Culture & Art

Ku i Ka Pono

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

 Thousands march to protect Hawaiian Lands

Marking the 116th anniversary of the illegal over throw of the Hawaiian kingdom, a parade of several thousand participants wearing red shirts made their way down Kalakaua Avenue in Honolulu last Saturday.  Carrying signs and bearing Hawaiian flags, a clear statement was made in what appears to be a unified front that “Native Hawaiians do no support Governor Lingle's decision to appeal the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling which prohibits the state from transferring or selling ceded lands pending unresolved claims by Native Hawaiians”.

The issue of ceded lands is no doubt complex but at the very heart of the issue lies the question of the very legitimacy of ceded lands. According to American law, lands can only be ceded or “cessed” from one country to another by treaty of annexation. Keeping in mind that Hawaii was an independent sovereign nation at the time, Hawaii would have had to agree to such a treaty, of which no record exists.

As history would reveal, following two failed attempts of annexation, the US finally occupied Hawaii, out of what it felt was necessity, during the Spanish American war. According to American military law and laws established by the Geneva conference, occupation by a foreign country does not give the occupier the right to cede what were referred to at that time in Hawaii as “Government” or “Crown” Lands. A modern day example of the application of these laws is the American occupation in Iraq which in no way allows the US to deny the sovereignty of Iraq or allow for the cession or transfer of Iraq government lands.  

Both the territory of Hawaii and State of Hawaii went on to assume the original legitimacy of the cession of these lands, an issue which is being seriously challenged in our current time. Further giving credit to the challenges being made by Native Hawaiians is the 1993 Apology Resolution which recognizes that Native Hawaiians have unrelinquished claims to ceded lands.

Governor  Lingle has stated that her administration will not drop the U.S. Supreme Court appeal, claiming that the state does possess the legal claim to these ceded lands and that the state recognizes  the ceded lands to belong to all of the people of the state, not just Native Hawaiians.

Lingle noted that it was Gov. John Waihee, a native Hawaiian, who wanted to sell the former monarchy lands as part of an affordable housing development and that the proposed sale by Gov. Waihee is what finally led to the lawsuit that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Saturday’s event entitled Ku I Ka Pono (Stand for righteousness) included food, good music and Hula performed by several halau, honoring the events of the past and in honor of Queen Lili’uokalani. Also present were several key speakers including OHA Chair Haunani Apoliona, Representative Mele Carrol, Senator Clayton Hee and Molokai’s Walter Ritte as well as many other speakers of diverse backgrounds, all resounding this message in unison.

Senator Hee made a point of reminding the participants that unless people stepped out and let their voice be heard, this action being pursued by Governor Lingle would ultimately lead to the state’s ability to sell over one million acres of what are being referred to as “Ceded Lands” and that these sales could take place without resolving Native Hawaiian claims.

One sign carried by a protester read "This ain't Lingle Land." On a somewhat humorous note and imitating a recent event in the Middle East, demonstrators threw rubber slippers at a large

Paka`a’s Potato Fields

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

A Long, Fruitful Life

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Paka`a Settles in West Molokai

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Part III of a continuing legend

After a while, Paka`a and Hikauhi have a son who they name Kuapaka`a, named after the scaly skin that Keawenuiaumi got as a result of drinking too much `awa. During this time, Paka`a’s life is sweet and filled with contentment.  As soon as the boy is old enough to talk, Paka`a begins to teach him the wind chants.  Time moves on and Paka`a works hard providing for his family and raising his son. 

In the meantime, on the Big Island, Keawenuiaumi has realized he has been duped and made a fool by the two enemies. He becomes aware of their lack of care and how badly they manage the resources. However, in public he says nothing but in private, he weeps longing again for Paka`a’s clever attentiveness. Finally, he has had enough and decides to go looking for Paka`a. 

He calls upon his kahuna to find where Paka`a is staying.  They can only confirm that he is alive but his location remains hidden from them. In the night, the two dream of the other.  Keawenuiaumi calling, “I am looking for you”.  And Paka`a answering, “I am far away on Ka`ula”, a small islet northwest of Ni`ihau.  Both awake with a  purpose.  The ali`i firms up his intentions to look for Paka`a.   Paka`a plans for a visit from his chief. 

But, nothing is simple.  There are numerous complications which prevent Keawenuiaumi from even getting started on his plans, let alone his journey. However, that is a story for another issue.

Senior Serenade

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Kupuna let the good times roll in an event dedicated to them.

By Sean Aronson

Volunteers transformed Mitchell Pauole auditorium into an elegant ballroom complete with disco ball and strobe lights. The dinner-and-dancing event was a resounding success, according to all involved.

Some of those that had missed last year’s event were looking forward to the night for weeks. While Home Pumehana retirement center is home to many of those who attended, others who live far from town do not have many chances to get together with friends. The gala is one of the few nights a year where kupuna can relax and have a good time with each other.

The event was planned as a follow-up to last week’s crowd pleasing Christmas Festival of Lights Parade. Both events were made possible through the hard work and planning of the Molokai Chamber of Commerce Foundation and their sponsors

Remembering Marks

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Visionary leader of Kalaupapa passes away.

