TheGardenIsland.com News Kauai News Planning Commission to review Brescia?s permit

TheGardenIsland.com News Kauai News Planning Commission to review Brescia?s permit

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Ceded or Seized Lands!?!

Support needed for Kunia/Pohakea

We spent last night with a beautiful community of Paniolo who live in the lands of Pohakea. Pohakea is in great need of our protection at this time. Campbell Estates are in the process of selling lands of Pohakea and surrounding acreage which will emcompass 854 acres to C&C Farms LLC. The sale hasnʻt been completed yet and C&C Farms LLC have already started to sell parcels and collect "good faith deposits from people."

Pohakea is one of the peaks in the Honoʻuliʻuli area you drive right past it everytime you drive on Kunia Road. Last night as I sang "Hopoe" at the foot of Pohakea I cried and at times couldnʻt sing the rigth words because as I could clearly see destruction coming to this place just as Hiʻiaka could see the destruction of her beloved oʻhia forest and friend. In the past few dayʻs numerous wahi pana (sacred sites) have been identified, however according to PBR Consultants the firm who represents C&C Farms LLC they have done their "due dilegence" (not!) and are already planning and plotting... literally!

It was our privilege to meet the strong and hard working people who make up this Paniolo Community. They are all from different back grounds and races but share a culture that can only be created when we allow our diversity to become our strength. I know that my life is richer because a community like theirs exists.

Each and everyone of you have been tagged for a purpose and on purpose. Time is of the essence. This Wednesday October 14th the gates to Pohakea will be locked to the people of Pohakea. The following is just a few ideaʻs by last nightʻs discussion:

1. Educate and inform community at large and go viral on the web with the facts and fiction of this situation.

2. Kukulukumuhana- pull our strengths with purpose. Again if you have been tagged it is for a purpose and on purpose.

3. The ʻĀina of Pohakea is famous in legend and in song. If anyone is maʻa to any mele and or moʻolelo please send me a message. This could become the begining of a TCP Study (Traditional Cultural Properties) which could really assist us in long term preservation and protection of this the wahi pana. We really need the kokua of our kumu and kumu hula on this one..... Ke ʻoluʻolu.

4. If you are a member of NāKiʻiKeAho or any other hui or organizations commited to the preservation or protection of our wahi pana we really need your mana, time and experience.


Please respond to this kahea and add "Wahine ʻo Kunia Honoʻuliʻuli" as a friend on fb. Thereʻs some information on their profile. Mahalo nui loa for your time and consideration on this matter of great importance. Mahalo Piha. We would be very intrested in hearing your manaʻo on how we can kukulukumuhana and work together to preserve and protect Pohakea.

Me Ka Haʻahaʻa,
Leimaile Quitevis

Native American Video on Visiting Sites with Respect.

Is Hawaiian Archaeology Really Hawaiian?

Click here to read a 2007 presentation from the Society for American Archaeology Conference in SanDiego.

Kahu Kuʻuna III: Protocols

The third class in the series is this semester. We will be exploring protocols for use in this program. Looking forward to producing a document that this program can adopt as its own.
We will use "Basic Protocols" by Coochie Cayan as a starting point. Click here to view this document.

Another article on protocols by Moses Crabbe written for Maunakea. Click here to view this document.

Follow this link to Dr. Sam Gon's explanation of Hawaiʻi protocols. Click here.

Kanaloa moku protocols. Click here.

Read another article by Sam Gon. "Application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Practices of Indigenous Hawaiians
to the Revegetation of Kaho‘olawe. Click here for the article.

Updates on Key Failures for the Protection of Our Iwi

This is an update on 3 key failures (but many more exist!) of the "system" in protecting our iwi kupuna. Mahalo to Alan Murakami of NHLC for the info.

The situation worsens by the day....

