By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — Hawaiians once again are living on land in Waiehu that centuries ago was the site of a thriving native community and a refuge for Queen Ka‘ahumanu.
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| Cheryl and Thomas Kekona are among the proud owners of a home at the Waiehu Kou 2 subdivision on Maui.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser |
On property where kalo lo‘i filled the landscape and where ancient iwi remain hidden in the sandy soil, 109 families are settling into new, modern homes at the Waiehu Kou 2 subdivision three miles north of Wailuku.
The residents gathered yesterday for a dedication ceremony to celebrate the $22 million Department of Hawaiian Home Lands project, but never far from their thoughts and words were pending court challenges that threaten to abolish government programs for Native Hawaiians.
Yard signs and banners proclaimed "All we ask for is restitution," "Birthright not race" and "Just say no to Barrett," referring to Honolulu resident Patrick Barrett, who filed a federal lawsuit in October challenging the legitimacy of DHHL and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on the grounds that race-based programs are unconstitutional.
Barrett’s complaint has been consolidated with a lawsuit filed by former state legislator John Carroll that claims OHA money is used for racially discriminatory purposes.
Native Hawaiians see the lawsuits as a serious threat to their push for indigenous rights and reparations for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.
Pedro Gapero, Waiehu Kou 2 homeowners association president, told the crowd, "This is our birthright as Hawaiians, and not Barrett or Carroll or anyone else will stop us from being recognized as indigenous people."
DHHL chairman Raynard Soon urged Hawaiians not to become "distracted" by the court cases. "It distracts our money, it distracts our time, it distracts our efforts. We need to stay focused on putting people on the land," Soon said.
The new subdivision, the DHHL’s first developer-built homes, provided families an opportunity to purchase two-, three- and four-bedroom homes ranging in price from $102,500 to $150,000, well below market value. The developer was Everett Dowling’s Maui School Development Partnership.
Thomas and Cheryl Kekona are one of four Hawaiian families who returned from the Mainland to live at Waiehu Kou 2.
Thomas, 60, a retired General Motors factory worker from Honokahua, Maui, left the island in the late 1960s to visit his wife’s family in Michigan. They decided to stay and raise their two daughters there.
After more than 30 years on a DHHL waiting list, Kekona said he had dismissed thoughts of obtaining a homestead lot because he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He was stunned to learn he would be able to purchase a home at Waiehu Kou 2 and even hesitated until his children told him, "It’s now or never."
The couple moved into their new four-bedroom home Dec. 23.
"I get up every morning and see the mountains and it’s like being on vacation. I can’t believe it’s real," he said. "If we were in Michigan we’d be buried in snow."
"It’s more than a dream come true," said Cheryl Kekona, 56, a retired nurse. "We prayed a lot."
A previous Waiehu Kou phase provided 48 lots. The DHHL has more land nearby, and plans to develop it for additional homes.
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