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Culture & Art
Add your commentSupporting Art on Molokai
Did you know that Molokai is the only Hawaiian island without a public arts center? Even the small island of Lanai has a multipurpose community art center providing classes, workshops and studio access.
A group of artists believe there is a need for an arts center here on Molokai. Their vision is to build a place where they can gather to share equipment, skills and knowledge; to create beautiful and useful art; to laugh and play and enjoy friendships based on mutual interests.
The Life of the Land Part 2 of 7
As you are reading this, an island is forming 3,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean 30 miles south of the Big Island. Three thousand feet may seem deep, but it is already 15,000 feet above the ocean floor. All Hawaiian Islands are of volcanic origin, meaning we are all on either an extinct (no longer active), dormant (not active at this time), or active volcano.
The Life of the Land Part 1 of 7
“Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono – The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
This, the state motto of Hawaii, is one of the few if not only state mottos that alludes to man’s integral relationship to the natural world. This series will explore the Molokai’s life of the land with a brief history, both natural and human – its ample strengths and clear fragility, our diverse cultures and our common bonds. In our first part we will examine where we are in the broad expanse of the universe.
A Healthy History
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Back in the mid 1900s on Molokai, it wasn’t unusual to go into the hospital to get your tonsils out and perhaps see a gurney with a dead body down the hall. Your doctor would have just come from delivering a baby. Hours before that, he would have taken your neighbor’s appendix out. You would have stayed in that hospital for a few days while your tonsils healed.
That was health care on Molokai 50 years ago. Dr. Paul Stevens was one of those doctors – and one of the few that stuck around on Molokai to tell the tale.
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“We were constantly looking for new doctors to come to Molokai,” said Stevens. “There was a big turnover.”
A New Hospital
In 1961, the community began raising funds to build a new hospital after the Molokai Community Hospital building was condemned for being a fire hazard. Centrally located, Kaunakakai was chosen as the new location for the facility. Molokai Ranch gifted the land, and plantation workers put a portion of their salaries toward the fund. Organizations around the state donated what they could.
“It’s really inspirational that they would do that,” said Claire Iveson of the Family Support Office.
The July 15, 1961 issue of the Honolulu Advertiser reported that with field worker donations of over $100,000, a state grant of $250,000 and an anticipated $450,000 in federal funds, construction was imminent. “The people of Molokai have done a terrific job,” the Advertiser concluded.
The new 22,000 square foot facility, which became known as Molokai General Hospital, opened its doors in 1963. In 1985, the Women’s Health Center opened in association with the hospital, enabling certified nurse midwives to deliver babies on Molokai after private practice doctors’ insurance became too high for them to continue deliveries on the island.
By the mid 1980s, the building had fallen into disrepair and accumulated significant debt, according to Randy Lite, current Molokai General Hospital (MGH) vice president. Negotiations began with Queen’s Health System to take over the hospital, which became official in 1987. Queen’s purchased the building from its stakeholders, a community group called the Molokai Health Foundation, and rented land from the foundation for $10,000 a year in a 55-year agreement, according to Lite.
A building for private practice doctors working in cooperation with the hospital was built next door in 1992, which would later receive a federal Rural Health Clinic designation.
Healthy Choices
In 1984, the World Health Organization used Molokai residents in a health study – local Dr. Emmet Aluli became involved in the study, which examined diet in indigenous people. The advisory that formed to facilitate what became known as the “1985 Heart Study” morphed into today’s Na Pu`uwai, meaning “many hearts,” according to Akutagawa.
The 1987 federal Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act jump-started a flow of funds into the organization, which began with a focus on research. In 1991, Na Pu`uwai began offering health services to the public.
After community discussions and the encouragement of Sen. Inouye, the Molokai Community Health Center was born in 2004 under the designation of a Federally Qualified Health Center. The federal designation was sought by community volunteers to fill the need for health care for the island’s indigent, uninsured and underinsured. The center currently operates in an office in the Kamoi Center, but has bought the old Pau Hana Inn and plans to expand its services there.
Health care on Molokai has come a long way in 50 years, and as technology grows, rural services expand, and specialists – rather than do-it-all doctors – dominate the medical scene, Molokai is changing with the times.
Read the second in the series next week to find out Molokai’s health care climate today.
Paris in Paradise
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Trying to keep a low profile, Paris Hilton snuck over to Molokai on Friday. She was spotted mid-morning having breakfast at Paddlers Inn with her boyfriend, Las Vegas promoter Cy Waits, who has family tries to the Friendly Isle.
Wondering what an heiress has for breakfast? The two shared a Tsunami Sandwich, French toast and a papaya before running errands at Friendly Market and Molokai Drugs – but not before stopping to take pictures with curious on-lookers and Paddlers staff. Above, from left: Kamuela Purdy, Vanetta Kansana, Darlene Waki and Paris Hilton.
A Novel Idea
November is known by many names: Native American Heritage Month, Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, and Movember (awarness for men’s health. For literary lovers, it’s a 30-day period of character naming, plot developing and constant prose in celebration of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
With over 3.1 million words and 900 members strong, Hawaii is writing away. You too can tap into your inner Shakespeare or Grisham by attending weekly “write-ins” held in Kaunakakai.
