Ukumehame: cloudy land title?

Ukumehame: cloudy land title?Jan WeldaTuesday, April 22, 2008 4:38 PMOn the morning of Tuesday, April 15, 2008, Keali‘ikauikahano (Keali‘i) Blaisdell-Aken and Robert Armitage Sr. were arrested for trespassing on what they consider to be their own land. It was the second arrest in as many weeks for Armitage, who had come to help his family legally claim their ancestral lands after a key decision by the State of Hawai‘i’s Supreme Court was handed down January 31, 2008. Blaisdell-Aken said, “The kanaka maoli are returning home to lands that are rightfully ours. The land was always ours to begin with; we are the living heirs and descendants of this kuleana land. Ukumehame is Crown Lands, to be used for native Hawaiian cultural purposes; Olowalu Sugar was given a 100 year lease on this land, which has expired, and so the land should have reverted to Crown Lands.”The land in question is located between Ma‘alaea and Lahaina, near Mile Marker 14 on the Honoapiilani Highway. Ukumehame encompasses hundreds of undeveloped acres which include many sacred heiau, (sites for worship), fresh water springs, a hot spring, and a swiftly flowing stream that provides habitat for things like freshwater clams, opae and o‘opu, and a breeding ground for small fish that larger salt water fish rely on as a food source. There’s also a small water reservoir and many habitats for a wide variety of endangered species - endemic plants, insects and animals such as nene (Hawaiian goose) and the Hawaiian Coot, not to mention breathtaking mountain and ocean views at every turn.On February 14, 2008, a small group of friends and relatives including Blaisdell-Aken and Armitage set up tents and began occupying and actively improving this land, beginning to restore some of the ancient taro lo‘i by the streams, encouraging the existing sweet cherry tomato plants, the bitter melon vines and all the native Hawaiian food plants and trees that grow there naturally.“All lands in the Hawaiian islands have cloudy titles,” according to Bumpy Kanahele, a Hawaiian healer and activist who has been in on many of the meetings and key decision-making groups regarding native Hawaiian rights over the past thirty years or so. Ed Lindsey of Makawao echoed that sentiment, telling me, “All land titles in Hawaii are built on a house of cards. If any one of the native Hawaiian organizations are successful in pulling out one of those cards, the whole stack falls down.”And this is where the confusion comes in for many people – there are several different native Hawaiian groups claiming to be the only legitimate one (see the article on page 2 regarding Henry Noa’s Reinstated Kingdom of Hawaii), all trying to accomplish the same thing by different routes, and most seeming to be at odds with each other. And what about that Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and the Akaka Bill? They all want justice for the Hawaiian people, but identifying and clarifying the truth in all of this seems almost to depend on whose viewpoint you agree with. Blaisdell-Aken says that “the last existing remnant of the Hawaiian Monarchial Government is the Department of Land and Natural Resources, or DLNR, which was commissioned by King Kamehameha III.”Recently, many kanaka maoli – intelligent, motivated people – have been focusing on the existing laws pertaining to these issues with laser-like intensity, rapidly educating themselves, seeking ever more knowledge, unearthing and studying laws, old documents and land grants, encouraging others to do the same, passing the word along. Citing legal documents such as the Apology Resolution* signed by President Bill Clinton acknowledging the United States’ illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Francis Anthony Boyle’s Restoration of the Independent Nation State of Hawaii under International Law, published in the St. Thomas Law Review in 1995, and the recent Supreme Court decision of January 31, 2008**, they are actively going about the business of setting things right.Many realtor websites exist which advertise ag-zoned lots in this area “ranging from 2.7 to 13 acres in size,” several of which have already been sold, in the price range of $995,000 to $1,395,000.“These sites will be wonderful for those seeking to build a dream home on Maui,” one website boasts. Many of these advertisements emphasize the rich Hawaiian culture here: “It speaks… of Hawaiian ancestry, and generations who lived and worked here. Of how, in times of trouble, this was a safe haven… and still is.”Blaisdell-Aken asks, “Why is it that our culture is good enough for the tourists, but when we practice it and live it, it’s a violation of law?”Time will tell whether this land is a safe haven or not; in the meantime, it might be a good idea for ALL of us to educate ourselves on the issues at stake.See www. ukumehamemaui.com and www.bumpykanahele.com.* formally known as the Joint Resolution to Acknowledge the 100th Anniversary of the January 17, 1893 Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, this document was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993.** called “Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Rowena Akana, Haunani Apoliona, Dante Carpenter, Donald Cataluna, Linda Dela Cruz, Colette Machado, Boyd P. Mossman, Oswald Stender, and John Waihee IV, in their official capacities as members of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Pia Thomas Aluli, Jonathan Kamakawiwoole Osorio, Charles Kaaia, and Keoki Kamaka Kiili, Plaintiffs-Apellants, vs. Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai‘i (HCDCH), Robert J. Hall, in his capacity as Acting Executive Director of HCDCH, Charles Sted, Chair; Stephanie Aveiro, Francis L. Jung, Charles King, Lillian B. Koller, Betty Lou Larson, Theodore E. Liu, Travis Thompson, Taiaopo, Tuimaleiliifano, Members of the Board of Directors of HCDCH, State of Hawai‘i, and Linda Lingle, in her capacity as Governor, State of Hawai‘i, Defendants-Apellees.Copyright © 2007 The Haleakala Times.

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Ukumehame: cloudy land title?

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