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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 2:08 p.m., Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Kaho'olawe subject of Smithsonian exhibit

Associated Press

WAILUKU ­ An exhibit showing the history of Kaho'olawe is planned at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., this summer.

The exhibit will open June 5 and will continue until Sept. 2. It is entitled "Ke Aloha Kupa'a I Ka `Aina," meaning steadfast love for the land.

It will show the history of the island from pre-Western contact until the present time.

Keoni Fairbanks, executive director of the state Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, said it is an opportunity to get Kaho'olawe "on a national stage" and create an awareness in Washington. He says the exhibit shows the importance of the island in native culture.

The Navy used the island as a bombing target for nearly 50 years. The federal government now is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to clear ordnance from the island.

A portion of the exhibit was displayed in 1996 at the Bishop Museum. The current exhibit, created by the museum, has additional displays which also look at the island as a cultural preserve.

The exhibit will be located in the Smithsonian's Art & Industries Building. It cost about $185,000, with a $100,000 donation from the commission and the remainder from several nonprofit groups and Maui County.