RE: Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan Project DEIS
Aloha Mr. Sato,
We have a saying which, in its simplest form, tells us “huli ka lima i lalo, ‘ai ka waha.” When we turn our hands down in work, we will have food to eat. The Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club tries very hard to be a hands-down organization: we hold almost all of our monthly meetings at Ulupo, and these meetings are almost always dedicated to the work of clearing, weeding, planting, tending, pruning, and – above all – honoring that sacred place. The food we eat is quite often the taro of Ulupo’s now-thriving loʻi, but even more significantly, it is the reward of knowing that we have helped to reclaim a place that feeds our souls. It causes us great pain, therefore, when we have to defend our efforts against the mostly spurious accusations of people we have never seen at Ulupo, people who do not know how its mud feels between their fingers and toes, people who do not turn their hands down in any other manner than to type unfounded nonsense into their favorite social media pages.
We appreciate that the current Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan Project DEIS (December 2017) carefully and thoroughly addresses the “development” issues (tourism, buildings, parking lots, privatization, commercialization, traffic, homeless, pollution, management, and enforcement) that continue to concern so many members of our often quick-to-react, slow-to-listen community. We have, in fact recommended that all of our civic club members share the letter/response section of the DEIS with their own families and associates: it addresses point-by-point, in clear and convincing fashion, the realities of the plan as opposed to its boogie-man doppelgänger.
We especially appreciate the DEIS inclusion of our Article XII rights under the State Constitution, as well as its support of native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources as stipulated in the DSP and DOFAW core-value statements. We also appreciate, and would like to reiterate, the DEIS mention of the unanimous approval, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, of our own club’s resolution in support of the Draft Master Plan. This is not small potatoes; it represents the 58-club, 600-member voice of Hawaiians from all over our islands and the continental U.S.
This, then, is a letter that reaffirms our ongoing, long-term endorsement of the Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan and its current DEIS iteration. We endorse it with hope, enthusiasm, and a deep commitment to making it work.
We have said this before, but it bears repeating: we need to care for the bones of our ancestors. We need to honor our gods and keep their dwelling places in good order. We need to grow the food that is our older brother. We need to conduct our ceremonies, dance our dances, chant our chants, and tell our stories. And we need to teach all of this to our children and grandchildren so that they are not lost to us.
The Master Plan provides us with the opportunity for permanent presence and real stewardship. It allows us to be more than visitors in the heart of our own homeland. And this, we believe, is a right to which we are entitled and a challenge for which we are well-prepared.
Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Mapuana de Silva
Club President
Aloha Mr. Sato,
We have a saying which, in its simplest form, tells us “huli ka lima i lalo, ‘ai ka waha.” When we turn our hands down in work, we will have food to eat. The Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club tries very hard to be a hands-down organization: we hold almost all of our monthly meetings at Ulupo, and these meetings are almost always dedicated to the work of clearing, weeding, planting, tending, pruning, and – above all – honoring that sacred place. The food we eat is quite often the taro of Ulupo’s now-thriving loʻi, but even more significantly, it is the reward of knowing that we have helped to reclaim a place that feeds our souls. It causes us great pain, therefore, when we have to defend our efforts against the mostly spurious accusations of people we have never seen at Ulupo, people who do not know how its mud feels between their fingers and toes, people who do not turn their hands down in any other manner than to type unfounded nonsense into their favorite social media pages.
We appreciate that the current Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan Project DEIS (December 2017) carefully and thoroughly addresses the “development” issues (tourism, buildings, parking lots, privatization, commercialization, traffic, homeless, pollution, management, and enforcement) that continue to concern so many members of our often quick-to-react, slow-to-listen community. We have, in fact recommended that all of our civic club members share the letter/response section of the DEIS with their own families and associates: it addresses point-by-point, in clear and convincing fashion, the realities of the plan as opposed to its boogie-man doppelgänger.
We especially appreciate the DEIS inclusion of our Article XII rights under the State Constitution, as well as its support of native Hawaiian cultural practices and resources as stipulated in the DSP and DOFAW core-value statements. We also appreciate, and would like to reiterate, the DEIS mention of the unanimous approval, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, of our own club’s resolution in support of the Draft Master Plan. This is not small potatoes; it represents the 58-club, 600-member voice of Hawaiians from all over our islands and the continental U.S.
This, then, is a letter that reaffirms our ongoing, long-term endorsement of the Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan and its current DEIS iteration. We endorse it with hope, enthusiasm, and a deep commitment to making it work.
We have said this before, but it bears repeating: we need to care for the bones of our ancestors. We need to honor our gods and keep their dwelling places in good order. We need to grow the food that is our older brother. We need to conduct our ceremonies, dance our dances, chant our chants, and tell our stories. And we need to teach all of this to our children and grandchildren so that they are not lost to us.
The Master Plan provides us with the opportunity for permanent presence and real stewardship. It allows us to be more than visitors in the heart of our own homeland. And this, we believe, is a right to which we are entitled and a challenge for which we are well-prepared.
Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Mapuana de Silva
Club President