Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 10, 1 October 2006 — O. ULULANI BEIRNE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

O. ULULANI BEIRNE

Iam a candidate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs because I know I ean help ' our people, not only from my

Moku O Ko'olauloa, but all Kānaka Maoli. I am a traditional cultural practitioner and have served in the state House of Representatives, Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council, Ko'olauloa Hawaiian Civic Club and many other eommunity organizations. As a trustee, I will work for the benefit of our Kānaka Maoli, including shelter for the homeless and housing funding. There have been great strides in housing funding for recipients of DHHL lands, and I will work to see that more is done to assist beneficiaries on other state leases as well. OHA should be looking at land trusts as well as land banking for our Kānaka Maoli. These incentives should be carried out in every ahupua'a. I will support land trusts being considered for all state leases, thereby releasing the DLNR from being landlords over the Kānaka Maoli. I will support the Ahupua'a of Kahana Valley being transitioned over to OHA as a land trust and support the concept of the residents managing themselves. Their water and fishing rights should be put in plaee again. All other areas affected by DLNR control should also be addressed, as the illegal taking of kuleana lands and ceded lands are issues that are widespread in Hawaiian communities. I will also support lands being set aside for long-term agriculture and aquaculture leases; we need to produce more of our own food, especial-

ly taro. The planting and cultivating of our staple foods are essential for the Hawaiian diet. I will support preservation of our historic sites. as well as the protection of conservation lands for the practice of lā'au lapa'au (herbal medicine). The well-being of the Kānaka Maoli depends on it for "sense of plaee and sense of self." I will support the idea of our own bank or financial institution. I will support OHA's goals to support and finance our own governing entity, as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a state agency. I will work to promote families first. We need to take care of our Hawaiian children that are caught up in the CPS program and plaee them in Hawaiian homes. I will support more rehabilitation centers and expanding our prison system here in Hawai'i, so that we may see the return of our Kānaka Maoli who are housed in prisons elsewhere. We sorely need programs in and out of prison to rehabilitate our own. We need to keep revenues in Hawai'i and create more jobs for our Kānaka Maoli so they will not have to seek work abroad. We need to educate our own people and the broader community on our cultural values to promote understanding of who we are as a people. I would like to see the trustees take more leadership in their role as the "ears and eyes" of our Kānaka Maoli. Grants should be a "one stop" process for cultural programs first, in order to preserve and perpetuate our culture. I will support the recognition of traditional practitioners of our culture, akua (acknowledging our higher power), 'ohana (family/nā mo'okū'auhau), 'ōlelo (Hawaiian language), lā'au lapa'au (medicinal values) and 'ola kino (the well-being of self/our health). We need to honor and respect kūpuna. I believe we need changes to happen for the betterment and not the demise of our Kānaka Maoli. Is it too mueh to strive for? I feel OHA is in the position to do more, and I am willing to give my service for these goals and for the betterment of its beneficiaries.