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today with our kids from our school, from our program, and I’m hoping that we can move forward
<br />with this. And I wanted to just, I want one of my students to say some more, a few words.
<br />
<br />SUBIONO: Hi, I’m Hoku Subiono. I’m Kaimi’s, one of Kaimi’s students from Kua O Ka La. I just
<br />want to say that I’m absolutely in support of this project, I mean, you know, students from Miloli‘i
<br />we don’t really have a lot, I mean, we do as much as we can, but we always see, the community
<br />center that’s being built, we always see that as educational opportunity for our school. I think it’s a
<br />better opportunity for, you know, students over here, if they have their own, you know, community
<br />center like that. I think it’s great. Going through with the programs like plane table mapping and
<br />Maluaka, I think we’ve already seen the educational opportunity that they, this gives to Big Island
<br />students. And, yeah, thank you.
<br />
<br />KALAWE: Aloha. My name is Keone Kalawe. I live in Kaniahiku Village in the ‘Ili of Kaniahiku
<br />in the Ahupua‘a of Nānāwale in Puna. The issue that I want to cover is public access and also
<br />customary rights in Hawai‘i, okay? And as a kanaka, when we look for answers, we look for answers
<br />in the past. So I just want to cover briefly where all this began, when it was written, okay? So the
<br />first written rights that also is connected, you know, to the ‘āina is the Declaration of Rights in 1839
<br />by Kamehameha III. Then the next palapala, which is also, continues about the rights and obligation
<br />of the ‘āina, is the First Constitution in 1840, okay? And as we go down, we also find it in the Civil
<br />Code of 1859, Page 387, and also in the Penal Code in 1897 in the Organic Act, okay? And there’s
<br />also two court cases, one, January 1858 in the Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the
<br />second one was the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s Damon versus the Territory of Hawai‘i. And in a
<br />nutshell, what it states is that when ‘āina is transferred, it’s not only the ‘āina; it’s the kuleana, it’s the
<br />obligation. And this obligation, it does not end on the shoreline; it continues in the kai, okay? So
<br />with that said, I just want to go into the heiaus, okay? I had actually the opportunity to participate in
<br />the restoration of the heiaus. In each heiau we had found a lot of information. The first heiau, what
<br />we found out is that it was built between 1422 to 1465, okay? So that’s really important. So before
<br />Columbus stumbled upon America, this heiau was in fully function, okay? And Ke‘ekū, there is a lot
<br />more information that we can actually obtain. But my concern is that let the practitioner practice on
<br />the heiaus, okay? Do we let the public go into the public schools when class is in session? Do we let
<br />the public go into any classroom in a university? No, we don’t. These heiaus, these temples, are
<br />actually classrooms, but for our people to study, to learn. I had the opportunity in the past to, you
<br />know, work on heiaus, to teach about heiaus, as well as learn on heiaus. So my whole thing about the
<br />practice in the laws is that we don’t let anybody go to any classrooms when it is in session. Kahalu‘u
<br />Ma Kai is a classroom. We cannot let anybody go onto the heiaus. If you don’t have one function,
<br />you don’t have them practice, you don’t belong on the heiau, okay? And this is a practice from way
<br />before in the past; we should continue in the present and we should continue this in the future. I fully
<br />am committed to the obligations of the will of Bernice Pauahi, you know, for her educational vision,
<br />and we should actually continue the vision. And I totally support Kamehameha Schools. And let
<br />Kamehameha Schools decide where the access should start and end. Mahalo.
<br />
<br />COLLINS: Aloha mai kākou, ‘o Nicole U‘imai‘ole Collins ko‘u inoa, no Waimea mai au, noho au
<br />ma ka ahupua‘a ‘o Kawanui ma Kona, aloha. I wanted to speak today in support of Kamehameha
<br />Schools. As a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, you know, it’s not always, I’m not
<br />always proud of the things that Bishop Estate chooses to do or how they manage the land. But it is
<br />beautiful to see, you know, with all of the politics going on and we see all the destruction that is
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