By Valerie Monson

Richard Marks, who had more of an impact on modern-day Kalaupapa than any other individual, fit all of those descriptions. The 79-year-old Marks died Dec. 9 at the Kalaupapa Care Home with most of his family close by.

“We’ve lost a great one,” said Ben Young, a Kailua psychiatrist, member of the original Hokule`a crew and longtime friend of Marks. “Shortly after Richard died it began to rain and we had the flooding that affected every island and I was thinking of that old Hawaiian proverb ‘Kulu ka waimaka, uwe ka `opua – the tears fall, the clouds weep.’ When the rains fall with such force at the time of a person’s death, the Gods are mingling their tears with the tears of the mourners.”

Although Marks was best known to the general public as the guide for Damien Tours, the business he started with his wife, Gloria, in 1966, in the long run he will most be remembered for changing the course of history at Kalaupapa in other ways.

“Richard always stands up for what he believes is right,” said Gloria.

In 1967, that meant contesting the State of Hawaii’s outdated leprosy laws that treated patients more like criminals. Several years later, when Kalaupapa residents feared they would be forced out of their homes to make way for luxury development, Marks appealed to the National Park Service to step in to preserve the lifestyle for the current community and the history of Kalaupapa for future generations.

 “Richard’s biggest legacy is that he was always trying to get people interested in the history,” said Henry G. Law, the first superintendent of Kalaupapa National Historical Park who has maintained his friendship with the Marks family – and the rest of the Kalaupapa community -- throughout the years. “He was always trying to save what was there. He took the time to talk to the old-timers so he could learn as much as he could.”

Marks was born Aug. 1, 1929, in Alabama Camp in Pu`unene on Maui, the son of Domingo and Rose Silva Marks. Few have suffered more from the government’s separation policies regarding people with leprosy than did Rose. When she was young, her mother, sister and brother were all sent to Kalaupapa. When she was a wife and mother, her husband and four children were all taken from her because of the disease – one daughter was allowed to return home because she had been misdiagnosed.

Still at home, but seeing his family being torn apart, Richard feared he was next. So, at age 15, he ran away to join the Merchant Marines which took him to Hong Kong. Each year, he would return to Hawaii to visit his beloved family, even sneaking down to Kalaupapa to visit his father. In 1949, during one of those trips home, he was diagnosed with the disease. He opted to be treated at the national leprosarium in Carville, La., but finally went to Kalaupapa in 1956.

“I always knew I’d end up here,” Marks said in an interview years ago.

By the mid-1950s, sulfone drugs to control leprosy had been at Kalaupapa for a decade and it was well-known in medical circles that the disease was hardly contagious and could only be transmitted after longtime contact with an untreated person.

Hawaii was starting to update its approach to leprosy, but basic human rights were still being denied at Kalaupapa. When Marks went public with his rants about the realities of life on the peninsula in 1968, it proved to be the catalyst that caused the State of Hawaii to abolish unnecessary laws the following year.

Because of his blunt way of speaking and his brash demeanor, Marks was controversial even in his own community. He acknowledged that he was often described as a “malahini” in those early years.

But that didn’t stop him from pushing on.

His idea of bringing the National Park Service to Kalaupapa took some getting used to by residents who weren’t sure of what another layer of government would mean. Eventually, the community backed the proposal in hopes of not only being allowed to spend the rest of their lives in their homes, but also to have their stories preserved and to keep Kalaupapa as a sacred place.

Even though Marks thought the park service was Kalaupapa’s best hope for the future, that didn’t mean federal officials were spared his occasional wrath.

“Richard would stand up and tell you if he thought you were doing something wrong,” said Law. “He’d come into my office and talk story. His complaints then were usually about the state, but, later on, he would complain about the feds, too.”

A faithful Catholic who promoted the canonization of Father Damien and later served as sheriff of Kalaupapa, Marks educated thousands of visitors over the years through Damien Tours. Richard not only served as the primary tour guide, but because of Kalaupapa’s isolation, he was also his own mechanic who would often work late into the night repairing his funky fleet of old buses with anything he could find – even banana sap, chicken wire or bits of old zori slippers – to plug the leaks, fasten the pipes and get the gears going.

In 2006, Richard and Gloria were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for small business owners on Maui, Molokai and Lanai by then Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa.

Gloria plans to continue operating the tour, which is the only way that most people can visit Kalaupapa.

Paka`a Flees Big Island

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Second in an ongoing series

By Catherine Aki

What led up to Paka`a leaving the Big Island and living on Molokai?  In a word, jealousy.

As a powerful man in the court of Keawenuiaumi, ali`i of the Big Island, Paka`a was unaware that two jealous men had begun to plot against him.  As a court favorite, he managed numerous resources including farming and fishing. He could live in the uplands.  He was an accomplished waterman who knew all about astronomy, navigation, sailing the seas and steering a canoe. His attention to detail enhanced his abilities care for the personal needs of his ali`i. Paka`a treated those with high and low status equally well so that many affectionately attached themselves to him. It was a happy time before the betrayals of Paka`a were set in motion.

In one version of this story the two jealous men are called “enemi” or enemy even though they had names.

