2019-04-15 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – April 15, 2019 - for development and to develop geothermal and this swap to Pele Defense Fund and many community members was illegal to do a land swap and they fought and there were over 200 people that got arrested during their protests – also we had kupuna, children, family members that were totally against the development of geothermal because of 1) the desecration of the deity, 2) environmental issues – which at that time geothermal was emitting their toxic emissions into the air and with the fight of the community they were able to bring the emissions and injecting into the ground but with all of this, um, Pele Defense Fund set precedence and won this case on the merit of a traditional, customary practice rights and right now in Wao Kele o Puna they only lowland forest is the only place that you can go and hunt without DLNR coming to tell you not to do that because it is a place where you can gather. You can hunt, you can gather without being cited by any enforcement because of Pele Defense Fund setting precedence. OK. Now that I’m going to do – explaining the history of Pele Defense Fund and why we’re talking about GMAC – in 2011 – although there were years in 1990 of hunters’ concern of eradication – Hamakua – we had several hunters at that time that were fighting the idea of eradication – also the idea of fencing. This was an ongoing issue for our hunters at that time. Because Pele Defense Fund was fighting the issue again in 2011 with the proposal of another geothermal plant with a company called IDG – community came to Pele Defense Fund’s meeting in the mall at my gallery – we met in the back – that was pretty neat – where we had a central place for everybody to meet but the hunters heard about the fact that geothermal was being challenged at that time by Pele Defense Fund and the people of Puna and in 2011 – we had Tony Sylvester – I think you know Tony – Tony Sylvester was concerned about the eradicating – of the aerial shooting of the sheep on the mountain – at the same time we had Joseph Griffiths, Ivan Gomes and Danny Rocha who was fighting the issues on fencing in, near their areas – Puu Makaala – we had fencing in Kau – all of these issues were something that our hunters wanted to talk about so Joseph Griffiths along with other hunters decided to have their meeting at Nani Mau Gardens and came and saw Palikapu Dedman and I as they wanted to learn a little bit more about how Pele Defense Fund does their challenging with Article 12, Section 7 – I think – it’s a... I’m gonna read this – this is important – before I start reading how we developed your commission. Article 12, Section 7, was done in 1978 – where it states all the native rights of our Hawaii – the host people – and the use of land. Article 12, Section 7, was at the very end and this is the first thing that you’ll learn about customary practices. Article 12, Section 7, says the State reaffirms and shall protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by ahupuaa tenants who are descendents of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778. There’s a latter part of it that says subject to the right of the State of Hawaii state to regulate such rights – which I believe is DLNR. These rights that our native Hawaiians have has been very successful in the idea of managing the resources that our Hawaiians managed to do hundreds of years prior to western contact, even 9