Aloha `aina, Just when we thought the ceded lands bill was dead, a few members of the House of Representatives in the Hawai`i legislature have gone out of their way to keep it alive.
It seems their plan is to use a bill lingering from last year with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as the subject, gutting the wording and replace it with the ceded lands settlement.
At the same time OHA has been transferring millions of dollars worth of beneficiary lands and money into their private corporations.
Lands on Kaua`i were transferred into their Hi`ileialoha limited liability corporation, as was Waimea Falls Park on O`ahu. A few weeks ago a half a million dollars went in and word now is another $4.2 million transfer will soon occur.
All this without consulting anyone, including beneficiaries or even a master plan.
We’ll have more, fast-breaking details about all of this in the next few days on Free Hawai`i TV. Be sure and tune in for all the latest updates.
And by the way, if you support our issues on the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network, please email this to a friend and see below how you can help us continue our work.
But if you smell a rat in all of this, here’s how you can help stop this backdoor dealing.
Send an email to the following legislators and let them know you want the ceded lands settlement stopped now –
repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repsouki@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repchong@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repcaldwell@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repboshiro@capitol.hawaii.gov, repfinnegan@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repmeyer@Capitol.hawaii.gov, reppine@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov, testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov
And while you’re at it, send an email to these reps to demand the audit of OHA (SCR138 SD1) to proceed –
repito@Capitol.hawaii.gov, testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov, senbaker@Capitol.hawaii.gov, sentsutsui@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repkaramatsu@Capitol.hawaii.gov, repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov
You don’t have to live in Hawai`i to help out here.
In fact, we ask you forward this info to everyone you know who cares about Hawai`i and its people.
It’s a way you can help make a difference this week along with all of us right here on Voices Of Truth – One-On-One With Hawai`i’s Future.
MONDAY, April 7th At 7:00 PM & FRIDAY, April 11th At 5:30 PM – Hawai`i Island – Na Leo, Channel 53
“Modern Konohiki – A Visit With Ke`eaumoku Kapu”
“What is the destiny in your life?
“What is the history of this place and is there a place suitable for me?”
These are questions that drive the spirit of Ke`eaumoku Kapu, modern day warrior and protector of the `aina.
A former construction worker building houses and highways, Ke`eaumoku’s first awakening came during the 1993 Onipa`a March in Honolulu.
The second occurred when he found himself actually making concrete parts for the H-3 freeway, which eventually caused the desecration of ancient sites in Halawa Valley on O`ahu.
Needing to earn money to feed his family, he kept asking himself, “Is what I’m doing pono, is it just? Is the knowledge I’m acquiring through the corporate system legitimate, based on my life as an island person and Kanaka Maoli?”
Soon thereafter he walked in, quit his job and dedicated the rest of his life to answering the question, “Is there a way to create just with the unjust?”
Today he and his wife run no less than five associations dedicated to serving those threatened with losing their family land to corporate development.
Don’t miss Ke`eaumoku as he leads us through his own awakening that took him from someone whose life was run by US corporations to the warrior he is today who sits on the County of Maui Cultural Resources Commission and the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. See for yourself how he realized the “contemporary management system has nothing to do with our upbringing as Kanaka Maoli,” and the words he lives by – “we must do whatever we can because our land is at stake.”
TUESDAY, April 8th At 6:30 PM & WEDNESDAY, April 9th At 6:30 AM – Maui – Akaku, Channel 53
“Eyes Of The Kupuna – A Visit With Aunty Pele Hanoa”
Imagine living next to a beautiful black sands beach, a place you’ve lived your entire life.
Nature is at your door. The ocean, the beach, endangered turtles use the area coming ashore to breed.
Now also imagine tour buses pulling up next to your home and brining one thousand tourists a day. That’s right, one thousand tourists every single day.
Tourists who harass the turtles, steal the sand for souvenirs, leave litter, and behave obnoxiously.
How would you like to put up with that every day of your life?
Aunty Pele does.
Born and raised in Punalu`u, she’s a prime example of old Hawai`i - staying on the land where you were born, because you were taught from an early age to malama the `aina – care for your ancestral land.
All around her things are changing – and not for the better. Multi-national corporations building developments on the shore and then stealing the water from agricultural lands for their projects.
Yet none of this stops her.
Be sure and catch our visit with Aunty Pele. You’ll be as inspired as we were by this remarkable kupuna who stops at nothing and whose message is one you’ll long remember – “We accepted everyone who came to Hawai`i. Now they should reciprocate by protecting and caring for what we have.”
THURSDAY, April 10th At 8:30 PM & FRIDAY, April 11th At 8:30 AM – Kaua`i – Ho`ike, Channel 52
“Hale Halawai – Monument To Activists – A Visit With Soli Papakihei Niheu”
People were concerned about longtime Hawaiian political activist Soli Papakihei Niheu.
In poor health and living in an old one-room structure in Waimea, his friends knew he needed something better.
So they decided to act. They collected contributions, both money and materials, and soon had enough resources to build him a new house.
That’s when Soli stepped forward to let them know he didn’t want a house.
Instead he wanted the one thing missing in Hawai`i that’s common throughout most other islands in the Pacific - a hale halawai.
Similar to the Maori marae in Aotearoa, (New Zealand,) hale halawai is a formal meeting place to receive and host visitors from far and wide, through Hawaiian protocol and hospitality.
Soli saw his hale halawai as a place to host sovereignty movement activists from all over Te Moana Nui – The Polynesian Triangle.
Because Soli had dedicated his life to serving others, they knew they now had to do the same thing for him.
So they built it for him.
In our moving and highly inspirational visit with Soli, you’ll hear him tell his story and see the pictures for yourself of how his hale halawai became reality. Surviving two earthquakes and many other challenges, Soli persevered in his vision of having both a monument to his heroes, the early pioneers of the sovereignty movement, as well as a place for today to teach the young.
SATURDAY, April 12th At 8:00 PM – O`ahu - `Olelo, Channel 53
“Continuing The Quest – A Visit With Earl Louis”
Living his entire life of 43 years in Punalu`u, on Hawai`i Island, Earl has seen a lot of changes.
Located in the district of Ka`u, he tells us Punalu`u sees more development and tourists practically every day.
A fierce advocate for preserving the last uninhabited coastline on Hawai`i Island, Earl knows both the good and bad news - Punalu`u is not only beautiful but easily accessible.
“Why should we cater to people who want to destroy this land with more resorts and condominiums?”
That’s the question Earl confronts on a daily basis.
Fertilizers from resort golf courses flow to the ocean, killing off the limu (seaweed) that is food for both the fish and Hawksbill turtle that come to nest on Punalu`u beaches and lay their eggs.
Earl’s mission of trying to save the entire eighty-mile coastline might seem daunting to some.
To him, it’s simply what must be done.
Join us in our amazing visit with Earl and you’ll experience what we did - a humble man whose words stay with you a very long time - “This is what the ancestors left for us thousands of years ago. We need to educate our visitors. They don’t know how special and sacred this `aina is. Development is not the only answer.”
Voices Of Truth interviews those creating a better future for Hawai`i to discover what made them go from armchair observers to active participants in the hopes of inspiring viewers to do the same.
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