perhaps sometimes we may need help understanding that we are straying, please communicate that with us. Sometimes, what may seem like a simple decision at the boardroom table, is actually an intricate ehoiee affected by many other factors. Admittedly, the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs toe a delicate halanee of a semi-autonomous state agency for Native Hawaiians; often the two do not mix. But please know that we have the best intention to helping you, our beneficiaries and fellow kama of this 'āina. As we move forward into the future, we face many challenging decisions as we try to improve lives in Hawai'i. One specifically,

nation-building, has always been a particularly challenging process for all involved - as well as those opposed. It is a constant battle for our fair share of resources and rights. Personally, I struggle with wanting to find a process acceptable to all segments of our lāhui while weighing our losses as we continually knoek eaeh iniīiative down. And is it reasonable to

think that there will be a perfect process that we must wait for and/ or create, or are we detrimental to our own progress? There is no doubt that our resources and lifestyles are consistently threatened; and there is an urgent need to protect these things. So how do we do this? How do we unite our own lāhui and build a nation? On a small scale, it is our job as Trustees to instill trust in our beneficiaries so that we ean work

together to forge this better future; we ean do a better job at this. Part of this is listening to our beneficiaries. Another critieal aspect is communicating better. I have hope that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is taking steps towards better communication and involvement; and I have hope that it will only get better. Just as I look towards ways to "unite a lāhui," to build our nation, I hope to do that on a smaller scale here in office at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. May we all continue to work hard in our specific roles to build eommunity - this is imperative! My office and staff are always open to hear your concerns, talk story, and help answer questions. ■

Carmen "Hulu" Lindsey TrustEE, Maui