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Culture & Art

Keiki Draw for Visitors

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Keiki Draw for Visitors

For visitors and curious locals alike, the Molokai Visitors Association (MVA) has new unique brochures, sure to highlight what Molokai really is.

The colorful brochures were hand-crafted by Kaunakakai Elementary third graders as a school project. When designing the pamphlets, students discussed Molokai’s past and how it has changed.

The project was brought to Molokai by Alestra Menendez of Kamehameha Schools for the second year in a row. Tiana Miguel, Kaunakakai literacy resource teacher, led the project – teaching writing with a focus on Hawaiian culture and “highlighting our students’ sense of pride.”

 

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Poepoe Honored for Pono Practices

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Poepoe Honored for Pono Practices

Mac Poepoe is humble about his work to preserve Hawaii’s ocean resources through sustainable fishing practices. But despite the low profile he likes to keep, he just received the 2010 Ho`okahiko Award from Duke’s Waikiki for his efforts.

He was given the award at a private ceremony held at Duke’s two weeks ago, where he was presented with $4,000 from the Duke’s Legacy of Aloha fund to support Poepoe’s nonprofit on Molokai, Hui Malama o Mo`omomi.

"We value [Poepoe’s] commitment to sharing his knowledge and to keeping Hawaiian culture alive through Hui Malama o Mo'omomi and want to ensure that his efforts can continue," said Duke’s senior general manager, Ross Anderson, in a news release.

“I never like receive the award, especially when I heard there was money,” says Poepoe.  “I no like money – I like people to learn. But the idea behind it was good.”

Established in 1993, Hui Malama o Mo`omomi’s mission is to restore and maintain the health of the Mo`omomi coastline for all who live on Molokai, and to educate people so the area will be preserved for generations to come. Among its long list of activities, the organization built and maintains the pavilions at Mo`omomi, hosts hands-on educational programs and cares for the coastline area. Poepoe says Hui Malama o Mo`omomi also works closely with neighboring land managers, the Molokai Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, to promote responsibility for both land and ocean resources.

Through the organization, Poepoe has published the Pono Fishing Calendar, an acclaimed guide to responsible fishing. The calendar teaches fishermen when not to fish, based on each species’ life cycle to ensure their renewal. Begun about 10 years ago, according to Poepoe, the calendar has been made possible in the past through both federal and private grants. He says this year, he will use the money from the Ho`okahiko Award to fund its publication.

The fishing calendar is distributed all over the state, first to people who requested it and to schools, according to Poepoe. He says this will probably be the last year of its publication, however. A lot of work goes into making sure the calendar is based on fact, he explains.

“I blazed the trail,” says Poepoe. But it’s “not an easy path to follow.”

The message Poepoe would like people to remember? “Whenever you go fishing, don’t be greedy; no take ‘em all. Leave some for the next person, and stay pono.”

The Hawaiian word "ho`okahiko" means "to cling to traditions.” The Duke’s Ho`okahiko Award was established to honor those who exemplify and pass on those traditions today. Previous recipients of the award include Nalani Kanaka`ole and Sig Zane, the Kamaka Brothers, Kaua`i Brant and Aunty Nona Beamer.


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Molokai Is… Round 5

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Molokai Is… Round 5

For some Molokai is literally a home; a place we invest every waking moment toward living in. For others, Molokai is home to the heart; a place so dear, it is held in the same regard as family. Leilani and Hanohano are our final contestants this year and they do well to explain the literal and symbolic home that Molokai is. Would you like to see one of them win $50 to the Kualapu`u Cookhouse? Great – just go online to www.TheMolokaiDispatch.com and vote for either of them in the comments.

I hope everyone had fun with the Molokai Is contests of 2010. Still want your own $50 gift certificate to the Cookhouse? Check out submission guidelines for the new photo contest (on this page).  Mahalo Molokai for your contributions.