Alestra Menendez, a Kualapu`u School teacher, is hosting local writing workshops for NaNoWriMo participants to discuss their work, offer advice and keep each other on track with their goals.
Kitty Literature
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Aka`ula parent Andrea Benes wrote and illustrated the book, inspired by a student’s article about Randall in the school newsletter.
“As I was reading through the article, I thought, ‘This is a children’s book!’” said Benes, who is the librarian at Aka`ula and Kilohana Elementary School. “And I know children’s books.”
Aka`ula students first befriended – and named – Randall on the old school grounds in Kaunakakai. When the school moved to its current site in Kualapu`u, Principal Dara Lukonen took Randall to her house down the road in Kualapu`u, but he soon ran away and followed the kids.
“He didn’t have to cross the highway. He had a real home, he just liked the kids,” Benes said.
She started the book with a fellow Aka`ula parent, Alestra Menendez. Benes finished it over the summer and plans to self-publish and sell it as a fundraiser for the school.
Fleshing it Out
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Beginning with a fake, plaster skull and a hunk of clay, several Molokai-based artists manipulated the clay with their fingers to get the basic shape. They then moved on to a human face, using small tools to shape a nose and eyes, shaving clay away to create a cheek.
This may sound familiar – earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development hosted a sculpture workshop in an innovative way to stimulate Molokai’s economy. By tapping Molokai’s abundant creative talent, and with the support of a local casting shop, Molokai Heritage Company, the workshop helped to expand Molokai-made products.
Last April, the subject was bas relief – low-profile sculptures on a flat surface. Last week, the sculpture students expanded their skills to full round portraits.
“The purpose [of the workshop] is to give skills to create a product,” said instructor Jim Franklin – while learning new skills, the students are also able to use the casting shop to complete their 3-D art and market their talents on and off-island.
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“There’s so much potential here on Molokai, we could outshine Maui,” as an artist community, Geng added.
Joao, who cast a koi fish from the last workshop, said he wants to create several more pieces before approaching local vendors and shops to sell his pieces. He described the workshops as a “grassroots” effort – “to nurture, expand, the talent already here.”
Molokai Educator Honored for Cultural Conservation
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The Nature Conservancy News Release
Longtime cultural and environmental educator Penny Martin received The Nature Conservancy (TNC)’s Kako`o `Aina Award this past weekend at a community celebration at the Kilohana Community Center.
She currently serves on TNC Molokai Advisory Council, where she is a key advisor on conservation issues that affect the community. “Penny does this with common sense and respect for the beliefs and opinions of all involved. She is trusted and respected by everyone,” said Ed Misaki, the director of TNC Molokai programs.
The award honors individuals who have provided significant and long-standing support for conservation in Hawaii. Kako`o `Aina literally means, “one who supports the land.”
“Few people have served as ambassadors for Hawaiian culture and conservation as Penny Martin has on the island of Molokai,” said Suzanne Case, TNC Hawaii executive director. “She has helped the people of Molokai work through difficult issues related to the use and conservation of the island’s natural resources and is truly a community treasure.”
Martin was born and raised on Molokai and attended Kamehameha Schools. In 1976, she was one of two female crewmembers aboard Hokule`a’s epic first expedition from Tahiti – an experience that taught her an important lesson.
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“Living on a canoe is like living on an island,” she said. “You have to learn to live with limited resources and work together to manage them.”
In 1991, Martin began working as a cultural and environmental educator for the Moanalua Gardens Foundation. Four years later, when TNC initiated its monthly Molokai hike program, she served as one of three original docents, leading educational hikes into the Conservancy’s Kamakou Preserve.
That same year, she became a community member of the Molokai Hunter’s Working Group, helping to bridge deep-seated differences between conservation leaders and local hunters.
Martin is a co-founder of TNC’s annual Molokai Earth Day celebration, a popular community, family and educational event begun in 1995. She continues to work as a cultural and environmental educator – now for Papahana Kualoa, Lelekamanu Program. Her job takes her into the classroom of every public school on Molokai, where she teaches students about the connection between Hawaiian culture and conservation.
“Anyone who knows Penny knows that she is a great believer in Hawaiian values, and in particular the value of aloha `aina, or love for the land,” Misaki said. “Here on Molokai, Penny lives the culture of aloha `aina.”
Dr. Sam `Ohu Gon, TNC’s senior scientist and cultural advisor, presented Martin with a kako`o, or staff carved from `ohi`a wood.
“In Hawaiian, one who provides unfailing support is called kako`o, which is derived from the word ko`o – a brace or supporting structure that denotes strength,” he said.
TNC’s Kako`o `Aina or “Supporter of the Land” award, was established in 2005. Previous winners include Jan TenBruggencate, a 30-year science and environmental reporter with the Honolulu Advertiser; wildlife biologist and photographer Jack Jeffry; Maui biologist Art Medeiros; and the east Oahu community group Malama Maunalua.
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