children (5)

SHAKING IT IN HALEIWA!!!

Mahalo to Waialua Community Association for allowing AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESS ALLIANCE to use their gym for outreach service. AHHA provides service (employment, housing, financial referrals, etc.) to houseless population on the Northshore, Oahu every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..

I work with great people who does outreach regardless if rain or shine. Our work never ends, however the smile on their faces keep us in touch with reality because I or you can be one paycheck away from being homeless too!

keapoi namakaeha

Read more…

On Kamehameha Schools

Aloha,Recently while at lunch with 'ohana we were discussing our great grand aunty, Bernice Pauahi Paki Bishop and got to talk about the school waiving the tuition fees. I said to my cousins, they shouldn't stop there, they should waive the testing as well, to give our Hawaiian children a chance to attend Kamehameha schools. So they asked me to write an article in the Starbulletin which I did and it was posted in yesterday's editorial (March 8, 2010). Check it out.Bernice's mother Laura Konia, has at least three half brothers of which the eldest was Kaholi, who is my father's great grand father. Everyone present with exception of a few who didn't attend the luncheon represented one of the 14 brother and sisters in my father's generation. It was a wonderful gathering filled with chants, stories and talk of a family reunion. We had a great time, the food was great and a few of my cousins got themselves blasted drinking their favorites. Myself and a few other cousins did not drink alcohol but we had a great time catching up on family and what we are doing in our lives.Kupuna Pomai Kinney saw it in my e-mail as he wrote to me to go to Maoli world. I did, then I called him back and told him how this article came about...actually, I was surprised that it even got printed. One thing led to another and a response came in from Kaohi who responded by saying to be, "cautious" about pushing it too far. Well, that's my middle name, "push the envelope as far as possible" and see what happens. I wrote back to Kaohi's second responses but don't know if she got it, because when I pushed the "Send Comment" button, nothing happened and that box stayed grey. So frustrating sometimes.My cousins also saw it and they called to talk story again. We are now planning a family reunion. So all you folks related to: I, Moana, Keawe and Liloa please take notice and involve yourself so we can build a case for Kamehameha schools to also take notice of what our people are going to be saying and proposing from Kamehameha schools when it comes to the education of all of our Hawaiian chldren, don't matter if they are homeless or have a home, Pauahi meant for ALL the Hawaiian children to attend that school. That's how we feel.Got written feed back from Kaohi about the article and it is posted in the independence alliance page in this venue. I responded but don't think it went through so I'm going to sum-up what I wrote there in response to Kaohi.Kaohi is worried that Kamehameha schools would bring back the "lottery" system...I don't see any basis for that and wrote back to her that as long as we continue to share information and educate our family in the inner circle and work our way outwards into the community and the world, such as in these types of venues, eventually our people will catch on and do what needs to be done to secure their education, get a good job, give back to their community, build a house and educate themselves on Hawaiian Kingdom law, they will have more than what we had while growing up in this crooked system called the Fakestatehood.I proceeded by telling her that as na kupuna our kuleana should be to promote that ALL the Hawaiian children go to Kamehameha IF THEY SO CHOOSE...but that they shouldn't be kept out because they cannot pay or not pass the test...infact, if they fail at these two qaualifications...it is because of this hurddle that they should be admitted because they HAVE A NEED. I hope I was clear. Then she mentioned Ku Kahakalau and her husband with their children living in Waipio, that that is what our children need to learn and I agree, but not everyone can go to Waipio.I also shared that Ku Kahakalau and her husband Nalei are old friends way back in the Kaho'olawe 'ohana days and that I really aloha them for how and what they are teaching their chldren and living their lives the way our ancestors lived; growing taro, catching fish and talking Hawaiian, involved in Charter Schools, living in Waipio valley and enjoying their lives living off of those lands. What a way to live.I also shared that there is a need to allow all the groups pushing for independence to do their spiritual work and when they are ready, to come together when we can put all the puzzles together and work as one when the plan is clear..that one problem in this movement we have to all overcome is not to let prejudism and racism get in the way to blind us and block those non-Hawaiians who support what we are doing and where we are headed as a country...especially, it is only a handful of Hawaiians who holds animosity towards non-Hawaiians such as the Japanese, Haoles, Chines, Negros, Portugese, etc. that keeps the advanced forces from entering our struggle. That we hae to be open minded and always educate as many possible on many different front and to write in venues such as the editorial and in this venue as well.Kamehameha schools cannot say they don't have money. We know they have at least almost 10 billion dollars in their account. That should eliminate the tuition fees, but the testing has to also go or face more suits from non-Hawaiians who want to break that school down and make it a public school. (mark my words, with the state in dire straights you can bet that they have approached Kamehameha schools to PAY for their DOE system.) We cannot allow them to dip into our bank accounts...they will have create their own bank accounts or become Hawaiian nationals.In closing I want to apologize to all those that used to write to my page. For some reason I am "not ALLOWED" to write there anymore and don't know how long this site will last. Just know that I had nothing to do with what happened to my sites: The Whole Bag of Poi, Bernice Pauahi Paki Bishop, Kauhale O Waimanalo (which we ended)and all the other sites I joined as well. I apologize for the break in those communications and letting you all know that the problem does lie with the moderator to whom I complained and still the problem is no fixed. Smells like a political move against the progressive forces in the independence movement, time will tell.Again, thank you to Poma, Kaohi and my 'ohana for their responses. Let us continue to build our ties for the sake of the next generations.Take care and God Bless,Kawehi Kanui
Read more…

Hauoli La Hanau E Kawailani: My Shinning Hoku

On May 28, 2002, Kawailani Maliekini Maiolo Namaka'eha Fifita was born at Kaiser Hospital. Kawailani celebrated her 7th birthday last night! Such a akamai kaikamahine to her siblings! Kawailani had given her "wish list to her god mother" which entails seven items.Of course, I bought her favorite cake - Dobash! That is my favorite too! Hauoli La Hanau to KAWAILANI!Kawailani knows who she is named after and proud to be Kanaka Maoli!

