HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0343.046 2012-2014 Page 1 of 2
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From: Nawahine [keauea @hawaii.rr.com] r Ail 8: 39
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 12:06 AM
To: county council
Subject: testimony regarding res 140-13
Pono'i Kanehekili Kaho'opi'i
PO Box 2714
Kamuela, HI 96743
March 5, 2014 Testimony regarding Res 140-13
Aloha council members I am Pono'i Kanehekili Kaho'opi'i. My father is Albert Kanehekili Kaho'opi'i, the
eight generation of Kamehameha the great. My mother is Ana Nawahine fourth generation kumu hula.
I am the ninth generation of King Kamehameha the Great and fifth generation cultural practitioner. I
am writing to you about the ala loa trail. I was taken to the Ala Loa trail before I could walk. My
parents carried me in a backpack and we hiked the trails from North Kohala to Kawaihae. It is on this
trail I and my cousins learned to fish, hunt, and camp. It was on this trail, that I learned how to survive
off the land. I also learned how to gather on that same trail that has been used for generations by my
ohana. We all know King Kamehameha used that trail to get around the Island for Makahiki and to
check on all the ahupua'a. We still use that trail today. I know my rights as a kanaka maoli. I have
learned from my father to respect these trails, to malama the aina. I am learning traditional and
customary subsistence rights. I am learning to gather, fish, hunt and live off the land. I am learning the
traditional and customary spiritual practices tied to these ancient places. I am learning the mo'olelo
the stories of my ancestors, kupuna and aumakua that are tied to these trails. Practices handed down
from generations before the arrival of western colonization. I am learning the history of my genealogy,
my ancestors, how to fish, hunt and gather, camp, dive and pule to my kupuna and ancestors as the
generations before me have done.
All parties involved in the destruction of the trail in this instance the archeologist, planning
department, county council, the state historic preservation dept. and the developer have been
negligent in identifying the historic and cultural significance of the Ala Loa trail and have failed to
properly assess the negative impacts on Hawaiian cultural practices. You are required by international,
federal and state law to protect the rights of indigenous people, to preserve and protect their lands
resources and traditional places so we may practice our traditional, subsistence and customary
practices without interference and to protect other elements of our cultural heritage that are a part of
our existence as a people. If you proceed in this manner you will be complicit in the further
diminishment of our traditional and customary rights. The Ala Loa trail is used for the perpetuation of
customary, traditional, ceremonial and subsistence practices. It is part of our cultural heritage.
Furthermore the developer went forward and graded the trail covering it with mulch with your
approval. You approved the desecration of a known historic site, the Ala Loa, for exclusive private use,
violating the rights of the Kanaka maoli.
Another issue is the incompetent job that was done interviewing the descendants of this area. Again
all have failed to do their job. The list of descendants included only one Kanaka Maoli (William Akau)
the other two were the land owners (Monty Richards and Pono von Holt) who sold the land. How
outrageous. The interview process that was conducted did not follow the legal procedure of the cultural
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3/6/2014 Ref. Date MAR 0 7 201
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impact statement process. The Kanaka Maoli chosen by some mysterious process was only interviewed
by phone. There are no written statements by them that we are able to review and verify and nothing
left for us to refer too. A clear violation of the cultural impact statement process.
You also:
- failed to uphold MRS Chapter 205A regarding public participation in decisions regarding public
access
4, failed to follow the recommendations of the North Kohala Community Development Plan
4. failed to follow the County's own subdivision rules
failed to follow the SMA permit approved by the Planning Commission
4. failed to properly review the Na Ala Hele report
4. failed to cite the property owner for building a shoreline trail without a Public Access Plan or
approval by the Planning Department
failed to protect the public by calling for a certified shoreline
failed to provide a safe walkway from the parking area to the mauka-makai trail
failed to provide access to cultural sites and burials as required by HSPD
you failed to recognize the information found the 1935 revised law Sec 41 labeled Certificate
of title, exemption #3 showing the title transfer never happened
4. failed to require a farm plan or any other requirement to assure that the primary use of this
state Agriculture Land Use District will be agriculture and undermined primary ag use by
permitting a community recreation center and canoe hale.
For this reason you must table the grant of easement until you can determine who owns the Ala Loa
and correct the hewa.
Pono'i Kanehekili Kaho'opi'i
3/6/2014