Moloka`i is… Home Sweet Home
Farmers and fisherman
Hunters and hula dancers
Paniolos and baseball players
Fishponds and fresh water springs
Makahiki games and the Hula piko
Throwing net and throwing pole
Shining light for deer and for a`ama crabs
Lanikaula, the kukui forest and the most powerful kahuna in all of Hawai`i nei
Where white doesn’t mean your haole but if that word makes you feel uncomfortable, then you probably are one
Where natives and kama’aina love and would never change
Where outsiders think they can make better
The best place in the world to make and raise keiki
Moloka`i Nui a Hina, Moloka`i `Aina Momona,
Moloka`i Pule O`o, Moloka`i No Ka Heke
Summertime behind the island in Wailau valley
Sunrises and Maurice Point and sunsets and La`au Point
Hui Ala Loa and the fight to save Kaho`olawe
Kalama`ula and the first Hawaiian homesteaders
Mana`e, my birthsands, a place I call home
And
The eventual resting place of my bones
Moloka`i Sweet Home

Hanohano Naehu, Ho`olehua

 

Molokai Photo Contest
It’s time again to share your vision of Molokai – and by vision, we mean exactly that. Send us a visual representation of Molokai. A photo that captures Molokai’s unique essence – it could be a stunning landscape, a self portrait, even something comical.

That’s right. The Molokai contest is now a photo contest! Share what Molokai means to you in a creative, intuitive, or striking way with your camera. One winner will be picked monthly to have their photo featured on the front page of The Molokai Dispatch and win a $50 Kualapu`u Cookhouse gift certificate – onolicious!

Each photo submission must include a caption, as well as the contestant’s full name, phone number and a headshot. Kids, ask your parents or teachers for permission. Submit entries of all file formats via email (Editor@TheMolokaiDispatch.com), in person at our Kaunakakai office (Moore building suite 5), or by snail mail (PO Box 482219, Kaunakakai, HI 96748). 

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Carving Out Capital

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Carving Out Capital

Clustered around a small easel with red-stained fingertips, several Molokai artists studied the profile of a man in clay. Their instructor was demonstrating the delicate way to skim away just enough clay to shape a cheek.

These students attended a sculpture workshop last week – not only to expand the skills of already talented people, but also as an innovative boost the island’s lagging economy. The workshop is intended to give artists another outlet to earn money off their art.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development provided a $50,000 Business Enterprise Grant, which provides training and technical assistance to small businesses – in this case, the Molokai Heritage Company through Lokahi Pacific.
 
“Because Molokai so economically depressed, we’re trying new avenues to earn money,” said a workshop student and local artist, Joan Pawlak reed.

,” he said.

Cooperative
Another goal of the workshops is to bring some of Molokai’s many artists together and form a cooperative of commercial artists, Lynch said.

“My hope is, out of this a nucleus of these 14 people, they can form a cooperative or group for bulk purchase supplies,” he added. With a casting shop on Molokai – located by Hayaku gas station – and a group of artists who know how to use it, those involved in the project said this could create a new niche Molokai artists can fill.

Other artists could come to learn – and spend money on hotels, rental cars, and restaurants – boosting the economy even more, Lynch said.

“This could create a magnet to bring other artist from other islands,” Pawlak reed said.

“It would be great to create some sort of art Mecca,” Geng said.

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Winning Time at Merrie Monarch

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Winning Time at Merrie Monarch

 

While no Molokai hula halau was represented at this year’s Merrie Monarch festival on Hawaii Island, the beautiful jewelry and crafty display of two Molokai residents won big at the craft fair.

Haunani Madela and her husband Ameron-John Madela won for best booth design at Merrie Monarch a few weeks ago. Their business, Lohikai o Molokai Shell Jewelry, made its third appearance at Merrie Monarch, but Haunani said this was the first year they decorated. First place prize was a free booth next year – a $300 value.

Haunani said the booth was modeled after a bamboo shack – kukui leaves wanded together, pele hair hanging down, tea leaf strands rising up the bamboo, and the tables edged by hina hina.

“The judges just kept saying it was really beautiful,” she said. “They’d never seen anything like it in all their years.”

 

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Katchafire Heats It Up

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Katchafire Heats It Up

When the Molokai Dispatch got wind that the guys from Katchafire were coming to spread their musical flavor on the Friendly Isle, we couldn’t help but jump on the bandwagon.

Deeply rooted from New Zealand, the band took to the stage their exceptional vocals, talented writing and sensual depth last Thursday at Paddlers Inn. Katchafire’s extreme energy was matched by the intensity of the massive crowd, who discovered that where there is smoke, there is definitely fire.

put in Slow Burning, the name of our second album. Our original lead singer was Gerry and so the first one we pulled out was Gerry and the Pacemakers or something silly like that, and we just laughed that off. Another was Black Fern but that didn’t make the cut and Katchafire was third.

MD: Where do you see yourselves in five years?
Katchafire: Still together, still jamming out. Hopefully bigger and better, but not too big that we don’t come back to Molokai. We could never be too big for that.

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Preserving the Land: Kawaikapu Blessed

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Preserving the Land: Kawaikapu Blessed

Molokai Land Trust News Release

The Moloka`i Land Trust (MLT), adjacent neighbors, and guest dignitaries participated on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at the Kawaikapu Preserve land blessing to launch the preserve’s future as a conservation and cultural preserve.

The blessing, conducted by Pastor Cappy Caparida,  honored Auntie Marie Place, Pookela, Molokai Laau Lapau and daughter of “Bamboo “ Davis, who is one of the oldest kupuna in the Kawaikapu-Kainalu Ahupuaa. William “Billy” Akutagawa spoke of Kawaikapu’s historical ownership and significance. Kawaikapu’s name literally translations to “the sacred waters” and is the birthplace of Chief Abner Paki, the grandson of High Chief Kamehameha Nui Ai Luau and the biological father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop. In subsequent years, the area provided homes for displaced residents of the Kalaupapa Peninsula who were forced to move because the newly created Hansen’s disease settlement. Ranching began in the 1850s and continued into the 20th century. Today the 196.4-acre Kawaikapu Preseve will be protected from future development and all historic and cultural sites will be protected and significant biological and ecological resources will be sustained for culture and future spiritual, cultural, and subsistence users.

Maui County Council Chair, Danny Mateo, spoke about the purchase of Kawaikapu, which started in 2004 and was finalized in December 2009, as an example of fortitude, commitment, and partnership among many government and community groups such as Maui County; State of Hawaii Legacy Lands Commission; State Department of Land and Natural Resources: State Historic Preservation Division; the landowner, Greg Gordon; Kawaikapu Community Advisory Committee; Ke Aupuni Lokahi, Inc; and MLT. “Tough challenges are worth it when you see the end result. Kawaikapu is the beginning of preserving and protecting the land for its people and a legacy for today and future generations,” said Mateo.

Abbey Mayer, former executive director of Ke Aupuni Lokahi, said, “Kawaikapu represents an opportunity to re-establish the extensive loi system in the watershed property, nurture the native plants used for cultural purposes, manage subsistence gathering, and protect the native forest. The work begins now for the community to re-establish a cultural and spiritual connection to the land,” said Mayer.

The mission of the Moloka`i Land Trust is to protect and restore the land, natural and cultural resources of Moloka`i, and to perpetuate the unique Native Hawaiian traditions and character of the islands for the benefit of the future generations of all Moloka`i, particularly Native Hawaiians.

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Katchafire Returning to Molokai

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Katchafire Returning to Molokai

In years past, popular musical acts such as Fiji, Hoaikane, and Bradah Walter have performed on Molokai. But the Friendly Isle has been missing its concert fix for a while – and is attempting a comeback with the help from a local son.

Paulele Alcon moved to Oahu for college, and has been helping friends in the music scene promote the hottest bands in the state ever since. While he works for Hawaiian Insurance during the day, following in his father Pancho’s footsteps, Alcon said he’s wanted to pursue his own kind of promotion – with a clothing brand.

