2015-10-22 Leeward Exh A (SMA 15-060)

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happening to our land and the things that our kūpuna talk about and share with us that they have seen, it’s beautiful to see that they are taking ownership and restoring the culture and restoring the practices and allowing for Hawaiians to be Hawaiian again. So I fully support Kamehameha Schools, and mahalo. UNGER: Thank you. Pono Kipapa, Makani Gregg, Pua Lincoln. GREGG: Aloha mai kākou. I’m Makani Gregg. KIPAPA: Aloha. My name is Pono Kipapa. UNGER: Aloha. GREGG: So, aloha, I’m Makani Gregg. I reside in Keahialaka, Puna. I’m representing Kua O Ka La, as well as my family. This is my nephew/haumāna also, Pono. As a teacher, learner, all of that, I’m in full support of KS and the proposal of knocking down the hotel in the efforts of creating an educational hub. I see that as being very necessary and critical for today to have the sacred space to do what we need to do in order to reconnect with things all that is Hawaiian. And I want to kind of kākou, or support, what Uncle Keone talked about with the public access that that should be restricted and really thought about. At Kua O Ka La our fishpond is kind of right next to Ahalanui Beach Park, and every time our haumāna, and even last week when we were out working on the fishpond and trying to learn and observe, people do come by and take pictures and do invade the space and it really disrupts the concentration of which really going on, and it’s really inappropriate. So again, nobody really should be walking into schools because of the privacy and all that. And -. KIPAPA: Aloha. My name is Pono Kipapa. I represent, I support knocking the hotel down. MAIELUA: Aloha mai kākou. My name is Blossom Pualani Lincoln Maielua. I’m from Pu‘ukapu, Kohala. I’m an instructor in the Hawai‘i Life Styles Department right here at Hawai‘i CC Pālamanui. I’m an ʻaukai Makali‘i, I’m a mother and I’m a kanaka Hawai‘i. Eleven generations ago my kupuna Keakamahana reigned over this island and Kahalu‘u was significant to her governance. Heiau were built stone upon stone to lift the chiefs who would then lift their people. The land flourished, the people produced, the ocean produced and the people thrived. Ten generations ago my kupuna Keakealaniwahine conducted temple ceremonies on the heiau of Kahalu‘u and designated space and time. These ceremonies created balance and connection throughout the community. The Kūāhewa agricultural field system was cultivated in coalition with the tracking of the seasons confirmed upon the platform of Hāpaiali‘i. Six generations ago my kupuna Puakō carved canoes right here in Kona. These same canoes sailed through these islands under the guidance of navigators whose knowledge was secured amongst those same stones of Hāpaiali‘i Heiau. It is in this same generation that Kamehameha ‘Ekahi died. Foreign influence boomed at the coast of Kamakahonu. And the ‘aikapu, our ancient religious system, which was crafted by the mating of Wākea and Papahānaumoku, fell. A new religion arrived on our shores. It preached ola hou, everlasting life, and promised to save our dying people. Times were changing, but the sacredness of Kahalu‘u remained. Five generations ago my kupuna Kahalepuna, who was fed by these same waters and lands of Kona, was told that ‘āina no longer meant that which feeds, that the resources that she had accessed her entire life were no longer hers to share, and that in order to be saved and prosper not only must she accept a foreign god but she 23 EXHIBIT A