Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 5, 1 May 2017 — HAWAIIAN AND EMPOWERED IN THE 21ST CENTURY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HAWAIIAN AND EMPOWERED IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Aloha mai kākou, n early March, a Paris auction house announced that a massive private collection of Hawaiian artifacts would be up for bid in April. Coming just a year after negotiations with our Māori cousins led to the return of Kalani'ōpu'u's 'ahu 'ula and mahiole, the auction nohee served as a eall to action. A group of Hawaiians vacationing in Paris was so troubled by the announcement that they cut short their sightseeing to picket in front of the Aguttes Auction House, asking how private collector Rainer Werner Bock eame to be in possession of more than 1,100 artifacts and whether they were, in fact, legitimate. Back at home, OHA's Board of Trustees called for a suspension or delay of the sale, unanimously objecting "to the commodification and sensationalism of the willful and wanton sale of such a large eolleehon of the material history of the Native Hawaiian people as aesthetic art and curiosities." In the end, few of the artifacts sold, so there may still be an opportunity to negotiate a morally and culturally appropriate resolution. News of the auction eame as we were sharing our documentary "Nā Hulu Lehua: The Royal Cloak & Helmet of Kalani'ōpu'u" in communities across the pae 'āina, hosting free screenings and cultural programs in Anahola on Kaua'i, at Hulihe'e Palaee and Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau in West Hawai'i and 'īao Theater in Wailuku on Maui, to name a few. While Bock was preparing to auehon off pieces of our history and culture, we were hearing from those who attended the

screenings how meaningful it was to see Kalani'ōpu'u's royal garments returned. The community's response to the film is a positive reminder that our heritage is a valuable asset, not an object to be sold to the highest bidder. It encompasses our ability to speak in our native tongue and to perpetuate ancestral practices from hula and healing to voyaging and ho'oponopono. These traditional and customary practices make up not just the uniqueness of being Hawaiian, but also the greatness of Hawaiians, as a people, who continue to thrive in the 21st century. The recently concluded Merrie Monarch Festival is a testament to that greatness. Every year, tickets to the three-day hula competition sell out months in advance, but many without tickets still travel to Hilo during Merrie Monarch week to take in the art exhibits, craft fairs, demonstrations, performances and royal parade. For those who can't be in the auditorium, OHA sponsors a television broadcast and a livestream that opens the festival to a global audience. ' It's always a halanee trying to maintain our cultural Hawaiian identity in a modern world, especially in the middle of the Paeihe, but it speaks to our resiliency as kanaka, as a native people, to remain steadfast, to remain dedicated and to remain loyal to our ancestral past. We eonhnue to maintain the mana, or that spiritual force living today, so we ean assure it will continue to thrive for our future generations. Aspects of our rich heritage will be showcased throughout the month of May at events like the Alana Hawaiian Culture Pavilion at the Hawai'i Book & Music Festival, the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, SEE CE0 MESSAGE ON PAGE 5

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the Malia Craver Hula Kahiko Competition, the Gabby Pahinui Waimānalo Kanikap-

ila and the MAMo Wearable Art Show. In June, Hōkūle'a will return after circumnavigating the globe during its Mālama Honua voyage, a feat that shows how

great we are as a people, how great our kūpuna were, how great we are now and how our offspring will be great in the future. Now is the time to experience what it feels like to be Hawaiian and culturally empowered in the 21st century. ■

'O au iho no me ke aloha a me ka 'oia'i'o, W-- — — K. Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer