New County Dept. Puts Culture at Forefront

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

As the first of its kind, Maui County’s Department of ‘Oiwi Resources seeks to steward a variety of Hawaiian cultural resources county-wide.

The new department was established on July 1, 2024, after Maui County residents voted in favor of its creation in 2022. It is organized into three divisions looking at protecting specific cultural assets in each: Kumuwaiola, Kipuka and Pai Ka Leo. Kumuwaiola will focus on “eco-cultural landscapes.” Kipuka will look to “safeguard and steward lands of concentrated natural and cultural importance.” And Pai Ka Leo will support the Hawaiian language, reinforcing the bilingual nature of Maui County’s government.

Key goals for the new department include restoring cultural artifacts across Maui Nui, performing inventory of ‘oiwi resources, providing archaeological consulting, Hawaiian language resources and more.

For Molokai residents, news of the department’s creation brought many positive responses at a community meeting on March 19.

“We’re going to be community driven,” said Director Kapono’ai Molitau, who is also the founder of Native Intelligence, a Hawaiian cultural resource center and retailer on Maui.

And while the department will be county-wide, Molitau explained that Molokai will play a large role in discussions and implementation in the department’s goals.

“Molokai has an ability to teach and share to the rest of Maui Nui, the rest of Hawaii and the rest of the world how we should live, and how we should care for ‘aina and space,” explained Molitau.

The nascent department aims to support community efforts via grants, with an excess of $300,000 available to be dispersed.

Molitau explained that their overall mission is “speak for things that don’t have a voice themselves.”

To fulfill this responsibility, the department is looking at a wide array of possible sites for protection and resources management. These range from “the top of the mountain to the shoreline,” said Molitau, with the long-term goal of “making sure that the next seven generations can still call Molokai, Molokai.”

“This department is so necessary,” said Molokai resident Zhan Lindo at the March meeting. “It validates all of our concerns.”

Maui County community nonprofits are currently invited to apply for grants from the Department of Oiwi Resources. Applications will be accepted through April 25. Key eligibility requirements are available on the Department of ʻOiwi Resources webpage mauicounty.gov/2832/Oiwi-Resources-Grants.
For more information on the grant process, call (808) 270-1719 or email oiwigrants@co.maui.hi.us.