With high surf advisories around the state for the past two weeks, Molokai surfers and body boarders have been taking advantage of the swells. Papohaku Beach, known for its expanse of white sand, is also known for its treacherous and unforgiving surf. Last Monday, a local youth takes advantage of a smaller, easier-going shore break and pulls into a sandy three foot tube. Photos by Catherine Cluett
Ten years ago, Mo`omomi was vibrant, green and healthy, with plentiful fish, according to Molokai-born Halealoha Ayau, Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) acting district supervisor for Molokai. Now, he said, the landscape is suffering, resources are being depleted, and the buildings are facing a high level of vandalism and damage. Because of this, Ayau has made a tough decision: erect a gate at Mo`omomi and initiate managed access to the area.
“You’re not permanently being blocked,” Ayau told attendees at a DHHL meeting held last week to get community feedback on how access should be managed. “We need to let her heal.”…
Hundreds of competitors of all ages gathered last Saturday to test their athletic skill and celebrate the 30th annual Ka Molokai Makahiki – an ancient tradition honoring Lono, the god of peace and fertility. During this four month season – usually from October through February – war was forbidden, or kapu, on all islands. Offerings from the harvest were made to Lono, and everyone joined in athletic games.
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The Safari Explorer passenger yacht did not dock last weekend as scheduled after more than 300 community members attended a public meeting last Wednesday night. Residents spoke both for and against the yacht’s Molokai stop, but enough voiced concerns, according to American Safari Cruises (ASC) owner Dan Blanchard, that he postponed the docking until the company could talk to more community members.
“We are committed to further dialogue and will respectfully work with leaders in the community,” Blanchard said in a statement Thursday.
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Whenever keiki in the Molokai Junior Roping Club (MJRC) saw Papa Cliff Dudoit raise his pointer finger, silently holding it in the air a few inches from his face, they didn’t need words to know what he meant.
Dudoit, one of the founders of the rodeo club, strived to teach Molokai’s youth not only the foundations of being a good cowboy or cowgirl, but of being a good person. And, as he explained, “number one was your attitude.” Raising that finger was a simple reminder to keep your attitude in check.
“In life, in roping and in everything else, leave your bad attitude at home,” he said. “If you have a bad attitude, you’re gonna have a bad day.”
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“The kids always had a place to come to,” she said. “It was an alternative to drugs and substance abuse.”
More than 60 youth participated last Friday before refereeing, emceeing and managing the adult competition Saturday – another important aspect of the roping club.
“The kids are running the show,” Cliff Dudoit said. “When they grow up in the sport, they gonna know what they talking about.”
He thanked the Molokai community and the MJRC for their continued support over the years and said he looks forward to extending the club’s legacy.
“We gonna continue to help. We not giving up,” he said. “We cowboys, man. We cowboy up.”
From 1834 to 1948, over 125,000 pages of Hawaiian language newspaper were printed. However, those pages are crumbling, and the knowledge they contain would otherwise be lost if not for the efforts of Awaiaulu, an organization dedicated to publishing Hawaiian texts whose staff has been working for the past 10 years to preserve and digitize the newspaper pages.
Now, an Awaiaulu initiative called `Ike Ku`oko`a – or Liberating Knowledge – is gathering volunteers statewide to type word for word thousands of Hawaiian articles into a searchable format.
Growing up on Ho`olehua homestead land, Halealoha Ayau said he was “raised by a father who was a Jack of all trades.”
“He had many skills, so I knew what multitasking meant before that was even made fashionable,” Ayau joked last week.
The Webelos from Pack 311 of Kailua, Oahu visited Halawa Valley Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. Webelos are Cub Scouts in their fourth year, an average of 9 years old. Throughout our four days of camping, 12 families were continually impressed by the beautiful valley, people, nature, history and activities. We would like to share what "Pops" Anakala Pilipo and Diane Solatorio, shared with us.
As American Safari Cruises’ (ASC) yacht docked on its first trip to Molokai last Sunday morning, protesters greeted it with requests to leave local waters.
Over two dozen kupuna, teachers, fishermen, cultural practitioners and others chanted “No cruise ship” and “Go home!” toward the 145-foot boat, named the Safari Explorer.
As two vans carrying the boat’s passengers departed the docking area, protesters marched across the road holding signs reading “boycott this ship,” “you’re not welcomed” and “Hawaiian way or no way.”
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