Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 10, 1 October 2020 — MANGAUIL, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MANGAUIL,

LANAKILA

| © lanakilaforoha@gmail.com ■ ® www.lanakilaforoha.com AGE: 33 0CCUPATI0N: Executive Director 8 Chief lnstructor of The I Hawaiian Cultural Denter of Hāmākua ' WHERE ūlū YŪU GRŪW UP: Honoka'a. Hawai'i I SCHŪŪL(S) ATTENDEŪ: GED. Kanu ū Ka 'Āina NGPCS, Hilo I Community College CURRENT RESIŪENCE: I live in Ahualoa, Hawai'i

1 ] I was born, raised, and sti ll reside in Hāmākua, Honoka'a, on Hawai'i lsland.. I grew up in the forests of Ahualoa and down in Waipi'o Valley, where I learned from numerous Hawaiian practitioners. -2003-Present: Student of Hālau Hula 'o WaikāUNU under Kumu Hula Kuwalu Anakalea, coming from the UNUKupukupu program under Kumu Hula Taupori Tangaro. -2003-Present: Member-Practitioner with Nā Papa Kānaka o Pu'ukoholā Heiau. -2003-2016: Volunteered with Hawai'i lsle Aloha Festival Royal Court. -2004: Graduated from Kanu O Ka 'Āina NCPCS. -2005-2013: Program Director of the Native Youth Cultural Exchange Program, a young men's leadership program between Kānaka Maoli and Native Amenean tribes. -2006-2012: Hawaiian Cultural Activities Specialist & Advisor for the Hāmākua Youth Center. -2006-2013: DOE Hawaiian Studies ResourceTeacherat Honoka'a Elementary, lntermediate & High Schools, Waiākea Elementary, and Laupāhoehoe PCS. -2012-Present: Kia'i Mauna - community environmental advocate. -In 2016, 1 launched The Hawaiian Cultural Center of Hāmākua, providing loeal, national and international educational opportunities. 2 ] OHA should address the eeonomie impact of the pandemic on our eommunity by advocating and investing toward increasing eeonomie opportunity and decreasing costs of living. Hawai'i should redirect the $80M/year used to promote tourism towards job training for former tourism workers so that all ean thrive in a more circular, 'Aina Aloha economy. We should keep moving away from industrial ag by increasing our investment in infrastructure that will help small farmers. We must immediately expand and diversify the opportunities and availability for safe and affordable housing conducive to a healthy lifestyle for kānaka 'ōiwi. OHA must expand its role to help beneficiaries access housing, including assisting 'ohana with returning or regaining their Kuleana lands. OHA must work together with DHHL and our Hawaiian Trusts to fulfill their overlapping obligations, leveraging resources to achieve maximum positive impact for beneficiaries. Whether Hawaiians get healthcare through their employer, SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid - no one should fall through the cracks and face homelessness because of health-related debt. I am one of the 14 collaborative authors of the Aina Aloha Eeonomie Futures Declaration. (Read more at: https://www.ainaalohafutures.com/.) 3 ] Being raised in places like Waipi'o Valley, we were always cognizant of our conduct being surrounded by sacred sites. "Sacred" to kānaka maoli applies not only to historical, man-made sites, but to the very geology and natural ecology of these islands — whether it be heiau, fish ponds, burials, or mountain tops, forests, springs, or reefs. As a practitioner, appropriate engagement with the "sacred" is essential. Engagement should preserve, restore and revitalize sacred sites and sacred natural environments. In this age of cultural revival, kānaka maoli must have no fear, shame, or guilt to engage with our wahi pana. We must reclaim our kuleana to mālama these sacred spaces. As with Maunakea, I observed our people exhaust every presumable "legal" process in a flawed system. As a 14th destructive project attempted to bulldoze its way forward, I asserted my customary right to physically stand and block desecration. This act of nonviolent direct action sparked the largest activation in Hawai'i for the protection of sacred lands, and has now exposed mueh of the injustice that paved the way for prior desecrations. My mission to support the education of the importance and significance of wahi pana like Maunakea is critical to establish respect and recognition of the "sacred." Knowing mo'olelo and appropriate protocols are essential in understanding eaeh unique wahi pana to instruct the policy making for their care.