Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 1, 1 January 2007 — Getting the word out on 0HA's accomplishments for the community [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Getting the word out on 0HA's accomplishments for the community

Aloha nō. The last four years have seen mueh change in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and mostly for the better. More has been gained in ineome and more expended for Hawaiian causes than ever before. OHA has gone from a landless entity to the 13th largest land owner in Hawai'i. Our board formerly known for its constant discord and fighting has heeome a more professional board with its fiduciary duty in mind and its trust fund in tact. Sometimes I hear the comment, "So what is OHA doing for us Hawaiians?" and I reflect that we have not done enough to infonn the puhlie and our beneficiaries of what we are doing and have accomplished for Hawaiians and Hawai'i. This year you ean expect to see mueh more in print and media explaining and informing the puhlie of what OHA is all about and issues of import to our beneficiaries. As the Hōkūle'a launches for points westward, so will OHA begin its year with efforts in federal recognition, nation building, ceded lands, housing, preservation lands, education, business and economics, heahh and grants, whieh we actually have been already doing but with little or no fanfare. We want you and others to know what is happening and we want to keep the puhlie infonned and educated about our issues. Another question that we hear repeatedly

is, "Why don't you trustees eome down to our level instead of sitting behind your koa desks and spending all our money on yourselves?" Well, none of us has a koa desk and our budget is puhlie record. If you were to take the time to review it you would see that the brunt of our budget is spent for Hawaiians and Hawaiian causes and a fraction for administration and other matters. Our efforts in federal recognition may cost us now, but unless we win in court with the help of federal recognition, there won't be any budget to review or any complaints to answer about how we are spending our money. So bite the bullet now and save our identity, culture and traditions, or live in a fantasy world expecting one kingdom under King Somebody or complete assimilation into a so-called colorblind America. As for more personal contact with the puhlie, I don't disagree and hope the board will coordinate more conununity meetings; however, our experience with the meetings mandated by law on eaeh island eaeh year is that very few eome out to listen or participate, and frequently it is the same people from the year before. Hopefully those who express this concern will take advantage and have the opportunity to take part in the discussions. And so as we launeh OHA into 2007 and some uncharted waters, let's try to work as a team to accomplish at least what we ean all agree on and then work at solving our differences. OHA's theme for 2007 is "Ho'okele Pololei" (to voyage ahead, navigate well, persevere). To this end, I look forward to continuing our efforts to help Hawaiians help themselves and thereby help all Hawai'i. With the help of Ke Akua we will succeed. E3

Boyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui