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

HAWAI'I REPORT 2000
The Arts of Life/Kamehameha School

Thus from wa kahiko (ancient times), the Hawaiian child learned: survival skills; ways to obtain food, build shelter, make clothing; ways to conquer dangerous seas and cooperate with natures' benevolence; the powers and precepts of the gods; the legends of the past; the traditions of family; the prohibitions and protections of kapu; the demands and comfort of prayer and ritual; the subtleties of maintaining harmony with men, with 'aumakua and akua, and with the mystic presences that were part of earth and rocks, of sky and sea and stream, of the smallest plant and the tallest tree.
(from Nana i ke Kumu, by Pukui, Haertig and Lee,
"The Child Learns" Vol. 2, p. 57)

IN February we returned to the Hawaiian Islands for nearly a month of school visits and camps, sharing our tracking and awareness programs with hundreds of Hawaiian youth. We re-visited friends and projects on Oahu, the Big Island and Maui . Since our early work with cultural activists in the 1980's and our first walks along the shores and into the mountains with Hawaiian children, our Hawaiian programs have continued to evolve. Working together with local practitioners, we have worked to put together a package of survival and awareness skills that mirror the skills listed above.

As we continued this year to deepen our ties with land and life, our programs included:

*Visiting with long-time friend, teacher and artist Toshiko Takaezu on Oahu.

*KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS / OAHU Augmenting the multi-cultural curriculum of the second grade class, presenting two days of music, stories, dance and nature skills from the Philippines, China, Brazil, Australia, Africa and North America. Thanks to Joyce Ahuna Ka'ai'ai and the second grade staff.

*Working with the full third grade on geography units for Aboriginal Australia and Brasil. Thanks to Jackie Eppling and the third grade staff.

*Hiking the Aiea Loop Trail on Oahu with Miki Maeshiro's sixth grade class, looking more deeply at plants, tracks and extending our awareness as preparatory training for the large cultural excursion to the Big Island. Thank you, Arlene, Miki, Uncle Dan and the other parents who joined us.

*Working with Brad Cooper and 125 7th graders of the Hui Ula Ula using the lush and peaceful setting of the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kailua (windward Oahu) as our classroom. Taking a cross-cultural approach to the uses of Hawaiian plants in the survival scenario. Thanks to the teachers of Hui Ula Ula: Brad, Jim, Sol, Randy, Shigemi, Palani, Doll, Stan, Ashlyn & Hawley.

Students in the Keaukaha Hawaiian Language Immersion Program

*Joining 150 sixth graders and their teachers on the annual cultural excursion to the Big Island. At the Volcanoes National Park,we led four days of hikes through the Thurston lava tube, across the Kilauea Iki crater, up Byron Ledge and back to the Steam Vents and KMC. The year was rich in bird and animals sightings; the students are always amazed when their "silent walk" training actually leads to a close encounter with a wild animal, such as a pheasant or a hawk, waiting for the day's thermals to begin. Many thanks to Miki, Arlene, the sixth grade teachers, counselors and Kahele Kukea.

*Visiting with Mililani Trask and other friends in Hilo. During our visit a Supreme Court ruling on the Rice vs. Cayetano lawsuit was made public, saying the election process for choosing trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (of which Mililani is one) was unconstitutional because only Native Hawaiians could vote in OHA elections. This ruling set off a chain reaction of events which has caused many people to look once again at the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. (See the Spring 2000 issue of Cultural Survival magazine, "Problems in Paradise: Sovereignty in the Pacific—Ka Lahui's Hawaiian Vision")

*Swimming in the tide pools with turtles at Puako, courtesy of Vicki Taylor. Mahalo.

* Visiting with Ipo Kanaka'ole and her family in Hana, bodysurfing and learning more about the sites in the area.

As we have mentioned earlier in the newsletter, Kumu Miki Maeshiro, grade 6 teacher from Kamehemeha Schools will join us in Corrales for the next year, assisting with all aspects of our programs while studying our approach to community education and our support for cultural awareness. We feel that Miki's time with us will lead to even stronger ties with the Hawaiian community.

Our work in Hawai'i continues to nurture and inspire us. As the wayfinding movement (the art of Non-Instrument Navigation) and the renaissance of cultural pride continues to grow throughout Polynesia, we are grateful for our time in Hawai'i , for all the youth we saw this trip and for the future of Na pua o ka 'aina We send our finest thoughts and our deepest aloha to the Hawaiian people for their strength, ingenuity and hospitality.

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