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Letter of Support for the Edith Kanaka`ole Foundation and the Protection of Ka`alaiki Kula Aloha nui kakou, My name is E. Makahiapo Cashman, and I serve as the Director of Ka Papa Lo`i `O Kanewai and Ka Papa Lo`i `O Punalu`u at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Our `ohana are mahi`ai kalo, kumu, caretakers of iwi kupuna, and cultural practitioners who engage daily in traditional Hawaiian practices grounded in `aina, genealogy, and kuleana. I write in strong support of the Kau community, the Edith Kanaka`ole Foundation (EKF), and the Trust for Public Land's efforts to purchase and permanently protect Ka`alaiki Kula—approximately 1,600 acres of culturally significant land in Ka`alaiki, Ka`u, Hawaii Island. Ka`alaiki Kula extends between Highway 11 on the makai side and Ka`alaiki Road on the mauka side. Protecting these kula lands is essential to preserving the integrity of the entire ahupua`a. This area holds immense cultural, educational, and archaeological significance, including a historic railroad trestle and `Imakakaloa Heiau—one of only two intact hula heiau remaining in the Hawaiian Islands. The Edith Kanaka`ole Foundation is uniquely qualified to care for this place. Established in 1990, EKF is a Hawaiian cultural-based nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining and perpetuating the teachings, practices, philosophies, and `ike of Edith and Luka Kanaka`ole. EKF's mission to elevate Hawaiian intelligence through culturally grounded education is not abstract—it is lived through decades of land stewardship, cultural protocol, ritual practice, and intergenerational teaching. At the University of Hawaii at Manoa, our Io`i malama more than seventy Hawaiian kalo varieties. Our work depends deeply on the teachings and guidance of EKF. As mahi`ai kalo, kumu, and practitioners, we rely on EKF's `ike in land and resource practices, cultural site restoration, and ceremonial protocol. Their teachings are part of our daily practice and ongoing conversations as we work to understand our responsibilities to place and future generations. For us, Ka`alaiki Kula is kupuna. It is a genealogical elder—holding vast `ike and patiently waiting for us to return and learn. The loss of Ka`alaiki Kula would be the loss of a matriarch. It would serve as a living classroom that teaches through landscape, Sugg.26-05