By David Corrigan and Stephanie Salazar
[Video by David Corrigan]
HILO, Hawaii: The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands met the community of beneficiaries at Keaukaha Elementary School Cafeteria on Thursday evening.
Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Alapaki Nahale-a, a native of the area, was joined by DHHL staff, in unveiling details of the trust’s “Kauhale Pilot Project,” which presents a new style of Hawaiian homesteading opportunity.
Kauhale were traditional Hawaiian homesteads that consisted of multiple structures that served specific purposes, like sleeping, eating and cooking.
The modern adaptation of Kauhale will feature multiple residential units that incorporate common living areas to be shared among an extended family on a single homestead lot.
The Hawaiian Home Lands Trust is looking to develop the pilot project Keaukaha in Hilo and/or Waimea. Multiple lessees will likely be connected to the Kauhale homestead.
DHHL reps didnt have any plans or illustrations to show, but they wanted to let everyone in attendance know that the process will be open and will require the input of the beneficiaries. As DHHL planner said Kaleo Manuel, not only is the kauhale rooted in historic Hawaiian Culture… but its the way many families are living today.
Officials showed those in attendance how to go about signing up if they are interested.
The meeting was also held in order for officials to hear from the “top 100″ applicants on the Hawaii Island waitlist to assess how the department can best address the needs of applicants longest on the waitlist.
It didnt take long for the officials to get what they asked for…
Some beneficiaries wondered where in Keaukaha will this new pilot project by built?
Chair Nahale-a said DHHL is not sure, yet, where that will be, but noted that part of the problem is unoccupied vacant homestead lots, which triggered a warning to homesteaders from local leader Uncle Patrick Kahawaiola`a.
What DHHL is doing is trying to destroy the developers high profits to save face, and go back to ‘rehabilitating Hawaiians on their land’ which was the origin of the ‘ideals’ of John Wise and Kuhio as there puppet. This Kauhale is a flat lie when one say’s it’s Hawaiian Style of living. With a little bit of research one can find the Pentagon hoppers in the mix alongside the ideals of futurist community homes with no children. There is a place called Los Harcones–it is an experiment of living space. That is what DHHL is proposing or leaning towards.
I grew up in my early years in a government housing built after or during the war. It was a shameful place for a child to grow up in. I could take my little finger a poke a hole into the walls. It was made up of sugar cane pressed into a board like shape. I could go on for days about the violence that had occurred during the so called getting together at the trough so to speak–like animals.
Big Island Kamehameha I days which is not to long ago is what is being proposed and I just want to say that is very good for animals or men at war–but not for families.
As for the bloodquantum that Hawaiian Civic Clubber, is furthering his clubs agenda not what is good for the native Hawaiians that are living on homestead. We’ve already gone over this issue in the 70s and realized that we needed to keep the bloodquantum of 50% plus in place for the real reason of the Rehabilitation Act to actually intend to be real. It took about 80 plus years for this dream of preserving the native Hawaiians on their ancestors lands and now we are seeing that possibility through natural selection too.