Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 8, 1 August 2022 — 'Ōpio Build a Traditional Hale in Hau'ula [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Ōpio Build a Traditional Hale in Hau'ula

In July, 18 youth from the rural O'ahu community of Hau'ula built a traditional Hawaiian hale at the Maunawila Heiau Complex - the first traditional hale built in Hau'ula in a century. The opio are p_art of Maunawila 'Ōpio Mālama 'Āina, a summer internship program run by the Hawai'i Land Trust (HILT). This year the program focus was Kūkulu: building hale, building community, and building stronger connections to 'āina. Held eaeh year, the program was

created to teach wahi kūpuna stewardship practices to high school students and young adults who live in the Ko'olauloa area. The five-week program also included removing invasive plants, trail maintenance, archaeology, planting, learning mo'olelo, oli and pule, archaeological features management, and a three-day huaka'i to HILT's Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on Maui. Tiana Henderson, CEO of IndigeniUS Minds, led the hale build along with master hale builder Unele Francis Palani Sinenci. The hale will be used as a eommunal space for the community,

an outdoor classroom for students from Hau'ula Elementary, and other school and educational groups. Program support was provided by the City and County of Honolulu, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, Hawai'i Community Foundation, Southwest Airlines and private funders. HILT is a statewide nonprofit that protects, stewards, and eonnects people to the lands that sustain Hawai'i.

Hau'ula community members gathered to bless the new hale on July 9. - Photo: HILI