HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0396.005 2004-2006 KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS
Hawa? i Campus
Testimony to the Hawaii County Council
By
Moses K. Crabbe
Kumu `Olelo - Mo`omeheu Hawaii
Kamehameha Schools, Kea`au Campus
Re:Testimony in support of Resolution 153-OS
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Aloha mai kakou a na kanaka hanohano o is `aha kalana o ka mokupuni o Hawaii -
Moku o Keawe. Chairman Higa and distinguished City and County of Hawaii Council
members, my name is Moses Kaho`okele Crabbe, Kumu at the Kamehameha Schools
Hawaii Campus Elementary School. On behalf of the more than eleven hundred
students that we serve and the more than two-hundred faculty and staff members who
work at our Kea`au campus, mahalo a nui loa for allowing me to testify in favor of
Resolution 153-05, reversing the recent 9`h Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the
Kamehameha Schools is discriminatory.
Kindly allow me to briefly reiterate the importance of supporting this resolution:
Since the signing of Ke Ali`i Bernice Pauahi Bishop`s will in the eazly 1800`x, the
Kamehameha Schools has gone through several important changes. The growth of the
school over the last 118 years and the amount of keiki o ka `aina whom we touch through
education today, is far reaching into the communities that we serve not only on this
island, but statewide.
The face of the student population that we serve has changed from pure Hawaiians to a
mirage of multi-ethnic keiki and `opio who are woven together by their Hawaiian
Ancestry.
In the 1980`s and 1990`x, there was controversy over lease-hold conversion, whereby
leasee who lived on land owned by Kamehameha, wanted to buy the land they were
leasing thereby converting it to fee simple. Blessedly, that attempt to purchase
Kamehameha leased property was struck down. S
Comm. No.
Ref. To: re
I RAF. Uate~_
Now, a handful of malihini, unfamiliar with the long standing history and culture of the
native Hawaiians and their relationship to [he past, are once again trying to use the
American Judicial system to break the will of Ke Ali`i Bernice Pauahi Bishop. They want
to be admitted into the Kamehameha Schools.
Graduates and those close to the Schools have known for generations that the
Kamehameha Schools was intended to educate native Hawaiians. It is known that Charles
Reed Bishop and the first Trustees of Pauahi`s estate knew that her intent and her heart
was to admit children of Hawaiian ancestry first, since the native population at that time
was in decline. *(see below)
Mrs. Bishop also stated in her will that the final decisions concerning her estate and the
operations of the Kamehameha Schools rest solely with the Trusteees. Thus, the
preference policy was put into place so that our keiki Hawaii of today, would have a
chance to succeed in this ever changing predominantly Western society, as was Pauahi`s
vision.
For these reasons and more in favor of the Kamehameha Schools preference policy for
Native Hawaiians, I humbly ask that you strongly support: Resolution 153-05.
`O keia ko`u mana`o `o is `i`o, me ka ikaika o ko`u na`au, me ka pu`uwai hamama.
Me ka ha`aha`a
*(Information provided by Mr. Wayne Chang, former Admissions Director of the
Kamehameha Schools)
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KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS
Hawai i Campus
Testimony to the Hawaii County Council
By
Hannah Hana Pau, Kumu 'olelo Hawaii
Kamehameha High School, Kea'au Campus
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Chairman Higa and honorable County Council members, Aloha mai kakou!
My name is Hannah Hana Pau, kumu'olelo Hawaii at Kamehameha High School-
Hawai'i Campus. Mahalo for allowing me to present my testimony in favor of
Resolution 153-05.
The recent decision of the Hawaiian preference admissions policy has
stirred up emotions in my na'au, the gut or intestines where deep emotions, pain,
and affections of the heart are stored. When news of the ninth circuit court's
decision reached my ears, my mother's expression "'eha ka na'au", "there is a
pain deep down inside me...in my na'au, was the pain that I felt on that day. It
stirred memories of my own struggles as a Hawaiian to hold on to my roots, to
honor the teachings of my kupuna, and to challenge all obstacles to get to where I
am today. But more so, it stirred up memories of my mother, a beautiful, humble,
Hawaiian woman, who grew up during the time of social change and during the
time when speaking the Hawaiian language was banned...language the foundation
of all cultures. The suppression of the Hawaiian language left a pain deep within
her na'au that was not realized until her last days. She understood the language,
but always replied in English, mixed with Hawaiian words or phrases as many
Hawaiians did at that time. My attempts to converse with my mother in Hawaiian,
hoping to encourage and strengthen her use of the language were fruitless. My
mother's death came unexpectedly. I was called home when she was taken to the
hospital. The memory of that day is etched in my mind. As she lay on the bed, a
faint smile appeared nn her face when she saw me, and in a weak voice she spoke
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entirely in the Hawaiian language. She held my hand, and in the tradition of our
Hawaiian people before passing, she asked me for forgiveness. How could I
forgive this woman, who only had love in her heart? As tears rolled down my eyes,
I felt that 'eha, the pain, in her na'au, the pain she had suppressed all these years,
and only on her death bed did that pain leave her and she finally felt free to be
what she truly was...a Hawaiian.
What does my mother's story have to do with I<amehameha's Hawaiian
preference admissions policy? This 'eha in the na'au continues today for many
Hawaiians. Many issues and emotions from the time of western contact have been
passed on from one generation to the next, unknowingly, unsuspected.
I am humbled by the fact that my youngest sore was given the opportunity to
an education at Kamehameha Schools. Today, he is a 28 year old doctor, born and
raised in Puna, completing his residency at Harvard.
The social and physical well being of our Hawaiian children are at stake.
The language, culture and traditions of our Hawaiian people are at stake. We need
to provide opportunities for our Hawaiian children. We need to carry out the
wishes of Ke Ali'i Bernice Pauahi Bishop. We need to keep our Hawaiian
Preference policy. We owe it to our children.
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