* The central story in Naue is that the SHPD is allowing Brescia
to build his house over an ancient Hawaiian cemetery without proper
prior approval of a burial treatment plan that reflects the will of the
island burial council to preserve those iwi kupuna in place. If
allowed, the SHPD will in effect reverse the island burial council's
preservation determination by treating a house over a cemetery as a
preservation measure. The judge refused to recognize the construction
as an alteration of a burial site.
* In the Wal Mart case, the city permitting agency refused to seek
expert archaeological opinion at critical time in the permitting process
before approval of the permits to build a major store over iwi kupuna on
the property, which would have been identified if the SHPD had required
a prior archaeological inventory survey. Ultimately, whereas no iwi
kupuna were thought to be present on the property when construction
began, contractor encountered 64 burials which had to be dug up to make
room for the store. The judge refused to stop construction despite the
flawed process followed.
* In the Ward Village Shops case, initial archaeological work
identified only 11 iwi kupuna on the project site. Without the SHPD
demanding timely and more comprehensive archaeological testing to
determine whether more burials were present, construction activity
ultimately uncovered 62 burials discovered much later than they should
have been. Then the judge refused to stop work despite the obvious flaw
in the SHPD review.

Burial Desecration at Naue

Updated news concerning the situation at Naue on Kauai. Sad, sad news...

Burial Desecration at Naue from New Pacific Voice on Vimeo.

Kilohi Kalaemanō Summer Bridge 2009

Outdoor classrooms are great! Kahu Kuʻuna and Geography of Hawaiʻi class... nice match!

Planting some natives at the Hawaiʻi garden at the Kona Village Resort

Looking at some koehana (artifacts) that were returned by archaeologists.

Jamaica Osorio... Words that hit home.

Maunaʻala: The Royal Masoleum

Click here for information.
More information here

Ka Huaka'i I Kahuwai ia Kahuwai

On March 22nd, students in the Kahu Kuuna II class began their journey at Kumukahi Point. "E Ala e" echoed along the coast as we witnessed the rising of the sun at the eastern most point of Moku O Keawe. We then continued to the village of Kahuwai in Puna. Kahu Keone Kalawe, a descendent of the people from this ancient village provided us a tour of this coastal village.

To be continued...

Ceded Lands? or Seized Lands!?!

The Myth of Ceded Lands and the State of Hawai`i’s
Claim to Perfect Title

In the recent Ceded lands hearing at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on February 25, 2009, Attorney General Mark Bennett repeatedly asserted in the hearings that the State of Hawai`i has perfect title to over one million acres of land that were transferred to the United States government upon annexation in 1898 and then transferred to the State of Hawai`i in 1959. This is an incorrect statement. This falsehood, however, is not based on arguments for or against the highly charged Hawaiian sovereignty movement; rather, it is a simple question to answer since ownership of land is not a matter of rhetoric but dependent on a sequence of deeds in a chain of title between the party granting title and the party receiving title. In fact, the term "perfect title" in real estate terms means “a title that is free of liens and legal questions as to ownership of the property. A requirement for the sale of real estate.”

Read more here.

Kahu Kuʻuna II: Foundations

Tommorrow is the first class! The direction of this class will be guided by students. We have many opportunities and I hope that as a learning community we all can decide on the focus for the semester. The over-arching theme for the class is "Foundations". It is essential that we identify what foundational base-line we have before moving on to affect the larger stewardship community. 

How did our kupuna flourish on these islands?

What aspects of their society or traditional stewardship methods allowed them to successfully interact with the environment?

Who in their society maintained this delicate balance?

Were there consequences for upsetting this balance?

What were the advantages for maintaining this balance?

What aspects of their stewardship do we see today?

Can these practices be implemented in our modern social environment?

Do any of our laws support traditional stewardship methods?

Kalaupapa National Park

Few places in the world better illustrate the human capacity for endurance or for charity than the remote Kalaupapa Peninsula, on the island of Moloka’i. The area achieved notoriety in 1865 when the Kingdom of Hawaii`i instituted a century-long policy of forced segregation of persons afflicted with Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. During the 75-year epidemic, leprosy considerations permeated the islands' legal code, the Hawaiian government spent up to five percent of its total budget for the care of the sick, and for a time an estimated two percent of the Hawaiians were afflicted with leprosy.

The number of people living in the Kalaupapa Peninsula and its neighboring valleys when the isolation settlement was established at Kalawao was small. As throughout the rest of Hawaii, a series of epidemics in the mid- to late 19th century decimated the Hawaiian population. In 1866 when the first leprosy patients were left at Kalawao, the remaining original inhabitants were subsequently relocated with the sale of their lands to the Board of Health. By 1900 non-patient Hawaiians were gone from the entire peninsula. Nine hundred years of connection with the local region were broken.