Pretending to “talk story” with Keawenuiaumi, his enemies would instead tattletale on Paka`a making up stories and lies in order to deceive the ali`i. They boasted of their abilities while criticizing Paka`a. Unfortunately, Keawenuiaumi was blind to the truth.  Believing their slander, the ali`i began to strip away power, responsibilities and land from Paka`a. 

This allowed the two enemies to take what was not theirs, from Keawenuiaumi.  When the ali`i received gifts from the district ali`i and commoners, Paka`a’s enemies would take the best things for themselves, blaming Paka`a for the shortages.  It was through their cunning fault-finding in Paka`a that they became Keawenuiaumi’s favorites. In the meantime, Paka`a began being mistreated by all.

Before realizing how conniving his enemies were, Paka`a tried to maintain the needs and services to his ali`i despite the greed of his enemies. But after a while, he realized how much he had lost in both status and wealth.

Kamakau’s summary of Paka`a’s story states that Paka`a deserted his ali`i`, but in another account, dramatic details tell of Paka`a fleeing for his life.

As Paka`a prepares to leave from the Big Island, he hides a canoe for his escape; but his enemies have been staking him out.  When Paka`a enters the ocean, they follow him trying to swamp his canoe in an attempt to drown him.  But Paka`a has mat coverings which prevent the water from entering his canoe.

Between Waipio and Hilo, his enemies pursue him for 18 hours, from the middle of the night until dusk the next day. Eventually his enemies lose him in the dark and hope he is gone for good.

Paka`a visits his half brother in Hilo briefly before leaving the Big Island.

Stay tuned for the next installment where Paka`a makes his way to Molokai finding safety and shelter, for a while.

To be continued.

Molokai’s Righteous Reef

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Landmark USGS study culminates in colorful report

By Sean Aronson

Molokai’s coral reef is famous for its clear waters and abundant marine life. Visitors travel from all over the world to snorkel and take in its beauty. It is full of colorful fish and brilliant coral.

But the reef is also famous for the amount of degradation it has endured because of sentiment washing from the land.

Now a landmark report by the United States Geological Survey documents this degradation in an attempt to save the threatened reef. The report, “The Coral Reef of South Molokai: Portrait of a sediment-threatened fringing reef,” is the first of its kind for Molokai.

According to the Preface of the report, “Today the Molokai reef is at a crossroad – the evidence of damage from heavy land-use is clear, and yet procedures for its protection through improved land-use practices are already underway.”

The report gathers the work of more than a dozen scientists and researchers and is the culmination of more than five years of intense studies of the reef. It is a comprehensive, engaging publication that incorporates science, culture and history of the Molokai reef.

The impetus for the report comes from USGS Senior Marine Geologist Mike Field. In 1998, he was taking a sabbatical at the University of Hawaii. He used that time to talk to fellow scientists about an environmental approach to studying coral reefs. It was then he learned that the major threat to corals is sedimentation, the introduction of land particles to the reef.

Sedimentation is especially damaging in places where there is increased erosion. Any land-based pollution is washed on to the reef. With the increase in silt, the reef is blocked from sunlight and all the marine life is effectively ‘choked’ out.

Field set out to find a place where he could learn about sedimentation’s effect on a reef. Molokai was the best choice available, said Field. The reason is much of Molokai’s land was plowed for pineapple and thus erosion is incredibly high. It is also one of the longest continuous reefs in the Hawaiian Islands.

“Molokai is a superb natural laboratory,” says Field, “I think it’s a state treasure.”

Field explains that it is the broad shallow nature of the reef that makes it such an ideal study subject. The sediment is trapped on reef flat and it just stays there, he says. The sediment keeps getting stirred up and continues to impact every time a wave washes over the reef.

“It becomes the gift that keeps on giving,” says Field.

The report includes satellite photos of various parts of the island as well as documentation of the effects of erosion. It features chapters on fish ponds, geology and the history of the reef.

“We are all extremely pleased with the final product,” says Field.

Field says the report has three audiences in mind. First off is Molokai residents. They are the caretakers of the reef and the island, says Field. Second are the resource managers of reefs. And third are scientists from other disciplines that can apply some of the same methods to study their ecosystems.

Primarily, Fields says, we made it for the people of Molokai. “It is the people of Molokai who will ultimately decide the fate of their coral reef,” he continues.

Field says it is incredibly important that Molokai reefs be protected. Coral reefs are the rainforest of the sea. Reefs occupy a small amount of land, but contain an amazing amount of species. Their biological diversity is unparalleled.

The report does not mean the end of studies for the USGS team. In April, Field and other research will return to Molokai to conduct a 10 day experiment. They will be trying to understand how fast the reef will clean-up. Specifically, they want to understand what the rate of sediment exit from the reef is.

Field says the report has tremendous educational opportunities. He is encouraging anyone who would like a copy of the report to contact him. The report will be sent to Molokai High School and other island organizations.

“It’s a resource for the people of Molokai – for the entire country,” says Field

To receive a copy of the report, contact Mike Field at mfield@usgs.gov. Or to browse the report online head to http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5101/.

Paka’a’s Beginnings

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008