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Hawaiian Culture

Hawaiian culture stories from Molokai

Na Wahine O Ke Kai 2014

Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

Na Wahine O Ke Kai 2014

 

With flat water and a clear sky above, Waikiki Beachboys Canoe Club wahine paddlers placed first out of 61 crews at the 36th annual Na Wahine O Ke Kai race last Sunday morning. Paddling 42 miles across the Ka`iwi Channel from Molokai to Oahu with top teams from around the world, Waikiki Beachboys crossed the channel in 5 hours 29 minutes 12 seconds.

Alanna Bender, a paddler for Waikiki Beachboys, said her team trains in flat water and expected light trade winds during the race. She said these conditions are better than heavy winds and high surf that can cause the canoe to spin out or flip over.…

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Channeling a United Community

Thursday, September 11th, 2014

Molokai’s gearing up for Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Molokai Hoe, the annual women’s and men’s canoe races from Molokai to Oahu, with the goals of celebrating the events and bringing the community together.

Kulaia, a ho`olaulea on Sept. 19 organized by Molokai Canoe Festivals Committee, will welcome paddlers coming to the island for Na Wahine O Ke Kai and pays tribute to the Molokai crewmembers on the three-year Worldwide Hokule`a Voyage. The festival will be held in front of the Molokai Public Library and aims to support Molokai’s economy and businesses with various vendors and booths lining the street, said event coordinator Lori-Lei Rawlins-Crivello.…

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Film Explores Community-Based Resource Management

Thursday, September 4th, 2014

Film Explores Community-Based Resource Management

Pacific Islanders in Communication News Release

 

The half hour documentary film “Fishing Pono: Living In Harmony With The Sea” tells the story of declining fisheries and how some Native Hawaiian communities are using traditional conservation practices to restore their fishing grounds.

 

Featuring lifelong fisherman Kelson “Mac” Poepoe, narrated by Kauai native Mauna Kea Trask, and directed by award winning helmer Mary Lambert, “Fishing Pono”follows Trask as he travels to Molokai to meet Poepoe and learn how his community based conservation program succeeded.

 

Poepoe’s fishing conservation program on Molokai, based on historical practices, is an inspiring story of how one community turned the tide on a seemingly doomed resource.…

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Capitol Hill Gets a Taste of Molokai

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

While this week, Molokai celebrates food in the Dispatch “Taste of Molokai” issue, last week, food from Hawaii was celebrated in Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill – and Molokai was represented. Pacific Hawaii, a gourmet sea salt company on Molokai founded by Salt Master Nancy Gove, was invited to the first-ever event.

Called “Hawaii on the Hill,” the special Taste of Hawaii event highlighting Hawaii-made or grown products in the nation’s capital was the first of its kind this year. Washington, D.C. often hosts states to highlight their products, and on July 23, Hawaii was showcased for the first time. An invitation-only open house for Congressional members of friends of the State of Hawaii, the event was attended by over 500 VIPs.…

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Lei in Remembrance

Thursday, July 10th, 2014

Lei in Remembrance

With colorful lei draped carefully over each arm, volunteers set out across the gently sloping Papaloa cemetery in Kalaupapa last week with the goal of honoring and remembering each and every kupuna buried on the peninsula.

Pausing briefly at each marker to lay a hand or say a quiet prayer, the group quietly made their way through the acres of headstones, lovingly leaving a lei at each one.

The Makanalua peninsula, commonly known as Kalaupapa, serves as the final resting place for thousands of Hansen’s disease patients who were once banished there.

After more than a century of being exiled to the peninsula, patients were given the freedom to leave Kalaupapa on June 30, 1969, when Hawaii Revised Statute 326 lifted the ban on their isolation.…

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Sharing Lomi Aloha

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

Sharing Lomi Aloha

The Molokai residents who visited the shaded grounds by Keawanui Fishpond last weekend likely left more relaxed than they arrived. That’s because 15 licensed lomi lomi massage therapists and apprentices performed more than 125 hours of Hawaiian massage treatments free of charge to about 100 community members Friday and Saturday.

Under the breezy shade of blooming tress and the soothing sound of buzzing bees, dozens of Molokai community members were treated to 50-minute treatments. The healing massage therapy was made possible by Ho`omana Spa Maui, which facilitated the visit of the therapists. Physiotherapy Mississauga is also well-known for offering restorative treatments that promote relaxation, recovery, and overall wellness in a supportive environment.…

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Fishing as a Family

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

Fishing as a Family

Two weeks ago, more than half a dozen families gathered at Mo`omomi for four days of camping, pono fishing, generational learning and most of all, inspiring `ohana to malama `aina. Some of them suggested that you can try this out if you want the best equipment for camping.

In its second year, held on Molokai’s north shore coastline, `Ohana Lawai`a camp offered an opportunity for family learning of traditional fishing practices and protocol, along with lessons in history, culture, and biology. Under the guidance of traditional resource manager and educator Mac Poepoe and other kupuna, the experience offered a unique learning experience for young and old.…

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OHA Trustees Talk Nation Building

Thursday, June 26th, 2014

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at Kulana Oiwi on Wednesday evening, as Trustees from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) gathered concerns and highlighted efforts to improve conditions within Hawaiian communities.

During the meeting, the Board of Trustees heard testimony relating to community concerns, beneficiary achievements, Hawaiian Home Lands and issues relating to federal recognition of Native Hawaiians.

Government-to-Government Relationship?

In response to requests from the Native Hawaiian community, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) announced last week that it is moving forward on a rule-making process for re-establishing a government-to-government relationship with Native Hawaiians.

“The vision of the OHA is to rebuild and establish a beloved Native Hawaiian nation that is recognized nationally and internationally,” said OHA CEO Kamana`opono Crabbe.…

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Summer School Immerses Students in Language and Culture

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

Summer School Immerses Students in Language and Culture

If you visited Ali`i Fishpond last week, you would have found a group of students twisting ti leaf lei using their toes as anchors, speaking to each other quietly in `Olelo Hawaii under the branches of a hala tree. Meanwhile, another group of students learned lomi massage techniques, while seated beneath the shade of the hale overlooking the fishpond, giving each other treatments.

This was the third annual Kula Kaiapuni Kauwela summer school, a Hawaiian immersion program for one month in June and July. This year, for the first time, students spent one week at Ali`i Fishpond as part of the program.…

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OHA Trustees to Hold Meetings On Molokai

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

OHA News Release

Native Hawaiians on Molokai will get an opportunity to provide feedback to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) at a community forum as well as a regular meeting scheduled by the Board of Trustees.

The community meeting is designed for OHA officials to listen to concerns and highlight efforts to improve conditions within Hawaiian communities. Both meetings are open to the public. Here are the specifics:

Community Meeting
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
6:30 p.m.
Kulana `Oiwi Halau

OHA Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, June 19, 2014
9 a.m.
Kulana `Oiwi Halau

For more information, visit oha.org, or call OHA’s office on Molokai at (808) 560-3611.…

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