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Hawai'i Alaka'i Project (Community Mentor Program) 2004

HAWAI'I 2007 The Arts of Life

Last year we reported on the tremendous growth in our Hawaiian programming since we began our collaborations with Hawaiian mentor, musician and friend Brother Noland Conjugacion. The events of 2007 brought us ever closer to our goal of establishing TTPHI-808 (translation: The Tracking Project Hawai‘i, area code 808). In four separate visits—February, March, June and September—we traveled to O‘ahu and Moloka‘i for an array of gatherings that carried our Hawaiian Arts of Life programs to new heights.

This report will cover our Arts of Life work in February, March and September. Our June visit and work with the third and final year of the Cottonwood mentor program is covered in a separate report—Nurturing the Roots (NTR) / Cottonwood School 2004–2007.

Grade 1 students stalk to the ocean at Halona Point, O‘ahu, 2007.

These visits represented twenty-one consecutive years of work with the traditional movement in Hawai‘i Nei. Since our early work in the ’80s with cultural activists, land issues and the sovereignty movement, our programs have continued to evolve and adapt to island life. Guided by our Native Hawaiian Advisors Mililani Trask and Yuklin Aluli, Miki Maeshiro, Brother Noland and other local cultural practitioners, we have put together a package of survival/awareness skills that appeal to the youth, training their senses to experience the natural world in a way that cultivates connection, understanding and empathy with the remarkable environment of the Hawaiian Islands.

As we continued to deepen our ties with land and life, highlights of our visits included:

February

✿ Joining Brother Noland to work with all the Grade 1 students from Kamehameha Elementary School (KES) on two separate days at Halona Point, east of Sandy Beach, as we took the skills of silent movement, tracking, nature awareness and meditation that we shared in the Fall with the students and applied them to the shoreline. Noland opened the morning with the Thanksgiving Address and shared the names and meanings of the sites surrounding our “outdoor classroom.” Later he demonstrated the art of kiloi upena (the throw net). We stalked as a group to the shoreline and watched as Noland snuck to the rocks and threw his net. The students then learned the names of the most common fish near the shoreline and had time to explore the tide pools with their parents and teachers. These outings have become so popular that one day, we had 18 parents join us. Thanks to the Grade 1 teachers—Anna Lee, Faith, Jackie and Kehau.

✿ Working with the Grade 2 students at KES, playing traditional games of the Americas that draw on skills of silence and observation. These games further the silent movement and observation skills learned in Grade 1. From the blindfold stalking games “Rattlesnake” and “Steal the Firewood” to the stalking of a deer outside the classroom, traditional firemaking and a circle game we learned from our friend Fernando Yawanawa in the Amazon, these games delighted the students and teachers. Thanks to the Grade 2 teachers—Joyce , Diane, Joyce K. and Julie.

✿ Visiting the Tree of Peace near the playing field at KES that we planted in a ceremony with Jake and Judy Swamp of the Tree of Peace Society in 1991.

✿ Performing with Brother Noland and his band One Tribe Aloha at Kapi‘olani Community College. Thanks to Noland, Uncle Donnie and all the guys in the band.

March

Since the day that Brother Noland and his wife Heidi swam down the beach from their home in Punalu‘u to where we were holding the Alaka‘i Project in 2003, we have continued to deepen our mutual work in Hawai‘i and on the mainland. Noland has introduced us to his extensive network in Hawai‘i and he has joined the staff of The Tracking Project. In May of 2005 Noland and Heidi traveled to New Mexico as mentors for the first year of our NTR Cottonwood program , and in June of this year they both participated in and provided mentorship for the third year’s program.

Noland’s innovative programs, together with his popular book, Lessons of Aloha, and his ever-evolving music provide a deep well of material. His curriculum—“ Hawaiian Inside”—is a perfect match for our programs, “Hawaiian Outside.” Inside and outside, here are a few highlights from our March visit:

✿ Ho‘omana—“to empower yourself.” The Ho‘omana camp was an extension of the PowerPlay! program which we have been a part of over the last three years. Organized by Noland, with the assistance of friends and staff, the YWCA of Hawai‘i and Na Lei Aloha, it involved some twenty youth, parents, coaches and interns flying to Moloka‘i for four action-packed days.

From our base camp at Keawanui with mentors Walter and Loretta Ritte, Kalaniua, Hanohano and Uncle Jesse, we traveled to the four directions of the island: in the east, we traveled to Halawa for a day of service learning in a kalo patch; in the south, we helped out in the fishpond at Keawanui; to the north, we visited the overlook above Kalaupapa and the sacred site Kauleonanahoa; and for our last day and night, we all made a silent hike to the pristine, sacred La‘au point on the western shore.

There was time for the Thanksgiving Address and natural movement, firemaking, archery, music, storytelling... even a little basketball in the gym in Kaunakakai. And before we left the island, we stopped to visit the Trees of Peace planted by Jake Swamp during the 1991 Makahiki ceremony.

Back on O‘ahu, the group met one more time, this time at the State Capitol building to support the Rittes, farmers, students and Native Hawaiians who were protesting to urge lawmakers to hold a hearing on a Senate bill that would ban research and cultivation of genetically engineered taro.

Thanks to Noland, Coaches Clay & Jeff, Chieko, Judy and the YWCA, Walter, Loretta, and all the hosts and helpers on Moloka‘i.

Moving stone for a rock wall, La‘au Point, Moloka‘i, 2007.

September

✿ Working with a whole new group of KES Grade 1 students over two days at Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Gardens, sharing the Thanksgiving Address, Secrets of Natural Movement, the story of Maui stealing the secret of fire from the ‘alae and a demonstration of handdrill firemaking. Noland joined us for both days and lots of the parents, too. Thanks to the Grade 1 teachers and all the parents who joined us.

✿ Spending a day with Brad Cooper and about 110 Grade 7 Kamehameha School students from Pu‘ulu ‘Ohe (the “bamboo” group) hiking the Upper Campus trail. While Brad took a group up the trail overlooking the Pali to tell them aspects of the story of the Battle of Nu‘uanu, we did some natural movement, went over the basic survival needs and demonstrated firemaking. Our thanks as always to Brad, the teachers and the students of the ‘Ohe group.

✿ Performing a benefit for the Kapi‘olani Hospital at John Dominus with Noland and the band (the Perry & Price show). Later that day, we joined them all at Ko‘olina for another gig at A Taste of Kapolei. Thanks as always to the guys in the band—Noland, Fred, Pi’i, Vergel, Steve, Donnie and the crew.

Land and sea, land and life. Our work in Hawai‘i continues to nurture and inspire us. Like a cresting wave, our projects from the past seem to be curling back on themselves, creating a spiral of new possibilities. We send our finest thoughts and our deepest aloha to the Hawaiian people for their strength, ingenuity and hospitality.

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