LEO 'ELELE - TRUSTEE MESSAGES

OHA Kō'ele Workday

Colette Y. Machado Trustee, Moloka'i and Lāna'i

He aliÿi ka ÿāina, he kauwā ke kanaka.
Land is the chief, humans its servants.
— 'Ōlelo No'eau, Pukui (1983)

February marks the beginning of a new era for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, for the first time, we've expanded to become land managers. OHA's nonprofit LLC, Hi'ipaka, will assume management of Waimea Valley on Feb. 1. The kuleana, responsibility of a land tenant or steward, is a considerable one that cannot be taken lightly. The task at hand is to successfully integrate traditional and customary land management values with contemporary techniques and best practices.

To celebrate this momentous event, OHA has organized a workday for Trustees, staff and volunteers to perform general maintenance and cleanup of the Valley. OHA's workday in Waimea is named “OHA Kō'ele Workday,” said Kaiwi Nui, OHA's Oahu Conservation Land Manager. “Kō'ele refers to a workday (usually a Friday) in which the maka'āinana farmed plots of land for the ali'i and refers to an area where fish can be kept and fed until it is ready to be harvested.”

Kaiwi Nui adds, “extracting meaning from these two hana lima (working with hands) examples of kō'ele, the basic intent of kō'ele is to set aside time and resources to give back for the greater good. And, in order to do so, one must plan smartly until the time is ready.”

In a way, OHA has been preparing for the assumption of Waimea for several months now. On Oct. 8, 2007, OHA held a first-ever organizational retreat. “Envision Pu'uhonua — a place of refuge, in which we shall live our Values and Principles.” The all-day event helped employees renew the commitment, the vision and principles of OHA's Mission:

To malama Hawaiÿi's people and environmental resources and OHA's assets, toward ensuring the perpetuation of the culture, the enhancement of lifestyle and the protection of entitlements of Native Hawaiians, while enabling the building of a strong and healthy Hawaiian people and nation, recognized nationally and internationally.

With such a comprehensive and far-reaching mission, retreat organizers felt it important to do a ceremonial kūkulu kumuhana. A practice still found in many Hawaiian families today, kūkulu kumuhana is described as the pooling of strengths, emotional, psychological and spiritual, for a shared purpose.

OHA staff participated in the sharing by bringing in small amounts of sand from their respective moku, or island. In small groups, individuals were asked to add their sand to a collective wooden bowl while sharing histories, goals and other mana'o. At the end of the brief time together, a mound of sand, from every corner of Hawai'i nei, compiled the mana, or essence, of each member of the organization, for a shared purpose…OHA's mission.

Armed with these core principles: Kākou, Aloha Kekahi I Kekahi, Pono Pau 'ole, Mālama Kekahi I Kekahi, Kuleana, Kūlia, Po'okela, and Ho'omau, the organization moved into 2008 with a renewed focus and sense of commitment.

OHA has been honored with the opportunity to be on-site practitioners. “The OHA Kō'ele Workday gives us a chance to set aside time and resources for one another as 'ohana and as equal caretakers to give back to something far greater than ourselves: 'āina. This basic understanding reminds us that we are but servants to 'āina, as 'āina has always nurtured our needs and continues to do so. This basic understanding uniquely helps define us as Hawaiian — the intimate and unconditional aloha for 'āina,” concluded Kaiwi Nui.

2008 brings with it a daunting list of undertakings, from Washington, D.C., all the way to Kaua'i, from land management to economic business loans. Many tasks are new to OHA, many have been on-going struggles. With hope and anticipation, OHA moves forward, with Waimea Valley as a physical reminder of what defines us as an organization and a culture.