“I always knew I could do things better but never had the power to do things my way – which is the reason why I've started my own [company],” he said.

,” he said.

Alcon added a big Mahalo to his partners in Oahu, Byron Tagupa and Alika Kuraoka, and his family on Molokai for always helping him here. Visit his website for more information: www.HIfinest.com

HI Finest presents Katchafire
Katchafire will be playing at Paddlers Inn on Thursday, April 15, doors open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Paddlers Inn, Chevron, Hayaku, Pancho Alcon Ltd, and Molokai Drugs for $30. Tickets at the door will be $35.

 

 

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Holocaust Remembrance Day

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Holocaust Remembrance Day

This past Monday marked the anniversary of one of the most tragic events in history and an event that humanity must never forget, the Holocaust. Sixty-five years later we find ourselves upon the last generation of survivors, and very soon those who experienced these events first hand will be gone and their stories will become only that which lies in the archives of history.

The question arises, will we pass on to our children what really took place and  learn from what occurred or will treat the Holocaust as just one of many tragic events of the past.

It is easy to believe that such bigotry and hatred cannot repeat itself in our time unless we review history and realize that what occurred was a step by step process. What began as the resentful sentiment of a few, eventually grew into widespread genocide that would see the extermination of over half of the Jewish population of the world, six million Jews in total perished.

Others considered inferior included Gypsies, homosexuals, and those with mental and physical deformities. Jehovah’s Witnesses were also singled out because of their defiance, being one of the few groups who openly and courageously refused to accept the racial laws of the state and refused an oath of allegiance to Hitler. Combined with the Jewish persecution, over 11 million people were put to death under Nazi policy.

Upon a recent trip to Maui, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit with Roman Ward, a Polish Jew who had survived the events of the Holocaust. The stories that Mr. Ward shared with us throughout our evening’s visit brought to life the horrific reality of the time. It is probably safe to say that none of us on Molokai know what it feels like to be systematically hunted down with the intention of exterminating your entire race, including everyone you know and love.

Mr. Ward went on to acknowledge that his extended family in Poland at the time was quite large, numbering in the hundreds. In the end, he and his mother would be the sole survivors of his family line. As he explained to us, fearing that at any moment he would be recognized as a Jew, it was literally his ability to be an actor that saved his life, at times pretending to be a member of Nazi Youth and at other times an altar boy at a nearby Catholic Church. From the Chronicles of history, he would go on to serve in the Haganah (Israeli military) in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In retrospect, I consider the evening we spent with Mr. Ward to be one of the most important engagements of my life.

It is essential that we never forget the Holocaust or the potential of what is possible as the result of a single seed planted that bares hate and resentment. It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to make our children understand the tragedy of the Holocaust and the tragedy of prejudice. May we never forget!

For a quick review on the events of the Holocaust go to- www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/holocaust.htm

Steve Morgan

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Long Live `Olelo Hawai`i

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Long Live `Olelo Hawai`i

The day was filled with keiki, dancing, ono food, and `olelo Hawai`i (Hawaiian language). Hundreds packed the yard of Lanikeha last Saturday, entertained by hula, Hawaiian songs, cooking demonstrations and local bands. It was Ho`omau, meaning ‘to continue,’ showcasing the Hawaiian language and culture to the community that it teaches the kids of Punana Leo o Molokai preschool.

“It’s a known fact that babies, especially two, three, four, are like sponges,” said Loke Han, director of Punana Leo. “They learn quickly and they retain a lot. If we can embed the language in them at an early age, it’s not such a chore [later].”

Different groups, from homestead associations to local crafters, joined Punana Leo in their 17th annual community celebration. The middle school had students performing songs and hula; Kula Kaiapuni Kualapu`u led their students in the Hawaiian version of the Hoki Poki, and Maui Community College handed out free sushi from their culinary program.

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