The Kalaupapa Peninsula was chosen as a place to set apart land to seclude people believed capable of spreading the disease because it was isolated and fairly inaccessible. To the south, the peninsula was cut off from the rest of Moloka`i by a sheer cliff about 2,000 feet high. The ocean surrounded the east, north and west sides. In good weather, landings were only practical at Kalaupapa and Kalawao; both inhabited by Hawaiians. Second, the land could support people. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes, fruits, and taro could be grown. The ocean and tidal pools provided food and fresh water was available from Waikolu and Waihanau Valleys.

On January 6, 1866, the first group of nine men and three women leprosy patients were dropped off at the mouth of Waikolu Valley, the closest accessible point to Kalawao on the southeast side of the peninsula. By October, 101 men and 41 women had been left in an isolation settlement surrounded by controversy and concern from the beginning. At first, the Board of Health thought patients would be self-supporting. After all, Hawaiian people had lived on the peninsula for generations, sustaining themselves and raising sweet potatoes for export, and the very first patients moved into houses left behind by Hawaiians who had lived in the area. It soon became apparent that most patients were too ill or demoralized to be self-sufficient. As stories spread of the deplorable conditions, many Hawaiian people hid their afflicted relatives and friends, hoping to prevent their discovery and a one-way trip to certain death.

In spite of the Board of Health’s efforts to improve conditions, including building a hospital and homes, supplies of food and clothing, housing, and medical care could not keep up with the numbers of people being sent to Kalawao. Starting in 1873 major improvements were made because of the arrival of Father Damien, a Catholic Priest, and the interest and support of the next two Hawaiian kings, William Charles Lunalilo and David Kalakaua. Father Damien suffered from the disease during the final four years of his 16-year voluntary service to the lepers of the peninsula. The news of Damien's presence among the colony brought better facilities to the settlement and upon his death in 1893 he became famous as the "martyr of Molokai," generating world-wide movements of concern for those suffering from Hansen's disease and the search for a cure.

During the years 1888 to 1902 the isolation laws in Hawaii were strictly enforced and the population at Kalawao swelled to over 1,100. During this period the Bishop Home for girls opened in Kalaupapa (managed by Mother Marianne Cope and the Sisters of St. Francis), and the Baldwin Home for boys opened in Kalawao (managed by Brother Joseph Dutton and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart). It was also during this time that people began gradually moving to west side of the peninsula to the Hawaiian fishing village of Kalaupapa.

The Board of Health began relocating patients and facilities from the windward side of the peninsula to the leeward side, where the climate was warmer and dryer, and where freight and passengers could be landed more easily. Water lines were extended from Waikolu Valley to Kalaupapa to supply fresh water. The isolation settlement was expanded to include not just Kalawao, but the entire peninsula. The last remaining private property was purchased and all non-patients removed.

By 1919 treatments of chaulmoogra oil, derived from seeds of trees found in India and Southeast Asia, offered hope as a cure for Hansen’s disease. People dared to think Kalaupapa settlement could be closed. After 10 years, however, belief in the curative powers of the oil waned and despite years of medical research a cure seemed as remote as ever. Kalaupapa’s physical infrastructure was in need of an overhaul. Territory of Hawaii Governor Lawrence M. Judd reorganized the leprosy control program in the early 1930s and undertook ambitious construction and rehabilitation projects. State-of-the-art water and power systems were installed; facilities such as a hospital, store, service station, and houses were built; and roads were paved. After Brother Joseph Dutton died in 1931, a new home for boys was built at Kalaupapa and all of the children moved over from Kalawao.

Dramatic changes both in the treatment of Hansen’s disease and in attitudes towards patients occurred with the discovery of sulfone drugs as a cure for the disease. Introduced into Hawaii in 1946, the new medications brought almost immediate reductions of symptoms and vast improvements in the quality of health and life. Former Governor Judd became Kalaupapa’s resident superintendent in 1947, and he and his wife Eva Marie promoted social activities and adult education classes. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Lion’s Club, American Legion, and other organizations opened Kalaupapa to the wider world. Many remaining physical barriers separating patients from workers were removed.

With drug therapies, Hansen’s disease patients were no longer contagious and there was no further need for isolation. In 1969 the century-old laws were finally abolished. Former Hansen’s disease patients living in Kalaupapa today have chosen to remain here, most for the rest of their lives. Today, people can visit the Kalaupapa National Historic Park on the island of Molokai in the state of Hawaii. The Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement is also a designated National Historic Landmark.