Wishing Hauoli La Hanau to other na keiki too!
Read more…
I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee and all of a sudden my throat got clogged and tears welled up in my eyes. I was thinking about my children and how far we've come.I'm a single mother and to say that I've been without struggles would be a complete lie. I've seen my fair of struggles. What compounded those struggles was that I didn't think I'd have anything to leave my children whom I love dearly with all my heart and all my soul. I would die for them if I had to. Still I continued with my daily existence to give them what I could, not materially for we are poor, but I vowed to at least give them spiritually, emotionally, build their self esteem, pray, be thankful for what we do have, a roof over our head (a pretty decent house with a big yard), food, car, money enough for gas and pay the electric bill. I try to fill them with creativity as an outlet and they are creative. And now I've found Maoliworld and my children are on here and although they have their crazy fun with people their age they also seek out the wisdom of Kupuna here on Maoliworld which is something I encourage them to do. This place is a wealth of wisdom and I'm just amazed!Still there was a heaviness in my heart for I knew that someday, at the rate land was being gobbled up for rich developers and money hungry mongrels, to even have a hope for land and a house they could call their own, they would have to move to Las Vegas or Iowa or somewhere thereabouts just to have a house. So many Kanaka are moving off island for that reason and it was very, very discouraging. We Love the island life, we don't want to move.I moved my family here from Guam (a place that I Love very much!) because when free land was being given (well you had to pay $50.00) I couldn't qualify because I didn't have Chamorro blood. I didn't get upset or anything but I was a little down because I wanted the land for my daughter. Because I grew up on Guam I didn't really know the extent of the land grabbing being done by the developers and profiteers. I believed that because I was Hawaiian (I know now that I'm Kanaka Maoli) I could get land here in Hawaii (Ko Hawaii Pae Aina). I was sadly mistaken, well not really, I could get land, for 1/2 million dollars. There was always DHHL which in my heart I didn't believe in because it was only for 50%er's and there was extensive research that needed to be done. I began the process of researching so I could apply all the while knowing that the house would be left to 3 of my children but I remained thankful that I had at least that. Now I know it was and is crumbs the de facto throws our way to appease "the natives" (natives = small "n" stands for 50%er's) just like they'll take a Kanaka family to court, the Kanaka family has all their deeds, lawful deeds and Palapala Sila Nui, Palapala Hooko but the foreigner will "win" in court* but to appease the family will take, if the family had 11acres, 7 of their acres and "give" 3 acres to the Kanaka family. B.S. and bola bola! I'm talking about land in Lanai that my ggg grandfather held a Royal Patent Grant (private kuleana) on. I'm in the process of completing my documents and will move forward to give notice to the current occupiers of my family's ownership of the land. There's is also 99 acres from my maternal ggg grandfather which is also on Lanai.Now comes the time when my silent prayers are met. Here is where I meet the person who, after exhaustive teachings, finally gets me to realize what "koe nae na kuleana o na Kanaka" is. Once I realize what it is I grab it and run with it. Now my children have 2 acres in Honualua (I've included a picture of a map) and 5 acres in Molokai. Will they ever go to Molokai? I doubt it. But hey, we don't do it just to pass land down to our children and future generations, we do it to assist in keeping the development out!The most recent victory is the Hokulia development in Hawaii. The developers have done gone bankrupt. They cannot get insurance when the title to the land is filled with red flags (palapala koe nae submitted to the currently occupied Bureau of Conveyances). If they cannot get insurance they cannot get the financial backing they need to develop from potential investor's. This is also what happened on Molokai and Hale Mua in Wailuku (even the attorney's went bankrupt).So, now comes the part that upsets me. The rumor(s) that people (Kanaka) who are taking part in koe nae are taking all the land. What? There are 440,000 Kanaka Maoli counted in the world, there is millions of acres of land in Ko Hawaii Pae Aina, how can we be taking all the land? That's not logical.This is the second time I've heard of something that threatens to take the land away from children, and their children, and their children, land that cannot be sold but can be handed down for generations to come. This is the second time I've heard of someone trying to down grade koe nae and by doing that they perpetuae the development of our lands, the use of our water, and all kinds of activity that is not beneficial to Kanaka and their children. Why would you do that? Why would you try to do something that would stop the progress of something so positive, the most positive action I've ever seen here in Ko Hawaii Pae Aina? Why would someone say it is illegal? It is part of the He Kumu Kanawai, the Constitution set forth by King Kamehameha III that if not for him we probably really would have nothing, no lawful rights, aliens in our own land. Why would you come to one of our classes and stand outside passing out fliers to your meetings and telling people who are attending the class that what is being taught inside is illegal? Why?That's all I want to know is why? And part of my tears this morning is because I hurt when I know that people, whether consciously or unconsciously are hurting my children. You are hurting them by trying to take their land away and I equate that action with the action of rich developers and profiteers. What is your profit? And how will my children pay for it?

Read more…