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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, December 6, 2002

In Hawai'i, paradise is priceless

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

At Kawaiaha'o Church, a crowd gathered in coat and tie and upscale mu'umu'u and sang "Hawai'i Pono'i" accompanied by a church organ.

Across the street at Honolulu Hale, a crowd dressed in black T-shirts with white lettering saying "Our land, our legacy" called out "I Ku Mau Mau."

"Hawai'i Pono'i" is a fight song couched in an almost dulcet melody. It includes the lyric:

Makua lani e
Kamehameha e
Na kaua e pale
Me ke ihe

Royal Father, Kamehameha, we will defend with spears.

"I ku mau mau" sounds more obviously like a call to action. It includes the line:

I ku mau mau
I ku huluhulu
I ka lanawao

Stand together, haul with all your might under the mighty trees.

At the formal investiture of the trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, trustee Haunani Apoliona stood at the podium at the front of Kawaiha'o Church and talked in broad terms of the continued struggle for Native Hawaiian benefits and entitlements. "Political activism isn't short-lived, nor is it one-shot," she said. "We must not save political activism for only election time."

At the same moment, across the street, her general words were turned into specific action as hundreds came to testify against the forced sale of land belonging to the estate of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop benefiting Kamehameha Schools.

Donna Wong, wearing one of those black T-shirts, said in her testimony, "You lessees chose to buy a lease. That's different from fee-simple. You knew that. That was your choice. We choose not to sell our land."

Those who argued to force the sale of the lease pointed out that Kamehameha Schools will get fair market price for the land. The thought is that the landowner will lose nothing, that it is an equitable solution.

However, that kind of thinking assumes that money and land can have the same value. The value of a piece of property in Hawai'i is, traditionally, emotionally, even spiritually, unique to that place and, in many ways, beyond a price.

For the lessees at Kahala Beach condominium, the council's vote was a step toward owning their piece of paradise.

For those in the black T-shirts, it was another government-backed attack on ali'i land.

From the governor's inauguration to eighth-grade graduation to UH sporting events, we sing in quiet tones, "Hawai'i's own ... we will defend with spears."

The thing that requires defensive action is the erosion of what rightfully belongs to Native Hawaiians. The spears we have are words and ideas, truth and righteousness.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.