The eight members of the 'Aha Moku advisory committee were sworn in Nov. 1. From left to right, Jean Ilei Beniamina (Ni'ihau), Chairperson Vanda Wahinekuipua Hanakahi (Moloka'i), Winifred “Winnie” Mano Basques (Lāna'i), Charles Kapua (O'ahu), Leslie Aipalena Kuloloio (Kaho'olawe), Timmy Paulokaleioku Bailey (Maui), Sharon Pomroy (Kaua'i) and Hugh “Buttons” Lovell (Hawai'i). - Photo: Courtesy of 'Aha Moku advisory committee.

'Aha Moku council moves forward with newly announced advisory committee

By Ka Wai Ola Staff

More than 100 Native Hawaiian experts and kūpuna (elders) versed in Native Hawaiian traditional fishing and farming practices gathered Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Honolulu to discuss the nuts and bolts of creating a modern day 'Aha Moku Council System.

Based on pre-contact natural resource governance in Hawai'i, the 'Aha Moku system recognizes the traditional geo-political division of each island into ahupua'a (akin to the present-day concept of watershed areas) and moku (a political district of two or more adjacent ahupua'a).

The 24th Hawai'i Legislature endorsed the 'Aha Moku Council System with passage of Act 212, which Gov. Linda Lingle signed into law on June 27, 2007. The Act, among other things, creates an eight-member advisory committee to facilitate creation of the 'Aha Moku Council System. Under the Act, the various moku on each island will select an 'Aha Kiole, and the eight 'Aha Kiole will form an 'Aha Moku Council Commission, which will oversee the 'Aha Moku Council System and be its liaison to the legislature.

The eight members selected for the 'Aha Moku advisory committee are:

Vanda Wahinekuipua Hanakahi, Moloka'i, chair of the committee, a community cultural specialist. In her childhood home, Hawaiian was the spoken language and Hawaiian cultural practices were a way of life.

Timmy Paulokaleioku Bailey, Maui, a biological science technician at Haleakalā National Park. He is recognized as an authority on the relationship between Native Hawaiian natural resources and culture.

Winifred “Winnie” Mano Basques, Lāna'i, is retired from Lāna'i Community Hospital and serves on the County of Maui's Council of Aging. She learned the lawai'a and mahi'ai practices and knowledge of her ancestors from her kūpuna.

Jean Ilei Beniamina, Kaua'i, an assistant professor in student services, Kaua'i Community College. She is an award-winning singer/songwriter, leading organizer and community liaison for Hawai'ian education and one of the founders of 'Aha Punana Leo, being named the Native Hawaiian Education Association's 2007 Educator of the Year.

Charles William Kanaha Kapua, O'ahu, is retired from the Honolulu Police Department and the U.S. Army Reserve. He was taught the ways of mahi'ai and lawai'a from his grandparents, Elizabeth and David Hoopi'i, who began teaching him from the age of 6.

Leslie Aipalena Kuloloio, Kaho'olawe, is a cultural expert who believes in a simple Hawaiian lifestyle, which includes fishing and planting using natural resources found within one's own moku boundaries. The island of Kaho'olawe is part of his ancestral and cultural connections through both of his parents' genealogies.

Hugh “Buttons” Lovell, Hawai'i, agricultural research specialist, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, Kamuela, Hawai'i. He was raised by his mother and grandparents, John and Precious Puniwai in Pu'ue'o, island of Hawai'i (Moku 'O Keawe), from whom he learned traditional planting, gathering and fishing practices.

Sharon Pomroy, Kaua'i, Lehua Mamo Flower Farm. One acre of her six-acre farm is dedicated to restoring the native forest that once grew there. She offers her knowledge in planting native tress to her neighbors and helps with plantings for the Kanuikapono Charter School in Anahola.

Nominees for the advisory committee, as mandated by Act 212, were nominated by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and selected by Gov. Lingle. The eight members of the newly formed advisory committee were sworn in on Nov. 1.