Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 3, 1 March 2007 — People of the land [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

People of the land

By Sterling Kini Weng Publicatiūns Editur There was a time when ealling someone a kua'āina, whieh literally means "back

land," could have been interpreted as an insult. But, as Davianna Pōmaika'i McGregor explains in her new

book Nā Kua'āina, the term took on a new meaning during the Hawaiian renaissance of the late 20th century when Hawaiians from rural communities were seen as leaders in preserving a fading culture. In 1980, McGregor began interacting with the many kua'āina who were heavily involved in the movement to stop the decades of

military bombing on Kaho 'olawe. She said that as she spent more time with them, particularly Unele Harry Mitchell of Wailuanui in East Maui, she saw that they had a lifestyle of subsistence that was still being guided by traditional cultural practices, such as planting taro by the phases of the moon, observing kapu placed on catching certain fish and honoring their 'aumakua and other deities. "In these communities there is a real sense of resistance to change; they refused to assimilate," said McGregor, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. "They stood their ground and protected their way of life, their beliefs, customs and practices." Nā Kua'āina is the result of over 20 years of McGregor's work with and research on various rural Hawaiian communities from around the state, specifically Moloka'i, Puna and Waipi'o

Valley on Hawai'i Island, and Hāna in East Maui. Eaeh section of the book focuses on one of these places and includes a description of the area's traditional importance, history, natural and cultural resources and how the Hawaiian communities were affected - or not - by various modern changes.

McGregor said she hopes the book encourages the protection of these rural communities and urges people to adopt the kua'āina's model of land stewardship to preserve other areas rich with natural and cultural resources. With Nā Kua'āina, the taro farmers and fishermen from isolated Hawaiian communities

are given their rightful due in Hawaiian history and society. "This mo'olelo recounts how the life ways of the kua'āina enabled the Native Hawaiian people to endure as a unique, distinct and dignified people," McGregor writes, "even after over a eentury of American control over the islands." S

NĀ PUKE • B00KS

A humble taro famer from Wailuanui, AAaui, Unele Harry Mifchell wūs one of fhe kua'āina who fought to stop the military bombing on Kaho'olawe. - Photo: Courtesy of UH Press