Word of possible eviction sparked support rally for Kahana 'Ohana including these sign wavers on Kamehameha* Hwy. - Photo: Liza Simon

Inaction on Kahana Valley evictions
spurs jubilation – at least for a day

By Liza Simon / Ka Wai Ola

Just after dawn on Oct. 27, a police car turned into the entrance of the Ahupua'a O Kahana State Park. A tense murmur of “here we go again” rippled through the crowd of more than 200 gathered to support the six families on notice from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to vacate the Windward O'ahu park because their residences there are without leases or permits.

As it turned out, HPD was there on an unrelated complaint and DLNR would not be evicting anyone that day. State Rep. Colleen Meyer (R-Lā'ie, Hau'ula, Punalu'u), who arrived in the early morning hours to join supporters, told the crowd that DLNR Chairperson Laura Thielen would put the planned eviction on hold until she had the chance to discuss the state's position with the families of Kahana Valley, who hunt, fish and farm the lushly vegetated ahupua'a of their ancestors but are not eligible to enter into any new lease agreements for valley lots under state law governing the park.

“It's been the tactic to try to wear us down, because we are standing in their way of a public park plan, but they don't even have anything to show us when we say show us the master plan,” said potential evictee Ervin Kahala, referring to DLNR, which oversees the valley. “What's happening here is bad for all Hawai'i. How can anyone trust government when they come and do as they please with the land that never belonged to them to begin with?”

Throughout the 1960s, commercial developers expressed interest in bringing large-scale development to Kahana Valley. In the interests of preservation, the state purchased the land from a private owner in 1970 and established Ahupua'a O Kahana State Park. A bid by the valley's original families to remain, led a state task force to create a cultural preserve “living park.” Legislative funds in 1987 established a subdivision in the park for Kahana families. They were offered leases and low-interest loans for home-building with the stipulation that in place of lease rent they contribute 25 hours of labor per month to providing the living park with interpretive services for the public.

Under these conditions, 31 leases were issued for lots in the mauka portion of Kahana Valley. Three have since gone into default and 28 leases remain intact. At issue now, however, are the residences of six families – most of them 'ohana of the original valley leaseholders, who constructed homes without lease agreements in the makai area not part of the original subdivision.

DLNR Chairperson Laura Thielen said in a written statement Oct. 24 that new leases could not be issued. “Kahana is a public park set aside for all the people of Hawai'i, and therefore the law doesn't permit any new private residential leases,” she said, citing Act 5, which ended the state's authority to issue new private, residential leases in the park after 1993.

“With the enactment of Act 5 by the state Legislature in 1987, the state sought to accommodate families with ties to Kahana, but it was not the intent of the state or Legislature to provide housing for all those in future generations,” she said.

With the backing of a legal opinion from state Attorney General Mark Bennett, DLNR in June gave the six families without leases 90 days notice to vacate. A final notice to vacate was posted on Oct. 22 and expired at 6 a.m. on the morning of the rally on Kamehameha* Highway.

“We're peaceful people and we do everything to aloha the park and people who come here,” said Thoran Evans, who faces eviction from the valley with his family of five. Even after hearing Rep. Meyer's report of a reprieve, Evans he was on guard. He said he was shaken after seeing the removal of a Kahana Valley family from the beach side of Kamehameha* Highway carried out in 2004 by armed officers and a canine unit. Evans spent the morning advising the crowd to “lock arms, stand strong and protest peacefully” if DLNR showed up. He had spent the weekend packing his belongings and was ready to seek shelter in a relative's house, but, in the meantime, he wanted answers to the question of why he is not eligible to lease his ancestral land. “Even if the DLNR isn't here today, it's not over yet. The state wants the land, because Kahana supplies most of O'ahu's water, so we will be fighting for our water too,” said Evans, who works as a garden specialist at nearby Nā Kamalei school.

Terri Keko'olani, a program coordinator for the Hawai'i American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group, said that notice of the planned eviction circulated by e-mail and drew the attention of groups from across the state and the U.S. continent concerned with indigenous human rights. “Kanaka Maoli have an inherent human right to live in peace on their ancestral lands,” she said. “The state should respect that.”

The crowd of Kahana Valley supporters also included people from the neighbor islands, charter schools, sovereignty groups and other O'ahu communities. Support also came from motorists who honked their horns at the sign wavers, many in a jubilant mood after hearing that the eviction was at least delayed.

“My grandfather always said we were rich, because we have roots in Kahana Valley. It is so beautiful here. At night, there is not a sound to be heard anywhere,” said Kaliko Antoku-Leota, who does not face eviction. When the subdivision first opened in the 1990s, Leota, a kumu hula, composed a chant for the happy occasion, but she also remembers many kūpuna over the years going to meeting after meeting trying to sort through the details of the state agreements that seemed unclear or unfair to families wanting to share their leases with extended 'ohana. Many were also not able to find adequate answers to questions about their responsibilities related to upkeep of Kahana Valley's living park, said Leota.

Meyer, the area representative, said that the “spirit of the law” supports allowing the descendants of the Kahana Ahupua'a to stay put. She said she would like to introduce legislation to legalize new leases for them in Kahana Valley. “Otherwise, we are potentially making more families homeless during a difficult economy,” said Meyer.

Responding in an Oct. 28th written statement, Thielen said she will meet with Rep. Meyer and Sen. Clayton Hee (D-Kāne'ohe, Kahuku) to hear their concerns. In the meantime, she said DLNR will give the six families more time to prepare to move. She said DLNR is working with OHA, Alu Like and Catholic Charities to provide transitional housing for those affected.

Check oha.org for updates on DLNR action concerning the Kahana Valley residents.

* This story originally cited Kalaniana'ole Hwy. as the location of Kahana Valley. The valley and bay are located on Kamehameha Hwy. It has been corrected here.