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inspiration, and then also in just being on the site, it’s so, it’s such a powerful place, and I think that
<br />anyone who visits the site can feel that. And it’s my understanding, I know someone was concerned
<br />about public access and being able to visually see what’s there, and it’s my understanding that
<br />Kamehameha Schools’ plan is very well laid out that there is going to be public access to the
<br />shoreline, and that there is visual access to the cultural sites while still protecting them. And I do feel
<br />like it’s necessary to remove the hotel. When Uncle Mahealani took us and we were just standing on
<br />the landing of the hotel, the lanai, I mean, it seems that it’s not just a visual barrier between Hāpaiali‘i
<br />and Kapuanoni Heiau but energetically it seems like it’s a barrier to the connection of those two
<br />heiau. So I’m in full support of their entire proposal, including the removal of the hotel seems like a
<br />necessary part. And I think it’s just a great opportunity to make right some of the past mistakes, to
<br />create an educational complex to help preserve and perpetuate the Hawaiian culture, as well as to
<br />educate the general public and our keiki about the importance of preservation of our cultural natural
<br />resources. We can’t expect people to protect what’s here, if they don’t know what’s here. So in that
<br />way I think it’s crucial that this project be allowed to go forward. And we know the importance of
<br />education for the health and wellbeing of our children and our island community. And I hope that the
<br />Commission will work hard with Kamehameha Schools to make sure all the necessary permits can go
<br />through. I think it’s our opportunity to do something very proactive for this generation and for the
<br />generations to come, and also to show respect for our kūpuna and for the culture. Mahalo.
<br />
<br />MUADTHAISONG: I didn’t really write anything down, so this is from what I want to say. I have
<br />been part of a Maluaka program for five years; I’m a student leader there. And we, when I first
<br />started to come and camped at the site, I had a thought why are we camping next to a hotel, which I
<br />found really bizarre. And Uncle Mahealani once asked us what it felt like to have a hotel built in our
<br />backyard, and I didn’t really think much about it until I thought about my culture. I am not from
<br />Hawai‘i; I am from Thailand. And I was not born here, but I do understand what it’s like. We have a
<br />temple in our little village where my grandfather lays, and I would not be happy, if I had gone back to
<br />it and see that there is something that is built, that is built on top of my own grandfather’s grave,
<br />because – oh, my god – this program has taught me to appreciate where you come from, because we
<br />are the next generation and I, as your, we – oh, my god, I can’t, I’m sorry I can’t do this, Juniper,
<br />please go.
<br />
<br />OZBOLT: I just want to say thank you to Mo for opening up herself to say what she has to say about
<br />her own culture. I’m Juniper Ozbolt, and as I said before I live in Puna. And I am a student leader
<br />with Hui Kaha Pōhaku through Hawai‘i Academy of Arts and Science, or HAAS, and I’ve been a
<br />student leader and part of the program for five years; this is my fifth year. Throughout the whole
<br />process of being in the program I never really understood the importance of the Hawaiian culture of
<br />the places that surrounded me, because I have grown up in these islands, and, although I am not of
<br />Hawaiian ancestry, I never really knew the importance of knowing your own culture and knowing
<br />where you came from and what surrounds you. But through Hui Kaha Pōhaku and through being at
<br />the site I really learned that it’s important to preserve your own culture and to know about other
<br />cultures and have respect for them, respect for the past, for the present, and to preserve them for the
<br />future. And, like I said, although I’m not of Hawaiian ancestry, through being through the site it has
<br />inspired me to ask my own grandparents, my own great-grandparents what our history is, where we
<br />came from and what we are doing to preserve it. And so I think it’s extremely important that this
<br />hotel that is over a heiau is taken down and is respecting, that the heiau is put back and respected, and
<br />that a cultural site is created for all people of all different ethnicities and races and backgrounds can
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